THE GARDENS OF MURCIA DEPÓSITO LEGAL: MU-882-2013 Murcia enjoys some 4.3 million m2 of park and garden areas in the broadest sense, an area shared out between the capital and the 53 districts that make up the municipal area. The most important gardens, and generally the oldest, are to be found mainly in the various residential areas of the capital, and in this leaflet, we have tried to offer a kind of pen-portrait of some of them. Tourist Information Office Plaza Cardenal Belluga. Edificio Ayuntamiento. 30004 Murcia. Spain e-mail: informacion.turismo@ayto-murcia.es Tel.: 968 358 749 • Fax: 968 358 748 Follow us on Jardín de Floridablanca T his dates from the eighteenth century, is Murcia’s most extraordinary garden, and is thought to be one of the first public gardens established in Spain. Its name honours the memory of the Murcian politician José Moñino Redondo (1728-1808), first Count of Floridablanca, of whom there is a statue set in the centre of a fountain. Of particular note are some of the centuries-old oriental plane trees, as well as other younger trees, such as figs, jacarandas, and Canary Island pine and palm. T o find the origins of this garden, we have to go back to the middle of the nineteenth century, with the creation of a small botanical garden used for teaching the pupils of a school. In 1974, the present garden was created by joining those old plots with some nearby orchards, for example that known as “the cypresses”, of which we still have the restored entrance from the Paseo del Malecón; this celebrated, symbolic winter promenade forms one of the boundaries of the garden and also gives it its name. This garden has the greatest variety of trees in the municipal area, with around 60 species, some very rare, and some unique. Jardín del Malecón T hese date from the 1960s and are based on the old Parque Ruíz Hidalgo, which was located in the groves on the banks of the river Segura where it passes through Murcia. The garden has two parts separated by the Puente Nuevo, and as we stroll through it, we can enjoy examples of some remarkable trees. Jardines de Teniente Flomesta T hese leafy gardens look onto the river and extend the whole length of the Avenida Intendente Jorge Palacios. They date from 1948-1953, when the building of the residential areas was completed. Amongst the wide variety of species in the garden are a Ginkgo and a Podocarpus. Jardines de Vistabella Jardín del Auditorio / Jardín de Fofó La Glorieta T his pedestrian garden square is one of the city’s main meeting places. It was created in 1821 by Don Francisco Bolarín Gómez (1768-1836), and since then has undergone several modifications. Its name has been changed on several occasions. Presiding over the square is the Ayuntamiento de Murcia (Town Hall), a neo-classical building from the mid-nineteenth century; we also see here the rear elevation of the Episcopal Palace, a baroque building which dates from the middle of the eighteenth century. An outstanding feature is the fountains, which bring to mind those of the Generalife gardens of Granada. T his garden dates from 1990 and is on land that was originally the site of an old and prestigious silk factory built in 1770, and taken down in the mid-twentieth century. The preserved chimney serves as a reminder of that industry, so important for Murcia. It has a small lake at either end, connected by a winding stream. The trees are mostly still young, but there is a great variety of species. Jardín de la Seda T he Jardín del Auditorio or, as it’s popularly known, the Jardín de Fofó, after the well-known clown of that name, who is remembered in a statue in the garden, was created in 1971, although the lake and other changes were made during the 1980s. There is a small auditorium giving the garden its name where, in addition to shows, there is open-air cinema in the summer. Jardín del Salitre / de la Pólvora T he garden was created in 1987 on land that was formerly the Murcia Royal Saltpetre and Powder Factory. As an enclosed space belonging to the Army, its trees were maintained in good condition. It has a small lake and several clearly different areas, and has the second widest range of trees and palms after the Malecón garden. Next to this garden is the shaded Jardín Huerto-Cadenas, formed in 1994 from former orchard gardens given to the City Council.