Orihuela castle and Santo Domingo in line for €3m

The Housing Ministry has proposed €3.07 million for Orihuela under the “2% Cultural” programme: €600,000 for excavation and restoration at the castle and almost €2.5 million for the roofs, façades and cloister of the former Santo Domingo university.

This is a draft resolution dated 3 November, not a final decision. At the castle on the hill above the town, archaeologists will first excavate the Alcazaba and Albacar with CSIC researchers, then conserve the finds and create a visitor route. The castle project costs €1.065 million in total; the ministry would pay 56% and the council adds €465,000. The Santo Domingo works were put forward by the Diocese of Orihuela-Alicante.

For residents and visitors in the Vega Baja it is a chance that, in a few years, Orihuela castle — now largely closed to tourists — could be visited on an organised route. Santo Domingo, used for tours and concerts, would get its roofs and façades repaired. The council has not yet given start dates.