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The House of Bethlehem will host permanent and temporary exhibitions and organize workshops and activities to become an engine to promote tourism and birthplace of this artistic tradition that Murcia is reference.

The craft and belenística tradition, which is a national reference Murcia, has today its new promotion and dissemination in the old Clock Tower Bacons Bridge, parish considered cradle of Bethlehem.

The president of the Community, Ramón Luis Valcárcel, inaugurated this morning by the Mayor of Murcia, Miguel Ángel Cámara, the House of Bethlehem, which occupies the old clock tower, restored in a joint action undertaken by both administrations.

There have also been cited in the act councilors Culture, Rafael Gomez, Institutional Relations, Joaquín Moya-Angeler, Social Welfare and Health, María del Carmen Pelegrin, Security and Human Resources, Nuria Fuentes, and Planning and Housing Juan Antonio Bernabé than the chairman of the Municipal Board of Bacons Bridge, Enrique Cano.

Murcia and has the first museum center in the region devoted entirely to the craft tradition and created with the aim of becoming the reference point for all Murcia belenistas.

For this, the museum will house a permanent exhibition with creations of 16 artisans who are included in the registry.

Temporary exhibitions, workshops and various cultural events will complement the museum, which is open-minded to function in a dynamic and open way, to be responding to the demands of artisans and visitors.

Strong tradition

The visit to the restored Clock Tower will also highlight "creative and artistic ability of Murcia" and learn more about "a deeply rooted tradition in Murcia society in which the clay is transformed into figures that become sculptures" , said the mayor, who also noted that opening "joins a consolidated municipality offer to attract visitors."

The new cultural and tourism infrastructure has an area of ​​about 635 m2 built on a plot of 1,175 square meters.

Rehabilitation carried honored its spatial configuration and basic structures, as well as the most significant elements of the ornamental facades: the coat of arms carved in stone, with the arms of the Ayllon and crowned by the cross of Calatrava, and the sundial.

The main entrance leads to a double-height lobby, where the tour starts in the showrooms situated on the ground floor-standing sample-and upper-where temporary exhibitions currently organized "The Nativity of Africa" ​​- .

Then the projection room will offer a documentary about the craft and tradition of the crib.

The tour continues through the expansion area of ​​the building, which houses an airy showroom, visually open to the rear garden through a large window.

In the courtyard was created an exhibition area outdoors, equipped with a sliding canvas tent ensuring garden use in rain or hot sun.

This is a solar canopy, equipped with a card installed to generate photovoltaic energy that could be used to supply the museum itself or at least its facade.

Also on the first floor of the old building is located, in addition to the temporary exhibition area, auditorium or conference room.

History and Craft

Retrieve the architectural and historical heritage and at the same time, push the craft roots that have always been hallmarks of Bacons Bridge were the two main objectives pursued with the rehabilitation of the Clock Tower and its conversion into the house of Bethlehem.

The restoration has been carried out under an agreement of collaboration between the city of Murcia, owner of the building, and the Regional Government.

The Clock Tower or Tower of Ayllon, located in Tower Lane, is the oldest building Bacons Bridge.

Folk baroque style, was built in the mid eighteenth century family home of a noble family.

In addition to recovering the architectural heritage, its recovery will boost handicraft nativity as sociocultural component Bacons Bridge and maintaining the identity of the hamlet, the first craftsman Antonio Galán Rex, he moved to the workshop of "Uncle Italiano "in 1930.

Since then, the tradition has been strengthened so that now known to Bacons Bridge as the "cradle of Bethlehem."

Source: Ayuntamiento de Murcia