Soltalk January 2018 | Page 56

Nerja History Group - Visit: Mosaics and Guitars On Friday November 4, some of us went to the most wonderful Roman site at Castulo and then to the city of Linares. After our breakfast stop, we continued to Castulo, where we watched an explanatory video in the modern Visitor's Centre and then walked through the site with Elena Sanchez, our Guide from Granada University. Archaeological Museum, where Elena talked us through some of the artefacts from the Castulo site. As a complete contrast, we finished our day’s visits at the Foundation of Classical guitarist, Andres Segovia, who was born in the city - he was an amazing musician who had no formal training to play the guitar. The staff in the Museum were clearly delighted to have so many adults interested in the man and his music, but then we had to curtail the visit to board our bus for the journey back to Nerja. After explanations along the way, we finally arrived at the huge mosaic "Los Summer Amores”. The site archaeologist was thrilled to see us (after so many school children) and explained that two new mosaics had been found during the Summer of 2017. He took off his shoes and descended to the level to show us the new mosaics. He explained that the condition was quite poor, as the materials used then had not lasted well. He has an App on his phone, which shows how the rooms would have looked, which he gave to Elena to show us. This is possible because the colours of the remains of the walls are still intact - it was really amazing. That was the last visit for Nerja History Group of 2017. The season resumes this month, on January 12, with a talk by Rafa Anderson “A Fairytale of Barcelona - its past, its present and future”. For more information, please go to www.nerjahistorygroup.es or email: [email protected]. We then boarded the bus for the short journey to Linares. We went first to the Museum in the Town Hall, which is an 18th C building, a former grain warehouse, then a prison now reformed as a Cultural Centre. We watched a most informative video about the early days and growth of the city of Linares and then a video and exhibits of Bullfighting and Flamenco. We then adjourned for lunch and re-convened at the 54