Museo etnográfico Carlos Soriano

About the museum

The museum occupies the former country house of the lawyer Carlos Soriano, in El Llano de Molina, a village (pedanía) of Molina de Segura. In 1875 Soriano bought land in this area with a wooden water wheel, probably built around 1868, and used it to irrigate olive and mulberry trees. There he founded an agricultural colony with housing for the colonists, a school dating from 1887, now in ruins, and a hermitage inaugurated in 1892.

The house was restored and the museum opened its doors on 17 May 2003. The complex includes the two-storey dwelling, the hermitage, the water wheel and an orchard. On the ground floor there is a kitchen furnished in the style of the period, a spacious entrance hall with clay jars and cupboards, and a former courtyard converted into a multipurpose room. On the upper floor there is a 19th-century bourgeois bedroom and an exhibition of traditional huertano clothing.

The collection also includes archaeological material from local surveys, such as Argaric-period mills and Iberian and Roman pottery, experimental archaeology replicas in flint, and miniatures by the local craftsman Juan de Dios Arnaldos. These reproduce farm tools, a huerta hut (barraca huertana), the water wheel and water-powered trades such as the forge, the fulling mill (batán) and the flour mill.

Highlights

• Carlos Soriano's 19th-century country house with a period kitchen and bedroom
• Hermitage and water wheel of the former agricultural colony
• Miniatures by Juan de Dios Arnaldos on the huerta and water-powered trades
• Traditional huertano clothing
• Archaeological material from the area

Permanent exhibitions

• Casa de Carlos Soriano – Tour of the restored house, with the kitchen and bedroom set in the 19th century, huertano clothing and archaeological material from the area.
• Miniaturas de Juan de Dios Arnaldos – Models of farm tools, a huerta hut, the water wheel, a forge, a fulling mill and a flour mill.

Founded

2003

Operated by

Ayuntamiento de Molina de Segura

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Free admission; guided visits are also free of charge.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

Only the ground floor is accessible for people with disabilities.

Kids & families

• Family tours & workshops

The museum runs workshops on life and customs in the huerta, also for families; it is advisable to confirm attendance by phone.

Getting there & parking

From the N-301 (Cartagena–Madrid) towards Madrid, past Molina de Segura, take exit 380 towards Ceutí, Lorquí and El Llano de Molina; follow the road towards Lorquí and turn left just before the bridge over the railway line.

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit