Museo Histórico-Artístico de Novelda

On the second floor of the Casa de Cultura in Novelda, the Museo Histórico-Artístico has, since 1980, brought together archaeological finds and artworks gathered across the Vinalopó valley through more than a century of excavations and private donations. Its original holdings came from the private collections of Juan Ribelles Amorós and Manuel Romero Iñesta, and the museum received official recognition from Spain's Ministry of Culture in 1983. In 2003 it expanded with a new gallery, laboratories and a specialised library holding more than a thousand volumes.

What is on display

The collection traces the history of the Novelda valley from the Middle Palaeolithic through the 17th to 19th centuries, taking in Bronze Age ceramics, Iberian and Roman-period material, and everyday objects from the Islamic and early medieval Christian periods. Among the pieces are a necklace of sea-shell pendants from the Bronze Age settlement of El Zambo and a Roman stamp used to mark bread. The museum also keeps a 17th-century bronze bell from the original Magdalena hermitage, the building that preceded today's sanctuary.

Visiting

Entry is free, and the galleries, split between a permanent collection and a space for temporary exhibitions, can comfortably be seen in under an hour. Being an indoor space, it works well as an alternative on rainy days or during the hottest hours of summer, when walking the castle or the natural park is less comfortable. The museum pairs well with a visit to the Castillo de La Mola, since much of the archaeological material on display comes from excavations carried out on that same hill, and it is included among the province's free museums.