Page 43 - traveling73 eng

TRAVEL
Vivanco Museum of Wine Culture
But Briones is not only a mo-
nument to the past: it is a
symbol of what wine means in
Riojan culture. Within its mu-
nicipal boundaries stands the
Museo Vivanco de la Cultura
del Vino, probably the most
complete museum of its kind
in the world. A space where
wine is told as what it truly is
in this land: a form of art, a co-
llective memory, a way of loo-
king at life. In its rooms, Ro-
man amphorae, 18th-century
wine presses and works by
Picasso or Sorolla coexist, all
inspired by the same guiding
thread: wine as an expression
of humanity.
Walking through Briones
means doing so among wine-
presses carved into the rock
and century-old wineries whe-
re silence smells of wood and
history. In June, the village re-
vives its past with the Briones
Medieval Festival, when lo-
cals dress in period costume
and recreate 14th-century life
among flags, proclamations
and ancient music. It is a way
of paying tribute to an identity
that has been preserved wi-
thout becoming fossilised
The old 19th-century apothecary located inside the Hermitage of San Juan
- 43