Murcia is a place with a rather peculiar history. It had its days of wine and roses in the eighteenth century, and it is evident, as you can see, in its bright and baroque buildings. This happened not that long ago, but by then the city had already gone a long way throughout the ages.
Had this road been a long one? It is known that the emir Adberramán II founded the city in 825 and that he intended to put a little order in an area that had always given problems to the armies of the Prophet. But it is also known that there had been earlier settlements here long before and that both, Romans and Visigoths had taken more than one cup of coffee in this place.
So, as you can see, it all depends on the perspective. What we can assure you is that the name of Mursiya, which over time would become the one you already know, was Adberramán’s idea.
The feast ended in 1266 for the Arabs, with the definitive Christian occupation of Murcia and its incorporation into the crown of Castile. That crown was held by Alfonso X, el Sabio, at the time, who always maintained a special union with the villa, and whose heart rests, literally, inside the cathedral of Murcia. The intention of the monarch, apparently, was to be buried in the Holy Land, but life has its twists, and it was not possible.
The Middle Ages left in the city, among other things, vestiges of the Arab’s walls and a cathedral, begun in the fourteenth century to which, of course, new elements according to the times and fashions would be added. Later, Murcia resisted the best it could wars and epidemics, and finally reached, as we were telling you, what was going to be its splendid eighteenth century.
Murcia’s support to the Bourbons in the War of Succession brought a favourable wind to the city and economic and cultural prosperity that left many churches, monasteries and baroque palaces that today form the bulk of the artistic heritage of the capital.
The Count of Floridablanca had a lot to do with this, an educated man who earned Carlos III favour, and who from his high position favoured his hometown by promoting infrastructures and improvements. After a rather hectic political life, with an attempted attack and a term in prison included, the Count returned to his homeland and, of course, built a stately mansion. You can see it, but there are no Counts in it, only the guests of the hotel that it is nowadays. Mind you, in his memory, today we can go for a walk in the park of Floridablanca.
