HACIENDA RIQUELME GOLF RESORT
This Resort is designed
for the ultimate experience of freedom
and nature, one that provides an incomparable
feeling of well-being generated by the
rational layout of its flanked avenues,
its perfectly incorporated plant life,
and its low construction density. It
all comes together around a late 19th
Century, colonial-style country house.
It was the home of the Riquelme Family,
descendants of Guillén Riquelme,
a noble knight who accompanied King Alfonso
X the Learned on his conquest of Murcia.
It has been restored to preserve the
country house tradition of the Murcia
of yore, and to maintain the balance
between the romanticism of the past and
the modernism of the future. The house
has been recreated as it existed in those
times, with gardens of the area´s
native plants, which intertwine with
the rays of sunlight that shine over
this wonderful land of Murcia. The development
project was carried out by EDSA and F&M
Arquitectos, firms that leave their hallmark
in each of the Resort´s details.
A
bit of history... Located on the estate that bears its
name, this Resort is accessed by the
Avileses to Sucina Road. It features
a noble, late 19th Century colonial-style
building, which was the retreat of the
Riquelme family. The Riquelme´s
were the descendants of Guillén
Riquelme, a noble knight who accompanied
King Alfonso X the Learned on his conquest
of Murcia.
Affixed to the facade
of this palace-house, his coat of arms
displays the ornamental figures that
identify and distinguish the noble family
to which he belonged, and the other which
he joined by marriage. The helm and crest
of its minor shield over a field and
a large barracks represent the distinguished
warrior to whom they belonged.
A carriage
roadway that ran through a beautiful
palm grove provided access to the spacious
central courtyard, which was lined with
buildings devoted to the maintenance
of the Riquelme Estate and services for
its noble residents. Fountains of musical
fresh waters, galleries of arches supported
by open columns like those of a monastic
cloister, a fortified tower of permeable
walls, a beautiful palm grove, large
windows from which to lean out and look
at endless landscapes, are the elements
that made this estate a place for rest
and enjoyment. The Riquelme family was
noted for the patronage of the arts they
practiced over many generations. One
of the artists they patronized was the
famous Murcian sculptor Francisco Salzillo.
The museum in Murcia that bears his name
is home to many of his works of art,
such as the world famous nativity scene
commissioned by Jesualdo Riquelme y Fontes
for his Murcia Palace. Another patronized
artist circa 1603 was sculptor Cristóbal
de Salazar, who created the marble sepulchres
for the great Riquelme chapel in the
San Francisco de Murcia Convent.
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