March 30 Guided tour of the Semana Santa procession route in Jumilla

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600 years of history lie behind the internationally recognized Easter Week processions of Jumilla

March 30 Guided tour of the Semana Santa procession route in Jumilla As Semana Santa (or Easter Week) approaches the town of Jumilla in the north of the Region of Murcia is preparing for the annual processions, which date back well over 600 years and have their origins in the sermons of the Saint of the Dominican Order, San Vicente Ferrer.

In 2019 Easter Week in Jumilla was declared a Fiesta of International Tourist Interest on account of its rich artistic heritage, its colour, the devotion and enthusiasm it inspires and the traditions which have evolved over six centuries of processions.

To put that into context, the only other Semana Santa celebrations in the Region of Murcia to be included in the same category are those in the cities of Lorca, with its extravagant biblical parades, daredevil horsemanship and intricately embroidered cloaks, Cartagena, with the military precision of its solemn processions, and the city of Murcia itself, featuring the sculptures of the baroque master, Francisco Salzillo.

This guided tour on 30^th March takes participants to the headquarters of the various brotherhoods which take part in and organize the processions and explains the history of the celebrations, as well as including chances to see some of the most important sculpted figures which are paraded through the streets every spring.

The visit begins at 11.00 in the Plaza de la Constitución.

Bookings can be made online here or through the tourist office of Jumilla (Plaza del Rollo, 1, telephone 968 780237 / 663 300779). Registration is priced at 3 euros per head.

For more information about visiting Jumilla, including what's on, local news and all of the bodegas on the Jumilla wine route, visit the home page of Jumilla Today.

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Address

Plaza del Rollo, 1 30520 JUMILLA

Tel: 968 780237 / 663 300779

Oficina de Turismo Jumilla

The tourist office in the centre of Jumilla is easily found by driving straight into the centre of the town along the Avenida de Murcia and following the signposts. The tourist office is alongside the Parque de Don Albano Martínez Molina, where there are a number of parking spaces.

Jumilla, in the north of the Region of Murcia, has become internationally famous over recent decades due to the quality of the wines produced in the municipality, and wine tourism has begun to attract visitors from other parts of Spain and the rest of Europe.

The tourist office is happy to provide a range of maps and leaflets showing the different bodegas which can be visited within the municipality. Some of these form part of the Rutas del Vino de Jumilla, the Jumilla wine route, and can either be visited as a guided tour or sell their produce directly to the public.(see feed below for more details)

However, the town and the surrounding countryside have plenty of other attractions for visitors, and the popularity of Jumilla wines is leading more and more people to discover other facets of the tenth largest municipality in Spain.

Jumilla Tourist Office

These include the spectacular countryside and birdlife in the Sierra del Carche, the historic remains which range from cave paintings and a Roman mausoleum to the castle, the Iglesia de Santiago, the Town Hall and the Teatro Vico, and the gastronomy: rich stews are accompanied not only by the wines of the area but also by Jumilla pears, which also enjoy Denomination of Origin status.

Tourism in Jumilla is not as seasonal as it is in the coastal areas of the Region of Murcia, but the town is at its liveliest during the fiestas in Holy Week and the August Fair, which incorporates the grape harvest celebrations and the Moors and Christians parades.

The Altiplano of the Region of Murcia, which consists of the municipalities of Jumilla and Yecla, is only just over an hour by car from the Mar Menor, Cartagena, Mazarrón, Torrevieja and Alicante, and anyone wishing to visit real inland Spain and world-class wineries is advised to include Jumilla in their schedule.