Elche. The Lady in her hometown

<%@LANGUAGE="Javascript" CODEPAGE="1252"%> Elche. The Lady in her hometown

ELCHE. THE LADY IN HER HOMETOWN.

The exhibition of the Lady of Elche sculpture at the MAHE runs until November 1st. The City Hall has designed accessible urban routes for people with reduced mobility.

Elche (Elx in Valencian) is located in the south of Spain 's Comunidad Autónoma de Valencia, 20 kilometres from Alicante and 50 from Murcia, including several beaches stretching along its coastline. Elche was originally an Iberian village ("Ilici") colonized later by the Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans. It's not only one of the most historic towns in the region but Europe's greatest palm grove: more than 300,000 palm trees grow there, in parks and squares and lining streets and gardens (it is thought that the palm groves originated in Phoenician times). Elx Palm Grove ( Palmeral ) was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2000.

The official opening of the MAHE (City of Elx Archaeological and Historical Museum), headed by the return of the Iberian sculpture, the Dama d'Elx (Lady of Elx), that will be on display temporarily until November in its city of origin, make of this a very special occasion to visit the city. In order to commemorate this so special cultural event, the Town Hall has programmed a whole series of acts and activities which include the grand exhibition De Ilici a Elx 2006, and musical performances, among other activities.

The 56cms high Iberian painted limestone statue was discovered in La Alcudia, Elche , by accident and by a local farm worker in 1897. It was then bought to the owner by the Louvre Museum where it was exhibited until 1939. The masterpiece of Iberian Art returned to Spain in 1941, to the Museo del Prado and since 1972 this sculpture has been exhibited at the Madrid 's National Archaeological Museum. Only for a few days in 1965 has it returned to Elche although the city has been actively demanding its return for a long time. The Dama d'Elx is thought to be a high priestess as the elegant headdress of the bust shows her to have been a woman of power and standing. This city's symbol par excellence was carved around the 5th century BC.

La Dama de Elche can be seen in one of the rooms (temperature and humidity controlled to ensure its preservation) in the Tower of Homage in the Palace of Altamira (also known as Alcàsser de la Senyoria). The MAHE, the Archaeological and Historical Museum of Elx, is an innovative museum space designed to display the valuable archaeological and historical heritage of the city, it comprises both the new premises and the restored fortress of the Palace of Altamira, housing the historical section while the archaeological one is exhibited in the Traspalado (new premises). MAHE offers a historical vision of Elche, ranging from prehistoric times to the 21st century, allowing you to go back in time more than 2000 years through the city's history via archaeological artefacts and visual and audiovisual information.

The MAHE is very close to the Colegiata de Santa María, downtown. Accessibility upgrading works have been made in order to link by accessible itineraries sites holding "Ilici to Elx" exhibition. These signalled urban routes, which lead too to the MAHE, have been specially designed for visitors with reduced mobility: sidewalks have been widened, curb cuts provided, ramps built and traffic lights specially adapted to people with visual/hearing impairments installed.

Main entrance to the MAHE is by means of several steps and there is an elevator at the street level to avoid them. All architectural barriers have been removed and there are lifts, elevators and ramps all along the tour. After visiting the Traspalado (new building) exhibition you'll have to go across the Patio de Armas towards the Torre del Homenaje and take an elevator to the first floor, where the room housing the Dama is located. From there, and going through the room dedicated to the Islamic Culture, one can take another elevator and proceed to the second floor (XIX-XX centuries). You may go from there down to the Patio de Armas by the elevator and leave the building by a ramp instead of walking all the way back to the main entrance. The staff at the Museum will help you to find your way if you have any problem. Adapted toilets are located on the ground floor, next to the shop and one of the Tower elevators. A hands-on model of the sculpture has been placed at the end of the "Entorno de la Dama" exhibition (next to one of the elevators) in order to allow blind people to figure out what the sculpture is alike.