Easter week in Murcia: an explosion of beauty, baroque and passion

Declared of International Tourist Guid

Easter (or Holy Week) in Murcia is a religious festival declared of International Tourist Interest, one of the most important in Spain both for its excellent sculptural heritage and also for having its own style originated in the 18th century. It’s a unique way in Spain to celebrate passion!

The processions: different universes of passion and beauty, with their own identity

Each procession has its own identity that differentiates it from the rest, from the gathering and solemnity of the Christ of Faith (Cristo de la Fe) and the Christ of Refuge (Cristo del Refugio) - Procession of Silence -, to the explosion of color and beauty of the Bleeding Christ (Cristo de la Sangre) - Procession of the Coloraos - and the Brotherhood of Jesus - Los Salzillos -. It is a very unique Easter and different from all the others, so it is unique in the world and one of the aspects that best define the city, its splendid character and its festivities.

Semana Santa en Murcia - Turismo de Murcia

Semana Santa en Murcia, Salzillos, Procesiones - Turismo de Murcia

The processions turn the street into open-air museums

Visiting Murcia at Easter week means being able to contemplate, with total freedom, those artistic treasures that are the impressive processional floats that flood the streets, turning them into real open-air museums. But it also means being able to contemplate images that, during the rest of the year, remain inside the churches and the closures of the convents.

Each brotherhood comes out in procession only once each year

Generosity is one of the hallmarks of the inhabitants of Murcia, something that is very evident in the processions, in which candy and sweets are given to the crowd and endless videos are taken. This is undoubtedly one of the aspects that attract the visitor's attention. From Viernes de Dolores (Friday of Pain) until Resurrection Sunday you can enjoy a variety of parades. With one exception, each brotherhood goes out in procession only once each year.

Semana Santa en Murcia Nazarenos - Turismo de Murcia

Nuestro Padre Jesus de la Merced. Nicolas salzillo - Turismo de Murcia

The beauty and realism of the images is another of the strengths of Easter in Murcia

The carvings of the best Spanish sculptor of the Baroque, Francisco Salzillo, are joined by that of his father Nicolás, his best disciple, Roque López, and the magnificent anatomies of the Alsatian sculptor Nicolás de Bussy. Salzillo also started an imager tradition in Murcia that today still persists with great contemporary sculptors who continue to enrich the Murcian brotherhoods with their processions.