Murcia celebrates 1,200th anniversary with ambitious sculptural mural and time capsule
Yecla-born sculptor Lidó Rico is already working on this mammoth twenty-two square metre mural
Murcia city is marking a major milestone in 2025, its 1,200th anniversary, with a unique and ambitious project. Renowned Yecla-born artist Lidó Rico has been commissioned to create a sculptural mural that will capture the history of the city.
The mural, measuring approximately 22 square metres, will be a “three-dimensional tapestry” featuring more than 100 intertwined elements, including human figures, faces, hands and symbols that represent the connection between history, art and Murcian identity.
The project, titled ‘Murcia: Skin and Memory’, was announced at a press conference this week and Murcia mayor José Ballesta stressed that the endeavour should capture “our history, but also our future.”
Once it’s finished by the end of this year, the mural will be displayed in the Almudí Palace, but this isn’t to be its permanent home. According to the mayor, the work needs to be accessible to all residents and visitors and so its final destination will be decided after an “enormous participatory process.”
Over the next ten months, “chroniclers, academics, and cultural figures” will visit the artist's studio and be invited to participate in its development, “contributing their vision in different stages of the modelling,” he added.
The mural will feature a range of elements that are symbolic of the city, including the heart of Alfonso X, the Seven Crowns of the coat of arms of Murcia and the Segura River. It will also include references to illustrious personalities such as the Count of Floridablanca, writer Saavedra Fajardo, artist Elisa Seiquer and tennis player Carlos Alcaraz, among many others.
One of the most unique aspects of the project is the inclusion of a symbolic ‘time capsule’.
“In it, representing all Murcianos, we are going to include a document that can only be opened in a hundred years,” the mayor explained.
This time capsule will serve as a message to future generations, capturing the essence of the city's history and identity, he concluded.
For more information, news and what's on in your area don't forget to visit our homepage at Murcia Today
Images: Ayuntamiento de Murcia
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