The Archaeological Museum of Alicante is much more than its imposing building in the Plaza Dr. Gómez Ulla. The MARQ extends far beyond the city of Alicante. The MARQ Foundation also manages the visits to two very valuable sites owned by the Provincial Council of Alicante, the Tossal de Manises, and the Tossal de Manises, which is the most important archaeological site in the province. Lucentumin La Albufereta, and the Illeta dels Banyets, in El Campello. In addition to two monuments declared Sites of Cultural Interest, the Almohad Tower of Almudaina and the Cava Gran in Agres, which are joined by a Collaboration Agreement with the Neolithic Sanctuary of Plà de Petracos and the Interpretation Centre of Cave Art in Castell de Castells.
We propose a route through the length and breadth of the MARQ to enjoy on warm summer days. A route for the whole family, for those who enjoy being in contact with nature, but above all for lovers of archaeology, history and Alicante.
The Tossal de Manises is one of the most important archaeological sites in the Valencian Community and is only 3.5 kilometres from the city centre. Lucentumis the monumental Roman Alicante, one of the few well-known and extraordinarily well-preserved cities of this period, built on the ruins of an ancient Punic city erected at the time when Rome and Carthage were fighting for control of the western Mediterranean for the second time. Your visit is an exceptional opportunity to learn about urban development in antiquity as you walk through the streets of the city, visit the forum or the public baths, its houses and shops.
La Illeta dels Banyets El Campello, a unique enclave on the Mediterranean coast, was also in ancient times, due to its strategic position, a meeting point for cultures and a faithful ancestor of the people who live here today. A place overlooking the sea, ideal for the surveillance of maritime traffic and the control of trade routes and marine resources that attracted settlers from numerous cultures, from the Neolithic to the Roman period. The latest excavations at the site have made it possible to extend the visitable itinerary and it has been consolidated as a space for cultural revitalisation, in a privileged natural and tourist environment.
The Almohad TowerAlmudaina, in Almudaina, is located in the interior of the province of Alicante, in the mountainous region of Comtat. A small farming village whose history is linked to the Almohad Islamic tower erected, at an undetermined time in the first half of the 13th century, to defend a small farmhouse on the eve of the Christian conquest of the territory on which it stands. A "site museum" to introduce the visitor to the knowledge and enjoyment of its architecture and landscape.
The Cava Gran of Agres is located in the Sierra Mariola Natural Park; the cava is a monumental emblem of this unique landscape and contributes to the knowledge of the history of the ice industry. The snow deposits scattered throughout the Alicante mountains to supply the population belonged, for the most part, to the Valencian nobility. Built in the second half of the 18th century, during the first third of the 20th century, with the revolution in the ice industry brought about by the artificial production of cold, the snow deposits fell into disuse and were gradually abandoned. The work on the snow pit and its surroundings has made it possible, since 2016, to make this new cultural facility available to society and, in addition, it offers the possibility of descending to the bottom of the snow pit, with the enjoyment of the surrounding landscape. Access is free, in accordance with the Park's rules of use.
The Sanctuary of Pla de PetracosThe Cave Art Site, in Castell de Castells, contains one of the main sites with Cave Art in the Valencian Community. Easily accessible, its visit allows you to enjoy a natural environment and at the same time to get close to artistic works from the beginning of the Neolithic period. Discovered in 1980, in 1998 it benefited from the maximum legal protection conferred on it by the declaration of an Asset of Cultural Interest and World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1998, as it forms part of the group of rock art of the Mediterranean arc. The current temporary exhibition at MARQ, Rupestre. The First Sanctuaries, pays tribute to four decades of Alicante research on the art of our first settlers and can be visited until 5 January 2019.
More information and opening hours at www.marqalicante.com
