Santa Pola’s Museo del Mar is heading towards a record-breaking year after welcoming 133,145 visits so far in 2026. The figure is already closing in on the almost 150,000 visits recorded throughout the whole of last year, with the museum’s network of historic and cultural attractions continuing to draw visitors to the coastal town.

Museo del Mar approaches annual visitor record

Santa Pola’s Museo del Mar is heading towards a record year after attracting 133,145 visits so far in 2026, already approaching the almost 150,000 recorded during the whole of last year.

The museum complex includes its main exhibitions inside the Castillo Fortaleza, covering the history and ethnography of the sea and fishing, music, archaeology and local history.

The castle also hosts a changing programme of national and international art exhibitions, adding to the range of attractions available within the historic building.

Museum network extends beyond Castillo Fortaleza

Several external sites form part of the museum, including the Mediterranean Aquarium, the preserved Esteban Gonzalez fishing boat and Portus Ilicitanus, the Roman port which operates as an open-air museum.

Visits remain free, including guided activities, workshops, concerts and talks.

The combination of permanent exhibitions, archaeological attractions and cultural activities means the Museo del Mar extends well beyond a traditional museum building, with different sites exploring Santa Pola’s history and its close relationship with the Mediterranean.

Aquarium and fishing boat closed for improvements

Two attractions are currently temporarily closed. The Aquarium is undergoing improvements and new museum installations, while the Esteban Gonzalez is receiving major restoration work to its hull.

Both are expected to reopen in December.

Portus Ilicitanus has also experienced temporary closures during archaeological excavations and work to install a protective shaded structure over part of the remains.

La Picola will join museum network in 2027

The museum network is set to expand again in 2027 with the addition of the La Picola archaeological site.

The Iberian and Roman site is being prepared for visitors through a €1.25 million project fully funded by Spain’s Ministry of Industry and Tourism.

Its addition will give visitors another archaeological attraction to explore as part of Santa Pola’s growing museum network, while the strong visitor figures recorded during 2026 put the Museo del Mar within reach of surpassing last year’s total.

Drivers in Alhaurin de la Torre are being warned of a new fixed speed camera roughly 200 metres from the Rotonda del Encuentro, in the direction of the prison.

The alert comes from the local social-media account Fuengirolasequeja, which says that the warning sign is already up on the roundabout itself. The Rotonda del Encuentro, on Avenida Ciudad de Ceuta, is the junction most people know as the one next to the Shell service station.

The appearance of the camera has prompted discussion about who installed it. Several recent fixed units in the area, including the one on the A-404 between Alhaurin el Grande and Coin near Miralmonte, and others on the A-7 near Puerto Banus, share a similar design and have been linked to the DGT’s wider programme of new cinemómetros on secondary roads. The Rotonda del Encuentro lies on the A-404, a regional road that already appears on DGT mobile-radar maps.

Alhaurin de la Torre’s own council has installed a number of municipal cameras in recent years (on Avenida de las Americas, Europa, Democracia, Ceuta and elsewhere), typically TRUCAM systems operated by the Policia Local. The newly reported unit has not been confirmed by either the Ayuntamiento or the DGT.

Social-media reaction has been hugely sceptical. Commenters have accused the authorities of prioritising revenue, joked about the copper content of the equipment (as a light-hearted hint to thieves), and argued that money would be better spent repairing roads and adding cycle lanes. Others simply listed copious amounts of other speed cameras already operating nearby (near the Mercadona roundabout, past the technology park towards Malaga and Cartama, etc.). A smaller number of responses defended enforcement, saying careful drivers have nothing to fear.

No official statement has yet confirmed the exact location, operator or activation date. Drivers using the Rotonda del Encuentro and the road towards the prison are advised to watch for the warning sign and observe the posted limit.

A multi-year feud over ruined gardens, biting sheepdogs, and unpaid fines in the Italian Alps has culminated in a legal standoff that brings attention to the tricky balance between traditional pastoral life and modern community boundaries. it started off as a local dispute in Val di Zoldo, but has now escalated into a regional logistical task: ensuring a shepherd, his dogs, and a 400-strong flock clear out of the area without just passing baton of the problem along to the next valley.

Shepherd banned from Val di Zoldo for four years

Luciano Varago, 66, has been ordered by Belluno police headquarters to leave Val di Zoldo, in the northern Italian province of Belluno, and is reportedly barred from returning to the area for four years.

Varago, originally from Farra di Soligo, has travelled with his flock through forests and mountain pastures across the Belluno area for years. Local reports say his presence in Val di Goima has caused repeated friction with residents for more than two years, ranging from unauthorised grazing on private land to sheep entering residential gardens and causing damage.

Residents have also reported incidents involving Varago’s sheepdogs, including allegations that dogs had bitten people. Local authorities previously ordered the seizure of ten dogs considered dangerous, but officers were able to seize only one because the other nine were moved before police arrived.

Hundreds of sheep now have to move

Mayor De Pellegrin has given Varago until Sunday to move his flock, granting him temporary permission to return with the dogs needed to manage the transfer.

Local station Radio Piu has said that Varago expects to reach the Duran area by Sunday evening. His flock—numbering around 400 sheep, goats, and lambs—normally travels towards Valbelluna for the winter anyway, particularly around Sedico and Sospirolo.

Authorities are taking the move seriously, it has brought together mayors, police, health officials, and veterinary services to coordinate the flock’s trek towards Valbelluna. Concerns centre not only on managing such a large herd along public routes, but also on keeping track of the shepherd’s dogs and preventing similar disputes from developing elsewhere.

Italian mountain communities face an unusual dilemma

Varago’s case has drawn attention to an awkward legal limitation for local authorities: issuing fines or banning grazing does not automatically give a local council the authority to remove a shepherd or his livestock.

De Pellegrin stated that numerous penalties had already been issued to Varago, but claimed they remained unpaid, and health authorities found insufficient grounds to classify the situation as animal mistreatment.

For residents of Val di Zoldo, the four-year exclusion order could finally bring relief after years of complaints. Neighbouring communities, however, may now be watching the flock’s journey with considerably more interest than usual.