Wherever you travel in the province of Alicante you will see fortifications of some sort. Some are just the ruins of an old fort, others are restored towers, but many are fully fledged castles just waiting for you to explore them. I have written about the castles in the vicinity of Guardamar before, and now I would like to invite you to the town to see a new exhibition all about the history of the region’s many Guardians of Stone.
Located in Guardamar’s Casa de Cultura (c/Colon, 60) is the excellent Museo Arqueológico de Guardamar, or MAG for short. Throughout the summer of 2016 you can visit from 1100-1430 and 1800-2130, learning all about the castles which litter the hillsides from North to South, East to West. This temporary exhibition, in conjunction with the Museo Arqueológico de Alicante (MARQ) is free to enter which is a boon for newly budget conscious Brits!
Inside you will be surprised to see just how many of these fortifications exist. They seem almost innumerable. As you walk in, a video scrolls through old pictures of many of them. The information offers enough not to overwhelm you, and it is available in English as well as Spanish and Valencian. A second, narrated video, Almiserat, tells you all about the war torn region of centuries ago and its protective castles. It’s an old one and the speakers didn’t work very well, which was a shame. It was also played only in Spanish, but here it is on Youtube in English!! Watching this, you begin to understand why the region has so many Moors and Christians festivals.
There is a modicum of interactivity in the exhibition, so make sure you have a QR-Code reader on your phone. Visually impaired visitors are catered for too, thanks to ONCE, the Spanish charity dedicated to this cause.
All in all, this was a great free exhibit and you should allow an hour or so to really do it justice. Then you are free to continue your exploration of Guardamar del Segura, a charming and historical town.
