Museo de Cuenca
The regional history museum takes the long view, all the way back to Neolithic funeral idols. Cuenca was once important for lead and silver mining, and Iron Age exhibits show how Carthaginian, Greek, and Phoenician artifacts found their way here through trade with the coast. The Romans made peace with local leaders because the mines were so important to the empire. Many of the Roman statues and column capitals here are from the nearby settlements at Segóbriga and Valeria. A beautiful 10th-century capital, found at Cuenca’s Plaza de Mangana in 2001, recalls the city’s Islamic origins, and rooms devoted to the medieval period show how Cuenca emerged as a wealthy center for wine and wool. Children should appreciate the display of pirate-era gold coins, including the legendary pieces of eight.
The regional history museum takes the long view, all the way back to Neolithic funeral idols. Cuenca was once important for lead and silver mining, and Iron Age exhibits show how Carthaginian, Greek, and Phoenician artifacts found their way here through trade with the coast. The Romans made peace with local leaders because the mines were so important to the empire. Many of the Roman statues and column capitals here are from the nearby settlements at Segóbriga and Valeria. A beautiful 10th-century capital, found at Cuenca’s Plaza de Mangana in 2001, recalls the city’s Islamic origins, and rooms devoted to the medieval period show how Cuenca emerged as a wealthy center for wine and wool. Children should appreciate the display of pirate-era gold coins, including the legendary pieces of eight.
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