Up to two future museums launch their works this summer to join the set of cultural dissemination centers that the city already has. On the one hand, the Museum of the Virgen de la Montaña, which will exhibit the heritage donated by a thousand hands and guarded over the centuries, in a space expressly enabled for this purpose in the sanctuary. On the other, the museum that will occupy the old Madruelowhich will host 2,000 instruments and 14,000 ceramic pieces from the La Fontana collection. But also, Helga Alvear has its latest enlargement underway, and the Caceres Museum finally unlocks its great pending reform.
Crowns, mantles, jewels, offerings and distinctions form the so-called Treasure of the Virgin of the Mountain. They are objects of unquestionable symbolic value, gifted since 1626 by the brotherhood, by different institutions and organizations and, in the vast majority of cases, by devotees. A good part of this heritage will be able to be contemplated from now on by citizens and tourists who go up to the sanctuary, since the board of directors of the Royal Brotherhood of the Virgin of the Mountain has just started work on one of its most desired projects: the museum.
“We had the idea in mind for a long time. When the store was removed and we moved it to the gallery, we saw that there was a precious space that we might take advantage of for people to discover the meaning of the different objects of the patron saint, which are normally kept or can only be seen from a distance. Hence the project of a museum”, explains the butler, Juan Carlos Fernandez Rincon.
The masons began work on July 6. They consist of removing the wall that divides the old store and the warehouse to create an open room of regarding 100 square meterswhere the showcases with mantles, jewels and other gifts will be installed, as well as photographs that represent the history of the brotherhood and of the Virgin herself.
In the small room where the hermits stayed, an audiovisual space will also be set up where a document will be continuously projected “on the meaning of the patron saint for the people of Cáceres and her relationship with the city, through the processions of descent and other important acts”, he details. Corner.
The first phase will consist of conditioning the floor, partitions and walls, even recovering some arches. The second will allow the introduction of exhibitors, lighting and final auctions. The butler calculates that by September, “or at the latest October”, the new museum might be open with a symbolic entry, especially intended for maintenance (energy expenditure). The brotherhood cannot yet accurately calculate the final cost of the project, but it affirms that the company responsible for its execution has notably helped to lower the budget. What is decided is the name of the museum: Pilar Murilloin honor of the renowned waitress who died last April.
heritage review
The vast majority of the pieces to be exhibited have been donated to the patron saint in thanksgiving for the favors received. Others have been given to him for special events or anniversaries. Its more than 165 cloaks stand out, all of them pieces of great beautyespecially authentic jewels such as the white satin mantle, lace and gold and silver threads, donated by Queen Elizabeth II; the one offered by the city of Cáceres on the occasion of the Silver Anniversary of its Coronation, of silver tissue embroidered with fine gold in high relief; or those made with Manila shawls, wedding dresses, queen outfits or bullfighter capes. The different designs will alternate in the exhibition.
Alternatively, the two ‘daily’ crowns of the Virgin (the third only wears it in the novena and is guarded in a bank). One of them, of the emperor type, was made in silver between 1651 and 1653 by Juan Varela (Valladolid). It cost 294 reais and later a star was added to the ends of each ray and 48 different stones (sapphires, rubies, emeralds and aquamarines).
But the patron saint preserves other very interesting treasures, such as gold pins with old-cut diamonds, filigree brooches with seed pearls, medallions, medals, crosses, necklaces, chains, bracelets, pendants, rosaries, earrings, pins, centennial coins and various commemorative jewels donated by institutions and groups for centuries.
Universal bet in Madruelo
As for the museum projected in Madruelo, it will propose a journey through the history of music on a global level: a trumpet from the Ivory Coast, a Maori flute, a Siberian drum, a Sumatran lute… In all, over 2,000 instruments from virtually every continent on the planet in an itinerary that ranges from the best-known relics of Africa to unusual and genuine curiosities of Asia or Oceania, and in a few months it will be possible to do it from Cáceres.
