| Valencia it is the
third most important city in Spain and it boasts excellente fertile land,
a mild climate and a lively night life. Valencia is also art and its numerous
monuments, palaces, and church are a reflection of this. Fallas (the festival
of San José in Valencia), horchata (cold drink made of tiger nuts),
oranges, and paella are another symbols, of a rather playful nature, representative
of this beautiful city. The city on the shores of the Mediterranean in
the centre of the gulf of the same name is two thousand years old. Today
two branches of the River Turia hold ?t in their embrace as the centre
of the fertile region of orchard lands. It used to be the capital of the
former Kingdom of Valencia encircled by walls until the 19C and is the
third largest city in today's Spain. The historic centre of the city lies
around the Cathedral and includes La Almoina Square and the streets La
Corregeria, Cabillers, Avellanas, Palau, Almirante, San Esteban, Conde
de Olocau, Almudin, Cruilles, Navellos, Portal de Valldigna, Caballeros
and Bany dels Pavesos, without forgetting the Roman forum which seems to
have been where La Virgen Square is today.
Splendid symbols of the cultures
gone by are: The Metropolitan Cathedral which was begun in 1262, preserves
Gothic structures in La Puerta de los Apostoles (Entrance Gate of the A.),
in the Chapter House of the Holy Chalice and in the Lantern, and Romanesque
ones in La Puerta del Palau, while the main entrance and the presbytery
are Baroque. The octagonal Gothic belfry of the cathedral is affectionately
known as El Micalet (Little Michael). lt dates from the 14C-15C and is
the landmark of the city. The Royal Basilica of Our Lady of Los Desamparados,
with the 15C Gothic image of the patron saint of Valencia and its people.
Vault painting in fresco
by Palomino. The regional government palace (Palau de la Generalitat) combines
several styles.
Renaissance coffering with
Arab traces. Assembly Hall (Salon de Cortes) with paintings by Zarinena.
La Bayla Palace, 16C Gothic, seat of the provincial government, and La
Scala Palace in the same style, but with Renaissance additions. Both are
part of the building complex on Manises Square. The best preserved remains
of Islamic Valencia are "Abd al-Malik's Baths", more widely known as Banos
del Almirante (Admiral's Baths). There are also some houses in Salinas
St where traces of the Arab presence can still be found. In this area,fragments
of the former wall can also be seen. In the course of this itinerary, one
should stop at El Portal de Valldigna, visit the 14C Serranos Towers, the
former entrance gates to the city and protected today as a historic site,
the 15C Les Roques House, where the triumphal carriages of the Valencia
Corpus processions are kept today, the 15C Royal Monastery of La Trinidad
at the beginning of Alboraya St as well as the Bridges and Parapets along
the old bed of the Turia, which were built between the 16C and 18C and
some of which are of undeniable artistic value.
Other interesting examples
of Gothic religious buildings are the14C Church of San Juan del Hospital,
which was built by the Hospitaliers of St John of Jerusalem; Santo Domingo
Convent founded as a result of the Reconquest, where San Vicente Ferrer
used to live, today a military church, splendid Chapter House and Cloister;
San Nicolas Parish Church with an art treasure well worth a visit; San
Agustin P.Ch., which was restored recently; San Martin P.Ch., where the
bronze group above the lintel of the portal stands out, and Santa Catalina
P.Ch. with an octagonal Baroque belfry held to be one of the most beautiful
in Spain. Civil Gothic is especially well represented by the 15C Lonja
de Mercaderes, an auction hall, built by Pere Compte and perhaps one of
the best buildings in Europe. The hall with helicoidal columns and the
rib vaulting will come as a pleasant surprise to the visitor. The Quart
Towers of the middle of the 15C used to be the entrance gate to the city
for those who came from the lands of Castile. Baroque are the Church of
Los Santos Juanes (Sant Joan del Mercat), which faces La Lonja, San Juan
de la Cruz with skirtings of glazed tiles from Manises and San Esteban
where -according to the legend- El Cid's daughters married and where San
Vicente Ferrer's font is kept. In the vicinity there are also the Palace
of the Marquis of Dos Aguas, an old mansion -refurbished in the 18C- with
a Churrigueresque portal, the 16C Graeco-Roman Royal College of El Corpus
Christi, more widely known as "El Patriarca" in reference to San Juan de
Ribera, its founder, the University, where Juan Luis Vives, the universally
famous native of Valencia, was a student, the 18C Palace-cum-Monastery
of El Temple, which is the seat of central government representation today.
El Palacio de Justicia (the Law Courts), which is also of the 18C and was
originally meant to house the Customs, and the City Hall, which is a building
of the beginning of the century with an important collection of incunables
and illuminated books, such as the Consolat del Mar, the Llivre dels Furs
and the one of the Mustacaf, La Senyera, the Peno de la Conquesta and the
sword of Don Jaime el Conquistador. The Taula de Canvis and the paintings
by Zarinena, Vergara, Vicente Lopez, Sorolla, etc., deserve special mention.
Since there is not enough
room to list all that remains to be described of this city of light, which
so often has been called the "cradle of art", special attention should
be given at least to the House where San Vicente Ferrer was born, which
is almost a place of pilgrimage for the people of Valencia, and the Cruces
de Termino, crosses indicating the boundaries of municipal land. Of Modernist
architecture are the Bullring, Norte Station, Colon Market and the Central
Market, one of the best in Europe. |
