The democratic and educational ideal of the modern museum is manifested in the preponderant attention it devotes to its visitors. This aspiration cannot be fulfilled if there are groups of people with various disabilities, who cannot access the facilities and services of a museum.

Ana María Sánchez Salcedo is the documentary filmmaker at the State Reference Centre for Personal Autonomy and Technical Aids (CEAPATIMSERSO).

In the words of Ana María Salcedo, the Nerja Museum is perfectly adapted for people with reduced mobility, so that theentire tour can be made in wheelchairs and in lifts. In the renovation process currently under way, all the contents will be adapted, both for blind and deaf people, by means of texts translated into Braille, models for blind people, descriptive audio-guides and sign-guides. Similarly, workshops adapted for people with any cognitive disability are held.

Essentially, the Nerja Museum aspires to be an inclusive museum, a museum for all.

(Currently, guided tours are available for groups of blind or partially sighted persons. For reservations contact the museum via email dir@museodenerja.es).

The Museum of Nerja is has a wonderful permanent exhibition distributed in five halls dedicated to different moments of local history.

Its content is based on archaeological and ethnographic pieces. It also has historical documents such as photographs, plans and models. All this is complemented by videos and explanatory panels adapted to all types of public.

5 exhibition halls:

MEZZANINE FLOOR 1

The tour starts at Mezzanine 1 where we can watch an introductory video where the content of the museum and all the activities carried out in it during the year are displayed. We give a vision of a museum in close relationship with the Nerjeña society and its culture; a living museum which has become a social and cultural reference throughout the province.

FIRST FLOOR

We continue the tour going up the ramp towards the first floor, where we can contemplate the different historical stages of the town:

• Beginning with the Phoenician times and ending in the 16th century.
• Of special interest is the stage dedicated to the Roman era and the Moorish Al-Andalusi, the time when both Nerja and Maro were founded.

MEZZANINE FLOOR 2

From first floor you move to the mezzanine floor where the 18th century Nerja is shown and you can see:

• Information about one of the most important characters of the illustrated Nerja, Manuel Centurion.
• The importance of the granting of the Book of Privilege by Queen Juana I and its ratification by King Philip V.
• Ancient cartography where Nerja and its coast appear.
• The history of the municipal shield of Nerja.

SECOND FLOOR

Then on second floor, we can see the most relevant aspects of contemporary Nerja, such as:

• The sugar cane
• The mountain range as a place of provisioning and historical events.
• The discovery of the Nerja Cave and its importance from a tourist and scientific point of view
• Nerja as a city of cinema from the 1940’s to the present day highlighting the famous series “Verano Azul”
• The beginnings of tourism in the city and its urban evolution over 3 centuries.

GROUND FLOOR

From the 2nd floor you can go down to the ground floor by a lift, where different elements linked to the archaeological investigations developed in the Cave of Nerja are exhibited. Some of the important pieces that can be seen are:

• Pepita, an epipaleolithic skeleton over 9,000 years old.
• Stone and bone utensils.
• Ornaments used by prehistoric populations.
• An interesting collection of Neolithic and Calcolytic pottery.

Circular Room.

In addition, this ground floor shows a video that tells the story of the discovery of the Cave of Nerja and its continuous research. Images can be seen from the discovery in 1959 to the present day. Of special interest are those that show the places and elements that cannot be visited by the public: the Upper Gallery, the New Gallery and rock-drawing and prehistoric paintings, which cannot be seen for conservation reasons.

The Museum of Nerja has a temporary exhibition hall, the Ana María Márquez room where exhibitions of various themes are regularly inaugurated, paintings, drawings, engravings, photography, sculpture, history and so on, which allow national and international artists from Nerja, Axarquía and beyond to exhibit.

Admission to all the temporary exhibitions in this hall is free.

We are convinced that children are the future of museums. Therefore, we offer a programme of didactic and creative workshops especially designed, for children from 5 to 9 years old.

The artists of the Temporary Exhibitions collaborate with us to carry out these activities periodically and they usually take place on Saturdays.

Children’s workshops are held under the name of “Creative Saturday” where artists offer their knowledge so that the little ones can learn and have fun.

Different events take place in the Nerja Museum during each month. These are diverse events in which the public is included.

The Museum of Nerja aims to be a meeting point and cultural reference in the local and regional context. To achieve this, we organize all kinds of activities such as book presentations, conferences, concerts, theatre and so on, which contribute to the cultural revitalization of the institution, the town of Nerja and the region of Axarquía.

We have a large bank of videos and images related to the Nerja Cave where you can find visual information about scientific projects, specialized staff, studies carried out, meetings, workshops and so on.

All the material is related to the ongoing study that has been carried out in the Nerja Cave over the years, from its discovery to the present day.