| By Manolo Moreno, María Martínez and Paco Guerao | The patrimony of a society is the legacy of the ancestors.
In Totana our past is one of great historical and cultural wealth, whose material testimonies are scattered or stored without anyone being able to enjoy them.
This was confirmed recently in an interview by the cultural manager Mr.
Gregorio Romero when he mentioned the pieces stored from La Bastida, along with others from other archaeological sites in Totana, in the deposits of the Heritage Service of the Region of Murcia.
Consequently, to value the heritage of our people, it is first necessary to know and disseminate it, since Cultural Heritage is a source of educational and economic wealth for our society, by redounding to the benefit of the industrial and commercial sectors around what is consider “cultural tourism”.And that wealth, well managed, benefits everyone, locals and foreigners, and we have to know how to invest, consolidate and disseminate it.
The great archaeological wealth of Totana allows an effort and support on the part of its society.
The most important cultures of our past have settled in its territory: Argárica, Iberica, Romana, Árabe, Castellana ...
And of all of them we have examples and archaeological remains that prove it and that we believe should be properly exhibited and disseminated.Being essential, not only the museum concentration of the Totanero archaeological heritage would be the object of attention, but also and together with it, its rich ethnographic heritage, which make up the traces of the identity of our people, their ways of life and expressions of a popular culture of recent past.
Together the archaeological and ethnographic heritage of Totana could be exhibited in an Archaeological-Ethnographic Museum for our people, duly managed, preserved and disclosed.
All Totana residents can participate in it, and all those people attracted by the past that is displayed in a museum, where the present dialogues with the past, duly explained to be understood.According to the criteria of the undersigned, the most appropriate thing would be to create an exhibition and museum space, capable of housing all the existing pieces of our historical past, testimony of all the cultures that have preceded us in our territory and also adapt different rooms for the ethnography funds.
Moreover, the people of Totana can contribute valuable pieces to the Museum. The conditions that the future museum space should meet should be: Location in the urban center of Totana.
Thus, all the cultural and tourist activity that it generated would have a direct impact on the commercial and hotel sectors of the town.
At the same time it would encourage the visit to other monuments, museums and places of interest of the population.In a central place, with easy access, with free space in its surroundings that allows other temporary expressions of an artistic, social, musical or cultural leisure nature, which complement the Museum's activity.In an existing building, with sufficient capacity and municipal property.
This would suppose a very important economic saving, vital for the viability of the project.
The cost of a rehabilitation or adaptation of spaces is much lower than that of a new construction.With these starting conditions, we propose the location of the future Museum at the headquarters of the Technological Center of Crafts, currently without use and in conditions of habitability and conservation very suitable for this purpose.
This building meets the conditions listed above and also:It is located in the archaeological zone of Las Ollerías.Traditional zone of pottery wealth of our population.Next to it there are several Moorish ovens of great cultural, historical and ethnological value.
One of them is rehabilitated and the others in a condition to be rehabilitated and increase our patrimonial wealth.The existence of a Museum in this enclave would give a great boost to the recognition and appreciation of the Totanera pottery tradition.What's more, this Museum would be able to house the pottery history of Totana, from the Argaric culture to the present day.From this location, the visits to the Museum could have their continuity in the visits to the Museum of the Tower, Church of Santiago, old town, future Museum of Holy Week, Church of the Immaculate, Church of the Three Ave Marías, La Jail,…In short, we believe that it is possible to make this objective a reality with the support of the public.And Totana has a number of inhabitants capable enough to visit and revalue our culture and to educate, with the collaboration of educational centers, in cultural values ??that link the remote past with a present, we hope, hopeful. Totana deserves a Museum! For the Archaeological-Ethnographic Museum of Totana (MAET)Explanatory note: The signatories of this proposal are oblivious to any political interest or controversy.Signed: Manolo Moreno, María Martínez, Paco Guerao.
/ Photos: Murcia.com archive
