On Friday last, 13th March, 34 of us went to Antequera with our guide Elena Sanchez, to see the Villa Romana Estacion. As always, we stopped for breakfast en route and then made the short journey to meet Elena. Having been prepared for bad weather, the sun shone and it was quite hot. This made for an enjoyable visit, the mosaics are in excellent condition and clearly, the original villa was rather luxurious, built in a strategic position with views out to the vega. Sadly, these days, there is a very busy road on the other side !
However, the site is particularly enjoyable to see as there are many plants and herbs growing around which are well tended. Having had a thorough explanation of the villa, its water source,heating methods and bathing facilities, we boarded the bus to go to the centre of Antequera and to the Roman section at the Museum which is housed in a former Palace. Elena explained about the many artefacts which had been found in and around the villa which are well displayed. There is also a sarcophagus which was the burial option of an important woman, a former slave who had married her owner and bore him a few children. There was time for some purchases to be made from the Museum shop and then we crossed the wonderful plaza to take our place for lunch. Lunch was great and staff very friendly and professional. Our bus came to collect us and we made our way back to Nerja. We had a wonderful day.
Christina Sinclair
Co-ordinator
Nerja History Group
email:nerjahistorygroup@yahoo.com
www.nerjahistorygroup.com