And this time, they’ve remembered to include a bull.
It’s taken 10 years and 3,5 million euros to refit the museum, but the Museo Taurino de Córdoba has finally reopened to the public.
But, with an eye to the change in public opinion, the gist of the museum has changed slightly – it’s now more about the bulls than the bullfighters.
The Mayor of Cordoba explained during the opening ceremony that he wanted the museum to reflect the modern reality of bullfighting. The new museum isn’t about just celebrating the fighters, but aims to conserve, explain and explore the whole bullfighting industry, from the farms, blood lines of the bulls, the culture and tradition and even the buildings which house the bullfights.
The old museum was basically a bunch of photos of famous bull fighters from Cordoba. The new one aims to be slightly more, at least on paper.
Rafael Molina ‘Lagartijo’; Rafael Guerra Bejarano ‘Guerrita’; Rafael González Madrid ‘Machaquito’; Manuel Rodríguez Sánchez ‘Manolete’ and Manuel Benítez ‘El Cordobés‘ have all donated items to the museum, possibly in exchange for a more prominent position.
It took 10 years to reopen because after restoration work started back in spring 2005 it was discovered the roof of the ancient building was about to collapse, killing all within. This delayed the work whilst some new beams were found.
The opening was also delayed due to discussions about whether or not it was appropriate to open a museum to the sport of bull murdering. Hence the “new direction” of the museum.