Urinal Museum
Ciudad Rodrigo
POI
The Urinal Museum is dedicated to this utensil of domestic use, showing more than 1350 pieces of twenty-nine nationalities, of different styles, models and designs being the oldest of the second century A.D. of Roman origin. This museum was created thanks to a collector born in Ciudad Rodrigo, José María del Arco Ortiz "Pesetos", who dedicated himself to obtain pieces all over the world, visiting antique shops, hospitals, street markets, etc. Being the urinal or chamber pot the hygienic utensil of daily use, therefore, it has been part of the history of "man, woman and child; of king and queen; of lady and maid; of the nun, the bishop, the priest and the sacristan, of the sick and the healthy", so it shows the evolution and use of it throughout history. This museum opened to the public in 2006 on the occasion of the celebration of the exhibition "Las Edades del Hombre" in Ciudad Rodrigo, although already in 1991 this collection had been shown as a traveling exhibition in different parts of Spain and Portugal. The evolution that the chamber pot has undergone for centuries and how it has adapted to different fashions and periods, socioeconomic levels of the population, ranks, social position and particular demands, such as long trips in which there were also models that could be carried with them on these occasions. An example of socioeconomic status within the world of the chamber pot are the so-called "Dompedros", furniture made of noble wood such as mahogany or palo santo, oak, chestnut or cherry, some of them with inlaid marquetry or gold leaf, with chamber pots hidden inside. With the appearance of sideboards, chairs, armchairs or armchairs, they filled and adorned the noble houses, palaces and castles, being just another item of conventional furniture. The pieces exhibited in this original museum, all of them documented and catalogued, are made of different materials such as ceramic, brass, clay, wood, porcelain, aluminum, glass or iron, and some of them even have gold and silver inlays, and others, paintings or drawings. The Urinal Museum of Ciudad Rodrigo, is among the ten most curious museums in the world and also holds a Guinness record for being one of the most unique exhibitions in the world.