The mayor of Alicante, Luis Barcala, accompanied by the Cultural Councillor, Antonio Manresa, inaugurated a new exhibition this Thursday. Gosalbes de Cunedo, a humanist from Alicante who played a key role in the medieval European expansion, is the central figure. The show is open in the Taberna room of Castillo de Santa Bárbara until February 28 and forms part of the 800th anniversary celebrations of King Alfonso X El Sabio.
Curated and produced by the municipal department of integral heritage, the exhibit comprises 13 panels with photographs and texts translated by Antoni Biosca, a Latin philology professor at the University of Alicante, and originally authored by Gosalbes de Cunedo. In addition, the display is enriched with original books and manuscripts from the 16th century donated by the exhibition curator, along with audiovisual materials and a model of the San Mateo ship. This model illustrates the journeys and battles attributed to Gosalbes during the era of King Alfonso II and the era known as the Invincible Navy under King Felipe II.
Barcala highlighted the philological work of Biosca, noting that through careful research and translation, he sheds light on Cunedo’s personal and cultural life and helps bring Josep Gosalbes de Cunedo back into public awareness.
Alicante commemorates the importance of the reign of Alfonso X El Sabio
This exhibition is part of a year‑long program coordinated by the Ministry of Culture in cooperation with the Municipal Archive. Across the country, 57 municipalities in 23 provinces participated in the commemoration of the monarch, highlighting the places that Alfonso X visited and the enduring cultural, political, and social legacies he left behind.
Instrument exhibition at Espacio Seneca
The Seneca Space in Alicante also hosts the Instruments of the Wise King exhibition, organized by the Foundation of Historical Musical Instruments, with Sara Medina and Emilio Villalba. Set against the backdrop of the 800th anniversary festivities, the exhibit showcases about twenty medieval instruments used in royal courts, including the viola, guitar, psalteries, and harp, during Alfonso X’s reign. Reproductions of fragments from the Libro de las Cantigas de Santa Maria are also on display.
Historical reenactment
Over the weekend a major historical reenactment will unfold at Castillo de Santa Bárbara in a multi‑period setting. The event features camps, military actions, and explosions, recounting the sequence of phases from the 13th to the 19th century. Three days of programming, December 3, 4 and 5, are free and open to the public, with three main thematic areas: the Muslim era and the Reconquista, the era of Felipe II and the Barbary conflicts, and the Wars of Succession and Independence.
Visitors will experience a vivid tableau of the past through living history scenes, period costumes, dialogue, and demonstrations that bring the long arc of regional and national history to life in an immersive way.