Museo de la fiesta

Museums

Not being in Elche in August or in late October and early November in even years, is no reason not to experience the intensity of the Mystery Play. La Festa Municipal Museum came into being in 1997 with the idea of capturing in space and time part of the magic surrounding the Mystery Play, or Festa d’Elx, and so that those visiting the city outside the period of performances, and who could not witness it live in the Basilica of Santa María, could still find out all about it. There are two chambers. In the first one, known as Casa de la Festa, seat of the Mystery Play governing body and rehearsal site for its singers, displays relating to the staging are on show, such as old posters, instruments, singers costumes and a model of the Basilica. Special Effects But the real attraction of museum is in the second chamber, which is situated in the nave of the Hermitage of San Sebastian. It is the last vestige of the Catalan Gothic architecture of the 15th century still preserved in the city, and it served as a rehearsal place for the local Capella until the opening of the Casa de la Festa in 1988. Inside this chamber, with the aid of new technologies, the history and emotions that surround this extraordinary performance may be relived. There is a half-hour audiovisual show, conducted by one of the characters of the Mystery Play, the apostle San Jaime (Santiago), accompanied by special effects which are impressive. Books and Souvenirs The museum has a small shop where souvenirs relating to the iconography of the Mystery Play and of the Virgin of the Assumption may be purchased. Also on sale are books, CDs and DVDs of La Festa. The upper floor is used as an archive and research centre. Next to the museum, in the Casa de la Festa, which still retains part of the facade of the former Charity hospital from the XVI and XVII centuries, the tickets for the General rehearsals carried out on 11th, 12th and 13th August, and in even years, on 29th and 30th October, may be purchased.