Stephen Rogers

development of the Murcian landscape since the remotest periods of prehistory. The conquest of the region by Rome initiated a period of uninterrupted growth all along the Murcian coast which was to go on for more than 600 years. During this period communications in the area were developed, mining came to be of great importance and the foundations of its future agricultural prosperity were laid.After a prolonged spell of political instability, a consequence of the disintegration of the Roman Empire, a long period of Arab domination began in 713 AD when Abdelaziz defeated Theudemir's Hispano-Visigoth army in Cartagena. The year 825 AD constituted a further historical landmark, when the city of Murcia was officially founded by Abderraman II. These events marked the onset of Murcia's economic prosperity since the Arabs initiated the large-scale exploitation of the Segura river valley, creating a whole complex irrigation system, composed of canals, dams and water-wheels, the forerunner of today's irrigation network, which made it possible to reap the maximum benefit from the vast expanse of fertile land surrounding the city. The creation of the Taifa kingdoms at the beginning of the eleventh century was the swansong of a territory which would shortly fall - in 1243 - under the vassalage of Castile, and the remains of Andalusia were finally incorporated into this kingdom with the signing of the Granada Peace Treaty in 1492.The arrival of the XVIII century hailed a new period of growth where urban splendour - contemporary with the artistic development of the famed Murcian baroque - was accompanied by the completion of the Cathedral in Murcia and the construcción of the Arsenal in Cartagena, evident signs of the civil and military prosperity. There followed a long period of decline and we must wait until the end of the decade of the 20's before the region definitively boards the train of progress - with the inevitable parenthesis of the Civil War - giving birth to an industry dedicated to the transformation of agricultural products in sectors such as food-processing, leading to the modernisation of all its agricultural structures.

The cathedral is the principal building. It was built over the Aljama mosque constructed when Murcia was under Mohammedan rule. It was begun in 1394 and dedicated in 1465. Its principal facade was constructed by Jaime Bort from 1737 to 1754. It is a splendid and sumptuous example of Baroque architecture which resembles an allegorical retable in which the sculpture plays the most important part. The Gothic Apostles Door dates from the 15th century and the Gothic chapel inside the cathedral has been declared a national monument, together with the Plateresque Junterones chapel. The 95 meter tower exhibits the three periods of its construction: Renaissance, Herrerian and Baroque, and finally the Neoclassic belfry, the work of Ventura Rodriguez. In the main altar chapel there is the urn which holds the heart of Alfonso X which the Wise King willed to his town.

Other buildings of interest in Murcia are the Bishop's Palace, 18th century, the Church de la Merced, with its beautiful Baroque portal, and the university next to it, and the Church of Jesus, today a Museum where the works of Salzillo, a great Murcian artist, are kept.

• History • Culture • Festivals •

TOP