To Iberia and beyond...: Exploring España: Valencia

Between the futuristic architecture, the beautiful beaches and the mouth-watering food, I have always been a little intrigued by Valencia. In fact, had I not made Madrid my home, Valencia was my Plan B, despite the fact I had never been there. Eighteen months after implementing Plan A, I finally got around to visiting Valencia.

Valencia (then called Valentia meaning 'strength' or 'valour') was founded by the Romans in 138 BC as a settlement for their soldiers. Within a few years, the makeshift camp had given way to more permanent constructions, and over time the city prospered and even started to coin its own money. But in 75 BC, the city was razed to the ground during a war, the result of which saw the ruins being virtually abandoned for at least half a century.

By the middle of the first century, Valentia was back in business, and from then onwards the city grew. New buildings such as the forum and the amphitheatre were constructed, and a water supply system was put in place. But, with the fall of the Roman Empire in the latter part of the third century, the city was laid to waste again. In the fourth century, it was inhabited by Christians and, a century later, by Germanic invaders who replaced the ancient Roman temples with Christian places of worship.

Later still came the Byzantines, who invaded the south-east of the Iberian peninsula in 554. During this time Visigoth armies used Valentia as a base and they fortified the ancient Roman theatre. But the expulsion of the Byzantines in 625 brought a dark period to the city and there was little growth and development.

In 1094, Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, called El Cid Campeador, conquered Valencia on behalf of the Christians, but the city later fell to the Almoravids in 1102. The Moors thrived until 1238 when King Jaime I of Aragón (r. 1213-1276) reconquered the city and became ruler (r. 1238-1276) of the newly-founded Kingdom of Valencia.

Valencia entered its siglo de oro (Golden Age) in the 15th century, when it became one of the major economic powers on the Mediterranean seaboard. But things changed with the Spanish War of Succession (1701-1714), when Valencia sided with Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria (r. 1711-1740). After a Bourbon victory at the Battle of Almansa in 1707, King Felipe V (r. 1700-1746) abolished local privileges and the political and legal independence of the Kingdom of Valencia came to an abrupt end. The former Kingdom of Valencia didn't regain its independence until 1982, when it was granted its present Autonomous state.

I started my visit in Plaza del Ayuntamiento (City Hall Square), the heart of the city since 1891 and home to El Ayuntamiento. Constructed between 1758 and 1763, City Hall is one of the dominating buildings in Plaza del Ayuntamiento. It consists of a central body crowned with a clock tower and two square towers, and two matching copper-topped chiselled towers at either end.

The façade of El Ayuntamiento (City Hall)

Close up of the clock tower

El Ayuntamiento

Detail of one of the towers

The other major architectural feature in the square is Edificio de Correos, also known as Palacio de Communicaciones. Designed by architect Miguel Ángel Navarro Pérez (1883-1956), construction began in 1913 and was completed in 1922.

The five figures in the tympanum represent the five classical continents

Post a letter... if you dare!

One of the city's more emblematic sights in the old town is that of Torre de Santa Catalina (St. Catherine's Tower), an 18th century Baroque tower that was added on to a 14th century church.

The Baroque tower in all its glory.

Valencia is known for its food and one of the area's most famous gastronomic delights is horchata de chufa (orxata de xufa in Valenciano), a refreshing, sweet, milky drink that is served ice-cold. Horchata originated during the time of Muslim occupation in the 8th-13th centuries and has been around ever since. The drink, which is made from tigernuts, water and sugar, is now served with fartóns, which are soft, spongy, breadstick-like creations that sometimes come with a dusting of icing sugar and are perfect for dipping because they soak up the horchata. Interestingly, these have only been around since the 1960s when the Polo family developed a special pastry to accompany the horchata.

At the foot of Torre de Santa Catalina stands Horchatería de Santa Catalina. At over 200 years old, it's the oldest horchatería in the city and a must-see on any tourist's list.

The beautiful horchatería

Valencia's cathedral, or Iglesia Catedral-Basílica Metropolitana de la Asunción de Nuestra Señora de Valencia (!) to give it its full name, was built on the site of a former Visigothic cathedral, which had been turned into a mosque by the Moors. Several decades after the Christian conquest of the city in 1238, the mosque-cathedral remained standing, even with the Koranic inscription on the walls. But, in June 1262, the then-bishop, Andrey d'Albalat, resolved to knock it down and build a new cathedral.

