Museum of Nature and Archaeology (MUNA)

Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Category: Cultural spaces · Subcategory: Museums · Year: 2002

The Museum of Nature and Archaeology (MUNA), formerly the Museum of Nature and Man, is located in a prominent building in Santa Cruz: the former Civil Hospital of Our Lady of the Abandoned, which was built in the second half of the 19th century based on a project drawn up in 1853 by the architect Manuel de Oraá y Arcocha. Its main façade is considered one of the finest examples of neoclassical architecture in the islands. 

The comprehensive rehabilitation of the historic building to convert it into a museum was carried out in different phases. Thus, in 1993 a provisional adaptation was undertaken, in order to allocate some rooms to exhibition halls for the Natural Sciences and Archaeological Museums of Tenerife, so that they could be open to the public while the architectural and museographic projects were being drafted. The execution of both projects began in 1994 and was completed in 1997. The adaptation continued with both civil works and museographic tasks, finishing in April 1999. Later, the intervention in the premises was completed for their use as permanent exhibition rooms.

The museographic complex, the result of these three phases, was inaugurated by Her Majesty Queen Doña Sofía on 9 January 2002. Finally, work was carried out at the rear of the building, between Bravo Murillo, San Sebastián and the side of the Serrador Bridge streets. Here, works were carried out to house complementary areas: offices and laboratories, temporary exhibition hall, auditorium, collections conservation laboratory, reproduction workshop and general storage.

The Museum of Nature and Archaeology (MUNA) is made up of three major scientific bodies: the Archaeological Museum of Tenerife, the Canary Institute of Bioanthropology and the Museum of Natural Sciences of Tenerife.

The Archaeological Museum of Tenerife (MNHA) holds the largest existing collection on the aboriginal culture of the island. It has a formidable collection of mummies (many of them in very good condition), funerary goods, ornaments and pre-Hispanic ceramics.

The Canary Institute of Bioanthropology (MNHB) is conceived as a centre specialised in bioanthropological studies, both in its paleobiological aspect and of living populations and forensic anthropology. Its primary function is the investigation of the characteristics of the Canarian population from prehistory to the present day.   

Finally, there is the Museum of Natural Sciences of Tenerife (MNHC), dedicated to the conservation, research and dissemination of the gea (minerals), flora and fauna of the Macaronesian archipelagos. It brings together abundant paleontological, marine, botanical, entomological and terrestrial vertebrate collections in very good condition, and what is considered the best natural history library in the Canary Islands. 

In short, the Museum of Nature and Archaeology (MUNA) is conceived as a modern space designed to house and disseminate the important archaeological and natural heritage of the Canary Islands.

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