Periódico: Journal of Tourism and Heritage Research
Fonte: Journal of Tourism and Heritage Research; Vol 4 No 3 (2021): Journal of Tourism and Heritage Research; 92-103
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What does Archena taste like? It tastes like an orchad and fresh vegetables watered by the River Segura, through traditional irrigation ditches, which dates back to the Middle Ages, and water wheels inherited from ancient Moorish culture. Archena tastes like fruit trees where apricots “bulida variety” fresh or canned, are the protagonists. Our town also tastes like hand-made cold-meat elaborated by following traditional pig slaughter processes. Our local cold-meat has recently gained national relevance thanks to the recovery of “chato murciano”, a local pig variety.
Several aspects have turned our town into a tourist and gastronomic reference. Local gastronomy is one of the great allies in the tourist and cultural development of our town. It shows off traditional dishes like stews, cakes and bakes. On the other hand, tourism gets its importance through our Roman-age Spa and its excellent healing mineral water, one of the most famed thermal spas, both nationally and internationally.
The Town Hall of Archena, through its different councillorships, especially Tourism, Culture and Commerce, has opted for the rise of gastronomy as a synergy to promote tourism, through different municipal initiatives. Projects such as 'Ruta de la Tapa', the boost of our local street market with 'Mercado Activo' and the participation of Archena in 'Murcia, Capital Gastrono´mica, 2020', with two fairs, one devoted to local apricot and other to traditional hand-made cold-meat. Other programmes such as 'Archena gusta', where local wines and home-made cold-meat were offered in different tour routes allowing participants to try recipes inspired in three cultures which left a legacy in this area: Iberian, Roman and Arabic.
