Description
The Municipal Museum of Alcalá la Real is located in the old Abacial Palace. This was reconstructed in 1781 by the abbot Esteban Lorenzo de Mendoza and Gatica, due to the ruinous state in which the primitive palace was located within the Mota.
The new building was the result of the aggregation of several houses, in which the body of the façade was transformed and unified. This mansion remained in use until 1851, when the Abbey of Alcalá la Real is abolished. After years of uncertain destination, he became an abacial archive and residence of Mr. Arcitara of the Ecclesiastical Territory.
In 1927 the building became municipal property; school classrooms and other services were installed. The Civil War caused major damage to the building that was restored by the Directorate General of Devastated Regions to give it new uses. In 1959 it was the seat of the Official Center for the Patronate of Secondary Education, which would then be the Institute of Baccalaureate "Alfonso XI." In 1995 the City Council and the Public Works Council of the Junta de Andalucía began their rehabilitation for uses more in line with the cultural demand of the city.
At present, after four years of rehabilitation, the Abacial Palace is the seat of the Municipal Museum. This new museum has been created with the intention of hosting for its exhibition, conservation and dissemination, funds of archaeological, ethnic, anthropological, paleontological and scientific type. All this heritage is organized in different exhibition spaces using new technologies. The visit to the museum makes it possible to know in an innovative way the heritage and vestiges of the past and the history of Alcalá la Real and offers the visitor a global vision to know the unique and attractive features of the city and its surroundings.
