Five museums you must see
The cultural offer of the Mancomunidad Espadán-Mijares is inexhaustible. Thanks to its museums we can get closer to the traditions and artistic concerns of its inhabitants, who, one might say, understand life as an art... The past, the present and the future of the territory can be read in these showcases, on these walls and streets.
Museo de la Baronía / Museum of the Barony in Ribesalbes
Behind the three-part façade of the Casa de la Baronía, declared an Asset of Cultural Interest, a prodigious museum throb. Inaugurated in 1999, the Barony Museum is the best cultural attraction for visitors to this municipality, the most populated in the Espadán-Mijares Community of Municipalities.
It exhibits three collections: one, on minerals, with more than two hundred pieces recovered from both national and international sites; another, on traditional ceramics produced in the town; and the third and most renowned, on the natural history of the municipality, which has yielded very interesting finds such as the La Rinconada site, from the Lower Miocene.
It is not surprising that researchers from half the world have crossed its threshold in search of answers. In its rooms, the Earth greets us in its different geological periods, while its vast collection of fossils captivates visitors of all ages. When they leave the museum, the youngest visitors will have a clearer idea of the dinosaurs' adventures, thanks to the reproductions of their skulls.
But, of course, we cannot leave without applauding its collection of traditional ceramics, with a generous space that recreates an old craftsman's workshop. The pieces date back to the beginning of the 20th century and reach the present day, in a well-deserved tribute to the workshops of the municipality. In the mid-19th century, Ribesalbes made a living from its twelve earthenware factories and four varnish factories, capable of rivalling even the lights of Alcora and Manises.
Tel.: 964 62 50 01
Museo Etnológico / Ethnological Museum of Tales
Inaugurated in 1998 in the only mill in the village that remained practically intact - although the building underwent meticulous restoration - this museum is a must for anyone who believes that the past holds a large part of the keys to our present.
The three floors of the building offer a journey through the historical memory and traditions of Tales, the town that houses the headquarters of the Mancomunidad Espadán-Mijares.
From the original press of the oil mill on the ground floor to the temporary exhibition area on the first floor, and including the reconstruction of a 19th century house - with its bedrooms and colourful kitchen, full of period clothes, farming tools and a host of curiosities - those responsible for the institution seek to recover the history of Tales, while at the same time reviving for the visitor the native customs of a community that has not lost its roots, despite the sweeping changes of modernity.
As is the case in other museums in the Mancomunidad, its content is a cathedra, but its container is also a personality: a stone building with three floors, each of 111 m2, a reconstructed roof made of tile and cane, and stairs that have respected the original structure.
Tel.: 964 61 30 08
Museo Inacabado de Arte Urbano / Unfinished Museum of Urban Art in Fanzara
The most international museum of the Mancomunidad Espadán-Mijares meows like a cat, and if not, just tells that to its acronym: MIAU. Many media have echoed this daring street art proposal, in which artists of the stature of the Argentinean Tamara Djurovic, Hyuro, who died prematurely in November 2020, Boa Mistura, Deih, Xabier XTRM, Nemos, Julieta Xlf, Lolo, Axel Void and Bifido, among others, have left their mark.
At a time when the people of Fanzaro were pouting about the possible installation of a rubbish dump - which in the end passed them by - two friends, Javier López and Rafael Gascó, had the happy idea of transforming a small town of less than three hundred inhabitants into one of the capitals of Street Art.
Said and done, the artists began to colonise its façades to the satisfaction of its neighbours, who rewarded their work with the treasure of their hospitality. Since the first graffiti artists sowed its streets with colour in 2014, tens of thousands of tourists have passed through Fanzara to see with their own eyes this unfinished and never-ending museum, which can be enjoyed on a guided tour.
Tel.: 964 61 90 01
Museo Municipal de Argelita / Argelita Municipal Museum
The Round Tower of Algiers, a 13th century defensive structure next to the remains of the palace of Zayd Abu Zayd, is a striking cylindrical structure that houses part of the rich ethnographic collection of the municipality. Only part of it is housed in the square tower, which is crowned by a characteristic battlement.
Conveniently restored, a garden now connects both heights, which, inside, treasures farming tools, old tools, fabrics and costumes typical of the region, helmets and even a room from the early twentieth century, an example of popular initiative as a driving force of local culture.
Extraordinary on the outside, its interior is frankly remarkable.
Tel.: 964 612 139
Sueras Obert Museu
Based on the ethnological exhibition Sueras, un poble al carrer, which has been held every Sunday since 1997 before Epiphany, the Sueras Cultural Centre set up the Sueras Obert Museu (SOM), with a more regular schedule.
In the first phase, Sueras became, on the first Sunday of every month, an open museum space, a loudspeaker for disseminating the rich ethnological heritage of the town from its houses, premises and streets. Today, all you have to do is sign up for a guided tour to enjoy this legacy with the best guides: the villagers, standard-bearers of a project that never ceases to reinvent itself with activities, workshops or traditional games, to bring to light new details of its heritage.
During our tour, we will see Uncle Ernesto's mill, learn how to make Easter doughnuts or carpentry work. Donations for its upkeep are welcome.
Tel.: 619 59 29 16
