Restoration of the house of San Juan de la Cruz to be completed in Caravaca
The spiritual saint of Caravaca stayed in the same property on many occasions in the 16th century
The Town Hall of Caravaca is making important investments in infrastructures which will make everyday life easier and healthier for the residents of the city, but at the same time efforts are being made to capitalize on Caravaca’s rich history by making it possible to visit more and more buildings of historical and religious interest.
The latest of these projects is the restoration of the house of many San Juan de la Cruz with the intention of converting it into a small museum, which has been made possible by the signing of an agreement between the Fundación Cajamurcia and the Fundación Conde de Santa Ana de las Torres, the current owner of the property. This agreement has the backing of the Town Hall and of the Asociación Místicos, for whom the great religious thinker San Juan de La Cruz is a figure of great importance.
Cajamurcia is funding the Project to the tune of 50,000 euros, making it possible to finish the work which has already cost around 17,000 in private donations and 166,000 euros from EU and regional government Leader funds.
Born Juan de Yepes Álvarez, Juan de la Cruz (1542-91) spent various years in Caravaca, at times as an envoy of Santa Teresa de Jesús and at other times in his role as head of the Carmelite order in Andalucía. Among his work in the city of Caravaca was overseeing the spirituality of the convent of the barefoot Carmelites, founded by Santa Teresa de Jesús, and the founding of the monastery of the same order under the name of Nuestra Señora del Carmen.
During these periods of his life he stayed in the same home, searching for the spiritual goals he preached: peace, art, prose, poetry and meditation. At present the exterior of the house is highly presentable, but plenty of work remains to be done on the inside!
For more local information, including the Holy Jubilee Year as well as local news and what’s on, go to the home page of Caravaca Today.
Address
Calle De Las Monjas, 19, 30400 CARAVACA DE LA CRUZTel: 968 702424 / 968 701003
Oficina de Turismo de Caravaca de la Cruz
More information about the places of interest which can be visited in the municipality of Caravaca de la Cruz, along with what's on and local news can be found in the Caravaca Today.
Caravaca de la Cruz, in the north-west of the Region of Murcia, is one of only 5 Holy Cities in the Roman Catholic world, a centre of pilgrimage, along with Rome, Jerusalem, Santiago de Compostela and Santo Toribio de Liebana, and is home to the Cross of Caravaca, the Vera Cruz.
The status of Holy City was bestowed by Pope John Paul II in 1998, granting the City a Permanent Jubilee year every 7 years for perpetuity, the first one held in 2003 and the next in 2024.
The strategic and natural advantages of Caravaca de la Cruz have attracted the attention of settlers for more than 800,000 years, the Cueva Negra yielding remains of Homo Heidelbergensis, forbears of the Neanderthals and the municipality also houses important archaeological remains from the Argaric, Iberian and Roman cultures. many of these can be seen in the Municipal Archaeological Museum.
As a border town caught between the Catholic forces of Castille and the last remaining Moorish stronghold in Spain, Granada, Caravaca had a turbulent medieval history, but it was during this period that the legend of the Cross of Caravaca was born, bringing the religious orders which shaped the structure of Caravaca today, with its impressive hilltop castle and eclectic collection of churches and monasteries, religious tourism today being a backbone of the town´s economy.
Caravaca de la Cruz is a municipality with important natural resources, including extensive forests, part of which have protected status due to their wealth of flora and fauna, and due to the abundant water supplies is also a major area for canned fruit production, apricots in particular being an important crop.
Caravaca is renown for its important May Fiestas, held in honour of the Vera Cruz, which also incorporate the Moors and Christians celebrations and the Running of the Wine Horses.
Caravaca de la Cruz is also the home of Europe´s largest collection of ethnic instruments at Barranda, the Museo de Música Étnica Barranda and is the location of the Barranda festival de Cuadrillas, which celebrates the Region's ethnic music traditions.
The municipality is home to around 26,000 inhabitants and sahres boundaries with Moratalla, Cehegín, Lorca, Puebla de Don Fadrique in the province of Granada and Vélez-Blanco in the province of Almería.
Opening times:
Weekdays: 10.00 to 14.00 and 16.30 to 19.30
Saturdays: 10.30 to 14.00 and 16.30 to 19.30
Sundays and public holidays: 10.30 to 14.00
Click for map, Caravaca de la Cruz Tourist Office