Work began in the late 13th century in the Romanesque style, but later parts were built in different styles. Consequently, the cathedral is an architectural hotch-potch, with the door on the eastern side being Romanesque, the dome, the tower and the door on the Plaza de la Virgen side are Gothic, while the presbytery and the main entrance at Plaza de la Reina are Baroque.

The Baroque main entrance

Statues and carvings in the entrance

Baroque carving above the doorway

The nave looking towards the altar

The highly decorative altar

The transept tower from the inside...

... and from the outside

The Romanesque door

Detail of the Romanesque door

Another must-see is Mercado Central, a stunningly beautiful 1920s covered market in the art nouveau style. With a floor space of 8,160 m² (87,834 ft²), it's one of the largest markets in Europe. It's also one of the oldest markets still in use.

The stunning façade

Inside the market

Standing under the central dome

Looking upwards

The dome from outside

Opposite the market stands Lonja de la Seda (The Silk Exchange). Built between 1482 and 1548, it was designed by architect Pere Compte in the Valencian late Gothic style and modelled on a similar building in Palma de Mallorca. The building comprises three parts: El Torreón (the Tower), La Sala de Contratación (Trading Hall) with its twisted Gothic pillars, and El Pabellón del Consulado de Mar (the Pavilion of the Consulate of the Sea), which boasts a stunning ceiling. One of the city's most popular tourist attractions (and rightly so), the building has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996.

The entrance to Lonja de la Seda

Carvings outside one of the doors

Inside the building

The stunning Trading Hall

Same room, slightly different view

Gothic window in the Trading Hall

Steps leading to the Pavilion of the Consulate of the Sea

Standing in the doorway to the Pavilion

Close-up of the gilded ceiling

Stone carving on the building's exterior

One of the sights I was most interested in seeing was Baños del Almirante (Admiral's Baths), an Arabic-style bath house dating from medieval times. The baths were founded in 1313, when Pere de Vila-rasa, a member of the Royal Council, was given licence from King Jaime II of Aragón (r. 1291-1327) to build a bath house on his own land. The layout chosen was similar to that of Arabic steam baths, with a hall or rest room, three vaulted rooms (cold, warm and hot), a boiler room and a store room. Bath houses were very popular, but from the 16th century onwards, there was a decline in communal bathing, and the baths fell out of favour.

In the 19th century, the various owners of the bath house sought to renovate it. A poly-lobed entrance arch gave the building an Eastern look, while inside the bath house was decorated with Neo-Nasrid tiles. The bath house was declared a Spanish cultural heritage site in 1944, and in 1959, after six centuries, it was closed to the public. From 1961-1963, a restoration project was carried out, which saw all the 19th century renovations removed. The only exception was the entrance door. And, on completion of the work, the bath house was turned into a gym!

Thankfully, in 1985, the Valencian Regional Government bought the building and started an intensive restoration project, which was completed in 2005. That same year the bath house was opened to the public as a museum.

The 19th century entrance

The lavatory cubicle

The cold room

All that remains of the original flooring

The warm room

The hot room

If you have ever seen pictures of Valencia, it's likely that the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias (City of Arts and Sciences) will be familiar. Comprising five buildings, a landscaped walkway and a bridge, the complex is the work of Madrid architect Félix Candela Outeriño (1910-1997), who died before the project was finished, and the (in)famous local architect, Santiago Calatrava.

Palacio de las Artes Reina Sofía

El Hemisfèric

Museo de las Ciencias Príncipe Felipe

View of Museo de las Ciencias Príncipe Felipe with El Ágora in the background

El Ágora

Museo de las Ciencias Príncipe Felipe

On a sunny day it is easy to be impressed by the complex. Against a backdrop of blue sky, the buildings look amazing. But beauty is only skin deep. To Valencians, the complex is an ever-present symbol of the profligate spending and financial mismanagament that has seen them being saddled with a debt so huge that the region is now collapsing under it. The city is broke. And nowhere was this more evident than in the streets near the beach.

To get to the beach I needed to do nothing more than take a short metro ride. But on exiting the metro it wasn't a sandy beach that greeted me. Instead, I found myself walking on pavements littered with broken glass, picking my way between half-demolished and crumbling buildings and vandalised play areas. Though clearly still inhabited, the area felt like a ghost town. It felt sad, unloved and abandoned. Happily, the promised land was not too far away and I found myself face-to-face with golden sands and perfectly blue sea. The image of what I had just walked through to get there faded to grey...