Much of Osuna’s monumental heritage was built with stone from its quarries. Now, the same site also tells the story of those who extracted it. On Friday 2 October, Coto Las Canteras opened “El paso del tiempo”, a new museum space exploring Osuna’s origins, the history of its quarries and the memories of the families who earned their living there.
Stone, coins and a bicycle
The room contains reproductions of local Iberian art, ancient coins (including Iberian ursones) and the tools, implements and materials used by quarry workers. Alongside them are objects with family stories, such as the bicycle that the father of Jesús Ramos, the Coto’s owner, rode to work at the quarry.
Ramos created the space with his wife, Francis Lobo, “with great affection”. The opening brought together many of those who have supported the project since it began in 1999. “We need to know where we come from”, he explained. He summed it up in one sentence: “Time may pass, but memories do not”.
“The mother of Osuna”
Municipal Culture and Tourism councillor Jesús Heredia described the Coto as “the mother of Osuna”, because “practically all the heritage we have was born here, with our ashlar blocks and our way of understanding life”. He called it “a box of surprises” and encouraged residents and visitors to discover the new space.
Source: press release from Osuna Town Council.
