In a city packed with excellent yet diverse cultural venues, La Beneficencia is a cultural center that provides us with an in-depth, two-fold look at Valencia's history and people. The buidling, a sprawling 19th-century hospice that went by the name La Beneficencia (Charity), is now home to not one but two museums: the Museo Valenciano de Etnología (Valencian Museum of Ethnology) and the Museo de Prehistoria de Valencia (Valencian Museum of Prehistory).
Museo Valenciano de Etnología
The interesting Museo Valenciano de Etnología (Valencian Museum of Ethnology) explores our evolution as a society, focusing on Valencia and its surroundings but also branching out to look at the greater Mediterranean region and beyond. The permanent collection, called "Valencia in Transition 1800-1940", contains thousands of objects that give us a glimpse into traditional Valencian society and its evolution over the years: clothing, photographs, tools, personal objects, film footage, documents, eyewitness accounts, etc. It delves into social themes such as work, public life, privacy, social classes, reaction to change and co-existence. The items and concepts display are tastefully linked together with multimedia and interactive features to truly let us immerse ourselves in the Valencia of years gone by.
Museo de Prehistoria de Valencia
The Museo de Prehistoria de Valencia (Valencian Museum of Prehistory), as its name indicates, reaches back even further in time to the Paleolithic, Neolithic, Bronze, Iberian and Roman eras. You'll find human fossils, cave drawings, burial items, ancient dishes, Roman mosaics, tools, Iberian writings, all sorts of coins and a vast array of other archaeological artifacts discovered in the area. A comprehensive look at prehistoric Valencia and an intriguing stop for any history buff!