FEATURING VALENCIA, A THREE PART SERIES. (3) A GUIDEPOST REPRINT: “Valencia,” 6 June 1986
A paella cookout in the City of Valencia on World Paella Day headed up by local dignitaries
“VALENCIA”
by Ben H. Jones
First published in GUIDEPOST
6 June 1986
GUIDEPOST cover, 6 June 1986
Situated halfway along Spain’s Mediterranean coast, the city and province of Valencia is a delightful mixture of the sophistication of neighboring Catalonia and Moorish-influenced Andalusia. For the native and foreigner alike, the very mention of Valencia brings to mind sun-splashed beaches, groves of sweet orange trees and the world-famous seafood and rice dish called “paella”. Perhaps the most “Spanish” of Spain’s cities, Valencia is a wonderful introduction to a country where it’s always springtime and the people are as warm as the trade winds blowing in from the Med.
The history of Valencia, like many other Mediterranean cities, is a rich tale of kings and conquerors, wars and defeats. It is believed the Phoenicians were the first of a long line of seafarers who traded in the region and Romans, Goths, Moors and Catalans have all left their mark.
After almost five hundred years of Moorish occupation, the Moslem invaders were briefly pushed out of the city by the famous Christian warrior chief El Cid, whose minstrel, in his epic poem of the hero, called the city “light, cloudless Valencia”.
But the Moors came back, and it was not until 1258 that the city was returned to Christian rule under King James L.,becoming a major trade and military post under the Aragonese kings.
Valencia’s City of Arts and Sciences
It was then that the beautiful city center, still here for marvelling tourists to visit, began to take shape on the right bank of the River Turia which winds its way down to the sea several kilometers outside of town.
A tour of the city should begin with the cathedral, first begun in the 14th century and still not complete. Entering the cathedral through either its Romanesque, Gothic or Baroque doors, the visitor finds the same hodge-podge of architectural styles within. Also inside are varios altars, a museum and several masterpieces by the painters Goya and Jacomart, the Italian Rennaisance goldsmith Cellni and sculpture by Poggibonzi. As in other churches all over the Mediterranean world, there is a chalice on display said to be the Holy Grail from Christ’s Last Supper.
The still unfinished 15th century belfry, called the Miguelete, is a great vantage point from which to view the city, the sea and the surrounding rice fields from which Valencia has counted on for its live lihood over the centuries.
Behind the cathedral is the Royal Basilica of the Virgen de Los Desamparados or Unsheltered, the city’s patroness. Nearby is a porch where every Thursday since 1350, the local water tribunal has met to thrash out irrigation disputes between local farmers.
Across the Plaza de la Reina where the cathedral stands, and past the 17th century Church of Santa Catalina with its fine six-sided tower, the visitor comes to the Church of San Martin. A right turn down the street of the same name brings one to Palace of the Marqués de Dos Aguas, now housing over 5,000 examples of local handicraft work. This palace, with its weird rococo facade, was designed in the 18th century by the famous artist Hipolito Rovira who died insame in 1740.
The fifteenh-century La Lonja
For a look at what is regarded as perhaps Valencia’s finest architectural masterpiece, retrace your steps to Calle San Vicente, turn right on San Fernando and at the end of the Plaza del Mercado you’ll come to La Lonja, or The Exchange. Built in 1483 as the headquarters of the Maritime Consulate and Commercial Exchange, La Lonja points up both Valencia’s rich architectural heritage and its important role as a trading and shipping center.
Because of its size and importance in the Spanish scheme of things, Valencia is known as the country’s “third city” after Madrid and Barcelona. Even though it lacks a Prado or Picasso Museum, Valencia does have some art collections worth a look-see, notably the Provincial Museum of Fine Arts, across the river on San Pio V. Not to be missed is a self-portrait by the Spànish master Velásquez and there are also excellent pieces by Ribera, Van Dyck., Hieronymous Bosch and Goya.
But by no means is Valencia noted only for the art of the past. A modern folk art, particular to this region, and one which a week of fiesta revolves around, and the “ninots”. There are huge comical figures painstakingly constructed of wood and papier-mache, mocking both local and political figures or topics in the news.
Each neighborhood devotes thousands of dollars and months of preparation in building its own ninot for the fiesta which begins March 12. From that date, the figures, each several stories tall, are displayed in plazas throughout the city and judged by local dignataries on the basis of their originality and the amount of work that went into creating them.
Street party during the Fallas, a weeklong fiesta revolving around the ninots
For a week, the usual Spanish fiesta madness is in full swing with parades, bullfights, all night partying and loads of firework displays. The fiesta ends March 19, St. Joseph’s Day, when all the figures are set ablaze and the bonfires. Or “fallas” in the local Catalonian dialect, light the sky for miles around.
For those not fortunate enough to be in Valencia during the festivities, there is the Fallas Museum in the Plaza de Monteolivete where a collection of the best ninots, saved from the configuration, are on display.
For a real insight into the region, the wise visitor won’t just limit his wanderings to the city. Twenty-four kilometers north of Valencia is the town of Sagunto, a former Roman settlement. Every Spanish school-child learns of how the inhabitants fought off the Carrheginian invaders, an act which helped spark the Second Punic War in the Third Century B.C.
Today Sagunto is a steel and cement manufacturing center, but Roman ruins still abound. The most impressive is the mammoth amphitheater, capable of accomodating 7,000 people, and still used today. Also not to be missed as the old medieval castle with its ramparts of over a kilometer long perched on a hill overlooking the old Roman town.
Picturesque El Palmar
To the south of Valencia, on the coastal road to Gandia, one passes La Albufera, a huge inland lake separated from the sea by a narrow strip of sand. El Palmar, a nearby village, is one of the most picturesque in the area and as its inhabitants are almost all fishermen, the tiny seafood restaurants here offer an abundant selection of fresh fish.
Further south are a string of beach resorts where Valencianos, and even vacationers from as far away as Holland, France and Germany congregate every summer. Consequently, the high season can be standing room only and woe to the tourist who drops in without hotel reservations. But in the early spring or fall, the visitor can pick and choose and there are also numerous camping sites in the area.
The town of Gandia marks the end of the Valencian coast and its a good place to rest up before pushing further south to Almeria. This area is known as the Costa del Azahar, a word with Arabic roots meaning orange blossoms, and you’ll see why if you’re there in the spring when thousands of acres of flowering orange trees perfume the air. Gandia itself has unfortunately gone the way of many Spanish resorts with its unfettered building boom. But the apartment blocks and tacky souvenir shops are minor annoyance compared to the wide, sandy beach lapped by an aquamarine sea.
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Images from various sources
> Featured image/Ajuntament de Valencia, CC BY-ND2.0, Flickr
> City of Arts and Sciences/William Warby, CC BY3.0, Wikimedia Commons
> La Lonja/Felivet, PD via Wikipedia
> Street party during the Fallas/Keith Ellwood, CC BY2.0, Flickr
> El Palmar/Juan Enrique Gilardi, CC BY-SA2.0, Flickr