The collection, one of the largest and most prestigious in the country, belongs to the La Fontana Foundation, a private entity that houses the collection of Helena Rusiñol-Folch Corachánthe daughter of Albert Rusiñol-Folchbusinessman belonging to the wealthy Catalan family saga of the paintings Titán and Margarita Corachán.
It was his father who began to collect both instruments and ceramics, always accompanied by his adviser Eudald Serra. Upon his death in 1988, his daughters Stella and Helena inherited the entire collection, the first of the pieces from world cultures and the second of the ceramic repertoire, the largest. For her part, Stella signed an agreement for its pieces were managed and exhibited by the Ethnological Museum of World Cultures. In fact, many are exhibited at the Montcada street headquarters and another in the Montjuic stores.
In the case of the ceramic repertoire, Helena and Alejandro made the decision in 1992 to create your own foundation and a year later, in 1993, they assigned him a building on the La Fontana estate designed by the architect Joseph Gorges. In total, they had 12,000 pieces, including Spanish ceramics and specimens of instruments. At the time, the newspaper library collects, they asked experts in art and heritage to catalog the works and in 2008 they began to make publications with the collection data.
It was not until June 2021 when the intention of the foundation to establish its headquarters in Cáceres has been revealed. The announcement was made public before the summer in the midst of a debate regarding the future of the Madruelo building, an emblem in the city’s history since it housed a public school for decades. Now, following years without use due to its deterioration and without the possibility of recovering the property without demolishing it, the Junta de Extremadura advanced the project so that the plot serves as the headquarters of a new building and integrates the suburb of Cáceres in the route of museums in the city. This announcement was made just three months following the new Helga de Alvear was inaugurated.
Since then, steps have been taken to advance the project. Among them, following the summer the regional administration gave the green light to the transfer of the land and a month later the demolition was put out to tender. As detailed in recent months and published in this newspaper, this work will be divided into two phases. The first has already been awarded and will cost 300,000 euros. It is a Murcian company, Eneas Comprehensive Serviceswhich is responsible for the demolition following winning a tender to which four other bids were submitted.
Although the award was made months ago and the forecast was to start before the summer, the Junta de Extremadura specified that the work would not start until August. So it has been. This delay is due, explains the Ministry of Culture, to the fact that before starting the demolition, an authorization had to be granted for the removal of asbestos from the roof. When this first phase is completed, the second will be tendered, exclusively related to construction. In total, it will cost six million and will be ready before 2026 arrives.
The last phase of Helga de Alvear is underway
The works that will allow the construction of the office area and new warehouses of the Helga de Alvear Museumand venue at the world forefront of contemporary art that in this way it will be able to guard in Cáceres all the works of the German gallery ownerthus completing the transfer of her collection (many of the 3,000 pieces are still in facilities in Madrid), and thus fulfilling Helga’s wish.
This is phase 3 of the museum that also bears the architect’s signature Emilio Tunon, author together with Luis Mansilla of the reform of the Casa Grande that gave rise to this space. The public exhibition area, which houses some 200 pieces, has managed to exceed 100,000 visitors from various countries in its first year of opening.
The reform of the Museum of Cáceres, in the absence of a tender
Twenty-seven years following deciding, the reform of the Museum of Cáceres finally has a budget. The announcement of the financing of the work was made in May by the Ministry of Culture: 8 million from the Tourism Sector Modernization and Competitiveness Plan will allow the museum’s two precincts (Casa de las Veletas and Casa de los Caballos, both from the 16th century) to be saved from their obsolete image, since they are not accessible and do not even have air conditioning according to the delicacy of the works, not to mention the humidity and the lack of a correct evacuation system.
Three decades later, everything is ready to put the work out to tender, the only step that remains pending, once it has the approval, permits and licenses of the different administrations. In fact, on July 26, the ministry already gave the green light to the transfer of the 8 million euros.