This new museum in Villena opened its doors on Wednesday, May 18, 2022, coinciding with International Museum Day. The exhibition, titled The Treasure of Villena. Over 3,000 Years of History, will be free to the public until June 19.
The mayor of Villena, Fulgencio Cerdán, celebrated the opening as a major milestone after years of work by many people across different legislatures to bring this project to life.
According to Cerdán, the exhibition offers a glimpse of the future for the Villena Museum and highlights the treasure as the citys defining value and central attraction for culture and tourism.
The mayor indicated that the museum project, expected to be completed within the next year, is being planned to enable two rooms to be used for the complete collection spanning from Prehistory to the present day, including pieces from Villena in the 20th century. He noted that the museum already hosts exhibitions and events in various spaces and described the plan to expand as a real step forward.
He also explained that the judicial process involving the company responsible for the project and the delays it caused continues to unfold until a final court decision is reached.
copies
MUVI is already presenting the temporary Villena Treasure exhibition, a landmark Bronze Age discovery made in 1963. The director of the Villena Museum, Laura Hernandez, explained that this exhibit mirrors a piece originally created by the National Archaeological Museum in 1981 and has traveled to exhibitions across Europe and Spain.
Hernandez emphasized that Villena’s museum is now open and staffed, working with enthusiasm to complete the first phase on the building’s ground floor in the near term.
Elena Benitez, the Culture Councillor, highlighted the free entry for the coming weeks until June 19 and announced events planned for today, including a violin and viola concert at the Museo Escultor Navarro Santafé. The program also features free-entry days and a series of activities during local celebrations.
Members of the Tourism Council pointed to strong demand for the new facilities, with festival and open-house events integrated into the program.
find and hint
In October 1963, Villena bricklayer Francis Garcia found an unusual piece among earth dug from the ground near the Sierra del Morron. At first it was not clear what it was. The piece seemed to resemble a bracelet as it was uncovered amid the material stored for a study near Ferriz Street. The foreman identified it as a potential artifact and left it exposed while awaiting confirmation, unsure of what lay before him.
Fortunately, local jeweler Carlos Miguel Esquembre, working with the eye of José María Soler, director of the Municipal Archaeological Museum, helped confirm the significance of the find. A few days later, excavations on the boulevard began, leading to the discovery on December 1 of what would become one of Europe’s most important Bronze Age finds: a group of 59 pieces made of gold, silver, iron, and amber, weighing about 10 kilograms.