There are some quite nice cloisters around the back of the museum ...a good place to reflect on how the wealth of a religion (that preaches poverty) is spent!

From 713 onwards, together with six other towns, this part of Murcia formed part of the autonomous territory of Cora de Tudmir. For centuries, the town had its ups and downs as a border town, a site of confrontations between Muslims and Christians (at that time, the centre of the town was located on the castle's hill). The often overly-florid prose of Spanish historians make it hard to determine when Caravaca reached its golden age …you can pick from 1344 (when the place became a political centre) or the eighteenth century (when agriculture made it an economic success). Talking of 'ups and downs' you'll probably find yourself walking either up or down in Caravaca.

According to the tradition, on 3rd May 1232, the Moor King Ceyt-Abuceyt and his subjects became Christians on seeing  the "Miracle of the Apparition" of Santa Cruz, during which a representation of the cross was supposed to have been lowered from the heavens by two angels so that the priest Ginés Peréz Chirinos (who was a prisoner in the fortress at the time) could say mass. On contemplating this Apparition, the Moor king and all his court embraced the Christian faith. Since then different religious orders have guarded it and under such protection, the Orders of Santa Teresa de Jesus and San Juan de La Cruz founded convents in Caravaca.

Jesuits and Franciscan missionaries spread their own understanding of Christianity throughout Latin America and Europe. The Catholic Church acknowledged Caravaca's cross as the "Vera Cruz" (True Cross), a title that was only used for the Cross introduced by the mother of the emperor Constantine. This cross was divided into three parts, and deposited in Jerusalem, Constantinople and Rome (nobody knows what happened to the sawdust). The title of "Vera Cruz" was used to distinguish any fake relics from the true ones. In 1736, the cross was given an official sacramental importance.