At the beginning of the 40s, the town hall of Alcoy rehabilitated the building to be used for cultural purposes. On 18-7-1945 the museum was inaugurated under the name of Museum of Art and Public Library. Later, in 1958, it would be renamed Municipal Archaeological Museum "Camilo Visedo Moltó", in memory of its creator. In recent years the building has undergone a complete interior rehabilitation, as well as a notorious expansion (1985-1990). On the ground floor there is a changing exhibition room (90 m2), designed to show the latest research and findings. The current permanent museographic exhibition (192 m2) presents a selection of archaeological materials arranged thematically and chronologically. A specialized library is also open to the public. The museum has warehouses, a restoration laboratory, a drawing cabinet and an administration area.
The hamlet of Alicante, called Monnegre, is located north of the municipal area and separated from it by those of Muchamiel and San Vicente del Raspeig. On the edge of the CV-819 road was located the old hermitage of Chapitel (Our Lady of the Desamparados), later, at about 600 meters, in the vicinity of the channel of the Monnegre River are a series of buildings, currently in ruins, of considerable dimensions. It is popularly known as "Casa Grande" and "Casa del Cura de Monnegre" although in various cartographies it is designated as "Casa del Capellán". On the right side of what the main building must have been, the remains of an enclosure that once was a hermitage of which we do not know its advocation remain. Given the situation of the environment, we deduce that it would be of private use. The attached building, as we said above, on the right side of the main building, is built with masonry walls, gabled roof in curved tile. Plant of unique ship with a small enclosure to its left that, presumably would be used as sacristy. On the south facing façade, access in ogival arch and on this, a large round oculus.
Located in the Sierra de Oltá, it provides space to build fires with grills, an area with sinks, toilets, tables with benches, a playground and two parking areas.
The Maisonnave monument is located in the Plaza de la Puerta de San Francisco, on the Avenue that receives the same name after Alicante's first mayor elected by universal suffrage. Although it is true that at that time, 1869, only men were allowed to vote. He was also Minister of Interior Affairs during the First Spanish Republic under several presidents. And when the Bourbon family was restored, he founded the Republican Party. During all those years he founded and directed several newspapers, was a railroad concessionaire, member of a Masonic lodge and presided over the Caja de Ahorros de Alicante. The statue consists of a pedestal of polished stone, and a representation of Eleuterio Maisonnave in cast bronze, work of the sculptor Vicente Bañuls from Alicante. In 1895 it was inaugurated in an enclave near its current one, although a few years later it was located in the square itself.
The views from this location are spectacular. You see everything Calpe and the whole region. It is an ideal area for hiking and outdoor sports with fresh air and good final reward. Totally recommended.
El Portalet Palace was built in the middle of the 18th century. It receives its name to be located on the corner between the street of Labradores and known as Portalet de Capuchinas, now Calle de Santo Tomás, and whose name is due to the existence of a door, located at the end of the street, which allowed to cross the wall, that passed by the Rambla, to arrive at the Convent of the Capuchinas. Today the palace is the result of a multitude of reforms that its residents carried out over three centuries and is shown to us as a living testimony of the history of the city of Alicante. In the 19th century part of the building was managed by the Maisonnave-O'Connor family. At the end of the 19th century it was the headquarters of the Philharmonic Society, of the Federal Republican Party, and here was the writing of its newspaper La Federación. At the beginning of the twentieth century the building accommodated the Provincial Mercantile Montepio of Alicante, whose presence is due to the exquisite decoration of the interiors of the Noble Hall where this association organized a multitude of parties, charities, and conferences. Under the direction of this organization, during the first half of the 20th century the most important reforms were carried out in this house with the transformation of the interior spaces and the addition of the top floor. The current renovation has allowed the building to be recovered in all its splendor and three of its rooms have been museumized, one on the ground floor that houses an Interpretation Center of the building itself, another on a mezzanine floor with the Spanish Guitar Collection Romanillos-Harris, and, finally, in the other mezzanine, the exhibition "Monumental Alicante of Vila Nova a la Vila Vella" that runs through our Casco Antiguo, through seven historical buildings. The noble floor itself has a huge interest. Regardless of the self-interest of the building's visit, the noble room and the third floor hall, as well as the roof, can host cyclical activities and extraordinary activities of relevance in the field of culture, outreach and social relations .
