Murcia Exposed

The town is declared a Conjunto Histórico Artí­stico (The legal declaration of protection of the cultural riches and it is regulated by the Spanish Ministry of Culture).It sits in the river Mula basin, nestling between the mountains of Espuña, Ricote and Cambrón. The landscape is rich in contrasts, from the fertile irrigated lands and the stark stony outcrops without vegetation.The presence of man here, more than 40,000 years ago, has its origins in the Cueva de Antón, with fine remains from the Middle Palaeolithic (or Mousterian) period. Here they found a living area at the entrance passage of the cave, but today it is submerged by the waters of a reservoir. Followed in importance are the cave deposits of the Cueva del Buhó, dated from the Late Palaeolithic period (Magdalenian). Mula has abundant Neolithic remains, characterized by the appearance of agriculture and the invention of the pottery. The abrigo de El Milano is a typical Neolithic site with rock paintings of hunting scenes. Cardium Pottery is a Neolithic decorative style that gets its name from the imprinting of the clay with the shell of a marine mollusk. These forms of pottery are in turn used to define the Neolithic culture which produced and spread them, mostly commonly called the"Cardial Culture". Examples were found in the Hondo del Cajitán.The Argáric period covered the whole southeast peninsular, and in Mula specifically the Cabezo de la Plata, Castillo de Alcalá (La Puebla de Mula), Cabezo Inés, la Almoloya and el Cabecico de los Tesoros. The Iberian culture is set between the 5^th and 2^nd centuries BC, with the significant site of El Cigarralejo, where hundreds of artefacts including a magnificent ceramic collection and Iberian armaments, were discovered. The more significant pieces are exhibited in the Museo Monográfico del Cigarralejo in the town. The Roman General, Escipión completed the total conquest of the Iberian peninsula with the capture of Cartago Nova (Cartagena) in 209 BC, and was under the control of Rome, hence the term Romanization. The village of Villaricos dates from the 1^st century and was occupied until the 5^th century, and has an oil press and some thermal baths preserved in perfect state. The civil architecture is one of the most important legacies that they endowed, especially the canal network that supplies water to the Roman thermal springs of Fuente Caputa.The Visigoths followed the Romans and ruled this part of Spain until the middle of the 8^th century, famously in this area by Teodomiro, who in 713 surrendered to the Islamic invaders in exchange for maintaining their goods, customs and religion. By the thirteenth century all that remained was the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada, to be conquered in 1492, bringing the entire peninsula under Christian leadership.In 1243, the Moorish King of Murcia signed the surrender of Alcaráz and the region was absorbed by the protectorate of Castille, but Mula, Lorca and Cartagena refused to accept. These noblemen brought new surnames to the area like: Saavedra, Luna, Párraga, Melgarejo, Llamas, Camacho, Campos, Valcárcel, Blaya, Molina, Guillén, Aparicio, Cueto, Portillo, Coy, Pelayo, Hita and Carreíño, some of which have become very important families in the whole region.The Moorish community was deprived of their lands, the majority expelled and contained in the village of La Puebla de Mula. Fernando III granted Mula the Fuero of Córdoba in 1245 (village charter), which implied that they were free to have their own town council, stamp and sign. Alfonso X enlarged the jurisdiction of Mula, placing under their control Bullas, Pliego and Campos, where the presence of the mudéjares was in a majority. With the mudéjar rebellion (1264-1266) everything changed, limiting their rights, including Mula, together with Molina and the Ricote Valley to the jurisdiction of Murcia, a decision that was never completed due to the civil war between the heirs of Alfonso X for the succession to the Castilian throne. In 1296, Jaime II invaded the Kingdom of Murcia taking advantage of the minor Fernando IV and the general dissatisfaction. Mula surrendered peacefully, but in 1298 rebelled expelling the Aragonese garrison.The Middle Ages saw continuous conflicts. In 1430, Juan II granted the dominion of Mula to Alonso Yáñez Fajardo, for his services against the king of Aragón. That put Mula as part of the lands of the Marquesado of the Vélez.When the Reconquest was final with the taking of Granada in 1492, the expulsion of the Peninsula of all was decreed to those who had not converted to Christianity. About a hundred families moved to Mula at this time. The 17^th century, like almost all Europe, was economically catastrophic, the epidemics and the hunger. The 1648 plague brought about the death to more than half of the population.The politics of the 16^th - 18^th centuries was notable for the confrontation between the oligarchy and the successive marquises of the Vélez. The problems began when Pedro Fajardo, first marquis of the Vélez, began to name his followers to positions on the town council. The edict of the Fuero of Córdoba (permitting the village to name their own council), ensured that the locals rebelled against the marquis. They revolted, denouncing the situation to King Carlos I. The conflict reached its climax when in 1805 the Marqués de Torre del Barco was murdered. The only positive outcome of the conflict was the building of the castle in 1524. Poverty reigned until the beginning of the 19^th century, as the lack of hygiene, bad harvests, the war and two big epidemics (yellow fever and cholera) many of the local population perished. In addition about 300 volunteers left for the War of Independence, of which few returned. In October of 1812 the French invaded Mula and plundered it.However there were changes and improvements, especially in the communications with the construction of the highway of Murcia to Caravaca and in agriculture with the introduction of the cultivation of the citric fruits in detriment to the olive, the vine and the mulberry tree. The first telegraphic station appeared in 1888, in 1860 there was petroleum and towards the end of the century electric lighting.

Mula Tourist Office

Casa-Horno. Casa del Artesano, Calle Páez, 12

30170 Mula. Telephone 968 661 501.

Antonia Zapata

Antonia’s parents worked and lived in Southeast France, specifically Languedoc-Roussillon, and she was born there in 1977, and lived there until the age of eleven. During that period they did a lot of travelling in the country like Tautavel, Coullure, Versailles and Poitiers. Subsequently Antonia has seen more of Spain (Barcelona, Tarragona, Roses, Sabadell etc), and further afield in Italy, Poland, Turkey and Tunisia.  

Originally from Mula the family moved back to Spain.  

Since being a child she has travelled with her parents and that is probably the main reason why Antonia chose tourism as a career, in addition to having a passion for customer care. Previously she has worked in travel agencies and hotels. 

With that background she is fluent in English and French.

In her spare time she has close friendships, and interests in art, museums, cinema and nature. 

Quite frankly she loves Impressionism (Monet, Gaugin, Van Gogh) and has visited the Louvre and Orsay museums in Paris in 2009, and previously the British museum and the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.

Appreciating her surroundings, Antonia takes advantage of the countryside around Mula and the Sierra Espuña.