Discover Quinto: Mummy Museum, Mudéjar Culture and the Ebro

An unusual cultural journey of discovery begins at the Museo de las Momias de Quinto: the museum is housed in the former Iglesia de la Asunción, known locally as el Piquete. The collection comprises fifteen naturally mummified bodies of different ages from the 18th century and the early 19th century. A visit to the museum also includes grave goods and other objects found in the graves, as well as ceramic remains dating from before and after the building was erected.

Culture and History

The Iglesia de la Asunción de Nuestra Señora de Quinto de Ebro is protected as a Bien de Interés Cultural in the Monument category. El Piquete is a large Mudéjar-style building of defensive and military origin; its construction began in the early years of the 15th century.

The town's medieval history is also reflected in the Portales de San Miguel, San Roque and San Antón. They were the entrances to Quinto when the town was completely surrounded by walls. On Calle de San Roque, the Antigua Casa Parroquial de Quinto features the typical structure of a 16th-century Aragonese Renaissance palace.

In the area known as Las Dehesas de Quinto, on the cliffs above the Ebro near the Gelsa Bridge, there is an Early Iron Age settlement dating approximately from between 700 and 500 BC.

Hermitages and Traditions

Quinto has an old Easter tradition: on Easter Monday, residents make a pilgrimage to celebrate the Virgen de Bonastre, also known as Buen Astro, and on the following Tuesday to celebrate the Virgen de Matamala.

The Ermita de Matamala is located 3.7 kilometres from Quinto, between the railway line and the road from Quinto to Sástago along the Ebro. It preserves a walled-up early Gothic portal attributed to the 13th century.

The Ermita de Bonastre stands on a promontory beside the N-232, about 7 kilometres from Quinto in the direction of Zaragoza. Like Matamala, Bonastre was a village or fortified settlement documented as early as the 13th century; the present-day Ermita is probably a Baroque building dating from the 18th century.

Routes and Landscape

Quinto is a stopover town on the Camino de Santiago del Ebro. The GR-99 is signposted with red-and-white markings and divided into 42 stages, each of which can be completed on foot in one day.

The Purburel position features a 250-metre-long trench dug into the ground, with firing bays and shelters, as well as an observation point that may also have served as a machine-gun nest. The trenches are accessible and open to visitors; the surrounding area is signposted with notices and information panels.

Local Perspectives

Aceite Vegabonastre olive oil is produced in Quinto. It serves as the starting point of the gastronomic route through the Bajo Ebro and carries the D.O. Aceite del Bajo Aragón designation.

Retrospectiva is a cultural urban-renewal project run by the municipality of Quinto. It aims to preserve examples of historic advertising graphics through artistic interventions in public spaces and to create a kind of open-air museum of old advertising over a period of four years.

Other places: Cetina, Lumpiaque, Alagón, Alforque, Almonacid De La Cuba, Utebo, Lagata, Fuencalderas

For the broader travel overview: Saragossa.