Tourism Macael – Almería

Sueños de un Cantero can be considered as the culminating work of the sculptor Eduardo Cruz. The theme and elements of the work evoke the roots and the cycle of his personal and artistic life, which began in Macael, and returned to Macael. Eduardo Cruz Rubio was born in Macael, on August 17, 1931, into a family of stonemasons. From a very young age he learned the secrets of marble from his father. At the age of 11 he worked as an apprentice in Luis el Canela’s workshop. During adolescence, the restlessness to carry out a creative activity begins to awaken in him. In those years, its references were artisans from the region such as Pepe el Turronero and Juan el Polillo. In 1949, the economic situation made him emigrate, with his whole family, to Argentina. In Mar de Plata he began to work in a well-known marble workshop and to frequent artistic and intellectual circles in the country, attending the Pascuala Mugaburu School of Fine Arts and the Rogelio Yrutia School of Crafts. On weekends he enters the world of sculpture through his first teacher, José Alonso. His expertise causes that in 1956 he begins to teach modeling classes […]

In 1609 was inaugurated the Parish Church Santa Maria of the Rosary, in Mudéjar style. The then Bishop of Almeria, D. Fray Juan de Portocarrero, ordered the construction of this tower and the episcopal shield. The tower, of majestic aspect and in good condition of conservation, is crowned by the bell tower. To the exterior it presents a cover to four waters with Arab tile and to the interior a wood paneling in the first and second body. Its decoration is made of alternating bricks with masonry drawers, semicircular arches and geometric drawings accused by the brick out of its walls. From its origins to our days the church has undergone numerous modifications in its structure, so the interior space is diaphanous and wide, presenting a single nave, drawing attention to its side facades, unusual in the churches of the region and this is due to The last restoration carried out in 1992 in which the main door was blinded, to place in its place the High Altar. The Altar Mayor presents a marmoreal decoration of varied shades, where the most outstanding is the temple that projects inside the shrine, beautifully made and carved by the craftsmen “Children of José […]

♦♦♦ High Tourist Interest. Macael is inextricably linked to the word Marble. The quarries very close to the urban area have been exploited since ancient times, constituting the most important exploitation nucleus of ornamental rocks of the national territory. Marble is a metamorphic rock that comes from a sedimentary rock, limestone, which suffers physical changes in its internal structure due to the action of pressure and temperature. Its quality and possibility of natural shine when polished has turned it into an excellent ornamental rock. In addition, its hardness allows its use as a structural element. During the Recent Neolithic and the Chalcolithic, the populations of the Almanzora Valley took advantage of the white marble stones that dragged the water courses to elaborate small schematic figures called “cruciform idols” or “Almerian idols” that they deposited in the collective tombs. In ancient archaeological research they were considered one of the characteristic elements of the “Culture of Almeria”. With the Romans began to exploit the quarries of Macael on a larger scale, but it is in the Muslim era when there is greater continuity in extraction. With the Christian repopulation of Macael, the activity of the marble sector re-emerged. Macael’s “Libro de Apeo” […]

Guided visit to craft factories and elaborated Macael and the Almanzora Valley region have recently been declared by the Junta de Andalucía as “Area of ​​Artisan Interest”, being the first in the province of Almeria, and all thanks to the recognition of our artisans in the world. The visit will consist of seeing a craft factory of Rubira Sola de Macael industrial estate, where the different processes of transformation and elaboration of marble will be explained, and it will be observed how a master craftsman works. Duration: 1h 20min approx.