According to tradition, this sanctuary was built on the old Gothic parish of Saint Julian when a picture of the Virgin was discovered after the city had been reconquered. The old hermitage, or church was not built before the XV century and it is thought that it was in the place of the current crossing and the Hallazgo chapel or the 'Capilla del Hallazgo'. In 1747 the old temple was demolished and the present one built between 1750 and 1776 by Bernardo Rippa, with important refurbishment work being carried out throughout the XX century. It is a baroque temple, with a Latin cross floor and neoclassic façade, with an anagram of our Lady of Monserate (Ntra. Sra. de Monserrate). Orihuela turistica Inside the Hallazgo chapel is the cave where it is said that the Virgin Mary appeared and above this, the old niche which is dedicated to the Christ of the Good Death (Cristo de la Buena Muerte). The niche of the Virgin of Monserrate, patron saint of the city is in the main altar.
El Cau is Mariano Ros's great little artistic project. A unique and wonderful outdoor place in the El Tabaià mountain range. This open-air museum is sculpted on the walls of an old quarry in Ferriol, one of the districts of Elche. From here the stone that was used to rebuild the church of Santa María was taken. Mariano Ros, retired shoemaker and mountain fan, spent years building and sculpting in stone a multitude of figures representing the life of the people of Elche. For eight years, from 2000 to 2008 (when he was forbidden to continue with his work because he was in the public forest), he dedicated himself to creating this emblematic, with the help of his friends Cándido, Vicente and Pere. Among all they made are numerous figures, among which the representations of the most emblematic monuments and icons of Elche stand out. Among all the figures carved in the rock we can find works that represent the Swamp (which was the other place we visited that same morning), the Palm Grove, the Lady of Elche, the Misteri, the Church of Santa María ... And much more. In this curious sculptural group we will also find other original works with which he wanted to pay homage to his family, to the women, to characters loved by the neighbors ... Some sculpted animals and, also some interesting construction, such as the Pyramid, the Tower of Ros or the Cau (a small room carved out of the stone. Hence its name. Cau means burrow). Without a doubt, it is one of those beautiful places to take photos in Elche that we must know. Next to a large stone table we find the refuge. Another room excavated in the rock, a little larger, that houses a table, several chairs and what seems to be some materials for the maintenance of the place. On the table there is a notebook that they have left so that visitors can leave their opinions. In addition to all his artistic work, various species of trees, shrubs and aromatic plants have been planted in El Cau. All native and typical of this arid terrain and the Mediterranean climate. The land on which this open-air museum in Elche is located is dry, arid and with very little water. El Cau is about 15 minutes by car from Elche. The path that takes us to the point where we can park the car is asphalt. So getting here is good and easy. It has no loss. Here we will see a sign carved in stone that indicates the direction we have to follow to get to the Cau. In Google Maps you can find the point where you can leave the car. From here, there will only be about 600 meters to reach El Cau. The path that leads from the place where we left the car to El Cau is quite short and easy to do, although it runs through a fairly stony area, so there is a lot of loose stone and it is also on a slope. Going up can cost us a little if we do it in the hottest hours. Keep in mind that it is a very arid area, so you should always carry a lot of water, do not forget your hat, sunglasses and good shoes. The route is very easy to follow since there are several signs drawn or sculpted in the rock, just walk and enjoy. It is worth climbing to the highest parts. Both from "El balcó d’Elx" and from the "Torre de Ros", the views are truly impressive.
Situated in the old church square, it was a project for an academistic temple approximately in the middle of the XIX Century. Feature writers say that “when a good part of the building had been done, the vault collapsed, leaving the entire building in ruins”. After having come to terms with the disaster, the works continued, only with the same misfortune to happen again a few years later. At the end of the XIX Century, an earthquake turned the new church into what was known in the town as the “broken church” (Bonmatí, 1981). Between 1935 and 1938 the current wholesale food market was constructed in its place. The grounds house several different businesses which offer fresh homemade products.
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