Principally in this document I am going to centre on what to visit in Rute, above all the museums. Before I do this, I am going to talk a little about the characteristics and peculiarities that this small Cordovan town has.
Location
Rute is a village or town in the Cordoba province (Andalusia), located to the South West of the province, welcoming.
It has various small villages surrounding it: Zambra, Nacimiento de Zambra, Llanos de Don Juan, La Hoz, Las Piedras and Palomares. If it catches you on the way and you have liked Rute, it would be interesting to be able to stop you and visit some of the previously mentioned small villages.
Climate
The weather in Rute, throughout most of the year, is more or less mild. Normally, in summer it highlights the heat so you will need cooler and lighter cloths since there is hardly any fresh air. However, in winter the cold can be noticed with intensity, a good coat would not be bad. Whilst in autumn and spring, we have mid temperatures, more common with a Mediterranean climate.
Festivities
In Rute they highlight, in terms of festivities, the following four that you can go to depending on the date that you travel there:
Easter:
This is usually celebrated, depending on the annual calender and clergyman, between March and April. Easter week is very beautiful in Rute and the atmosphere of the town is worth experiencing. Throughout the week there are usually different processions from different brotherhoods in the town. They are very well organised and with lots of devotion.
The "Virgen de la Cabeza":
This is one of the best known celebrations in thie town and also in Andalusia. It is celebrated every year on the second Sunday of May (although, as it is actually known by the inhabitants, this celebration usually goes on a little and lasts for the whole weekend, from Friday to Sunday). If I remember correctly, they recognise this celebration as "La Morenita" as well, from the admiration they have for this image of the Virgin of the head. They sing different songs to the Virgin followed by offerings (with flowers and other things). All of that is accompanied by the procession of the Virgin throughout the streets of the town. It can be said that is is a pilgrimage with a special touch.
Then, for the other part, with a very different atmosphere, we have the fair that is celebrated in August.
And of course not, we can't forget the Carnaval.
Carnaval cannot be compared with the one in Cadiz (of course), but lots of dressed up people attend that come from different parts of the community as it is well known in that area. This celebration takes place around the end of February. You can find yourself with people of all ages dressed up and having a good time laughing, chatting, reuniting... There is what is known as "murgas", which are a kind of chirigotas (a genre of Spanish choral folksong originating in the Province of Cádiz) that are playing in the streets at this time. This party attracts a lot of attention.
Museums
You will find yourself in different, varied and interesting museums in this town. They are not your typical and conventional museums of the history of the town but instead of its products. I did not have time to visit these first three museums but they are part of the variety within the town and they are:
- Museo del mantecado de La flor de Rute (Buttered flower of Rute museum).
- Museo del azúcar (Sugar museum).
- Museo del jamón (Ham museum).
- Museo del Anís (Anise museum).
In these museums you can find lots of information and photographs about the origin of aniseed and liquor from Rute, such as its evolution and the processes for those who have had to pass to become what we now know as anise.
Visiting hours are:
- From Monday to Friday: 9:00 to 14:00 and 17:00 to 19:00 h.
- Saturdays: 10:00 to 14:00 h.
- Sundays and holidays: the appointment must be previously arranged.
The visit has a price of 2 euros.
At the end of the visit they even offered me a small sample of this product.
Museo del turrón artesano-The Handmade Nougat Museum.
This museum is made up of a big exhibition on the processes that they should carry out to follow the essence of this good handmade nougat. They explain all of the processed with the machinery that they use.
The visiting hours are, exclusively, between the dates of 12 October and 5 December, from 10:30 to 13:30 and from 16:00 to 19:00 h.
Also, the visit is free.
Museo del chocolate-The Chocolate Museum.
If you like chocolate, this should be your next destination. It is one of the biggest museums in Spain. What is more, I think that it is at the top of the ranking. In this museum you can find yourself with a chocolate nativity in a big way, besides different figures made, both real size and miniatures, chocolate (black and white).
The chocolate nativity scene is very large, it occupies a complete room. In addition, it has all kinds of detail, from a river to all kinds of trade that you can imagine from that time. Some images I took a few years ago are:
And finally Belén itself:
Other representative figures of the country that you can photograph are:
The (ex) Queen of Spain: Sofía
And the current Queen of Spain: Letizia
It seems incredible that with chocolate you can get to build figures like these, with all kinds of detail incorporated. The truth is that my experience in this last museum was very good. Even after leaving the visit they offered me to try their delicious freshly baked chocolate.
I would definitely recommend it.
