Museum of Cádiz

Cádiz, Spain

The Museum of Cadiz was founded in 1970 after the merger of the Provincial Museum of Fine Arts with the Provincial Museum of Archaeology. It is on three floors, archaeology on the ground floor, art on the first, and puppets on the second floor. Entry is free for citizens of the European Union.

The origin of the museum came in 1835, when art was confiscated from a monastery, including paintings by Zurbarán taken from the Charterhouse of Jerez de la Frontera. Other paintings included the works of Murillo and Rubens. The collection grew during the century, due to the city's Academy of Fine Arts which practised romanticism and neoclassicism. In 1877, after a Phoenician sarcophagus was found in the city's shipyard, the Archaeological Museum was founded. However, it was not until 1970 that the two institutes, despite sharing the same building, were merged. From 1980, the architect Javier Feduchi planned a reform of the building in three phases, of which two have been completed.

In addition to the 19th-century pieces, the art museum has received contemporary art from the Junta de Andalucía. Its archaeological section has also received donations, particularly of coins. Despite a range of prehistoric findings from Southern Andalusia, due to local history, it has a lack of artefacts from the Middle Ages. The 'Tía Norica' set of puppets, used at the Carnival of Cádiz, was acquired by the State.

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Founded: 1970
Category: Museums in Spain

Rating

4.5/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Jef Henninger (15 months ago)
Seems to be under construction in some parts but it's a free museum with really great artifacts, especially from the Roman Era. Doesn't seem to be any AC so it could be warm when you visit. Despite our ship being in port, there was no one there.
Damián Valle (18 months ago)
Amazing museum (currently undergoing some works) with pre-roman, roman and andalusi objects. Worth tge visit.
Isabel Benchetrit (19 months ago)
Good exhibition of Phoenician pottery as well as Neolithic artefacts. It has different items from different times in history found in Cadiz on the top floors are arts exhibitions which was very interesting too. If you are resident in Andalucia entry is free.
Jorge Campo (20 months ago)
Reminds me of the Alcazaba Museum in Málaga. On this one entrance is free. Contains multiple archeological pieces. Very enjoyable.
elena x (23 months ago)
3 floors of artifacts and art, the highlight by far being the artifacts on the first floor. The artifacts incredibly range from Neolithic to Roman eras. Especially love the story behind the 2 pre Roman sarcophagi, the male one discovered first by an archeologist who was convinced there was a female counterpart, but never found it while he lived. After he died, a team found the female version under the archeologist's house!
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