Step into Valencia's history, from a 16th-century rebellion to the Spanish Civil War. Links to a free app with immersive trails on historic maps.
LessThe much remodelled Borgia family palace dates from the fourteenth century, and today it's home to the Valencian Parliament. Less well known is the role it played during the Civil War, when it housed Prime Minister Juan Negrín’s left-wing Republican government. In ‘Civil War Stories’, Maria, an undercover Francoist, works inside, risking her life to gather intelligence. Tap find out more to get the free immersive audio app.
You can't miss the Generalitat Palace, today the seat of government for the region, formerly the kingdom, of Valencia. But beside this, in what is now a public garden, was once the magnificent city hall. This was the place where civic politics turned radical in 1520, when two guild artisans were elected to a city council normally run by nobles. It set the scene for the violent confrontations that shook Renaissance Valencia. Find out more in Josep's 'Revolutionary Road' audio trail.
If you're outside the Refugio restaurant, you've found the Refugio, part of a huge network of civil war air raid shelters. Although it didn't see destruction on the scale of Guernica, Valencia was bombarded from both air and sea by Franco's fascist forces. At least 825 died. You can't actually visit this shelter, but in 'Civil War Stories', the character Maria rushes you inside at the sound of an air raid siren. Tap find out more for the free Hidden Valencia immersive app.
At the Cathedral, beneath the statues of the Apostles at the massive Door of the Apostles, are a series of often overlooked sculptures of guild craftsman. They bear witness to the status of the guilds in Valencia. These charitable craft brotherhoods probably helped pay for the construction of the Cathedral in the fourteenth century, and their strength and organisation underpinned the artisan uprising of the 1520s. Find out more in Josep's 'Revolutionary Road' audio trail.
The Plaça de Santa Úrsula, right next to the Torres de Quart, is a serene spot today, but during the civil war it had a more sinister reputation. After churches were seized by the Republican government, Santa Ursula became the most notorious prison in the city. It housed communists who didn't tow the party line, and later those accused of being fascists. In Hidden Valencia's 'Civil War Stories' your meeting outside the church is not the one you expect. Tap find out more to get the app.
Built in the 1390s to reinforce the city walls against Castillian or Muslim attacks, the Serranos Gate gradually became a stage set for the triumphal entries of royalty. When one viceroy, Don Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, processed through the gate in 1521 it was his second crack at taking possession of Valencia. A year earlier Don Diego had been forced to make a run for it during the guild revolution - known as the revolt of the Germania. Find out more in Josep's 'Revolutionary Road' audio trail.
On one side of this arch is the Cathedral, on the other the palace of Valencia's archbishop. In 1520, the palace was also the residence of the widely despised viceroy, Don Diego Hurtado de Mendoza. It became a flashpoint of artisan revolt, its windows smashed and doors pounded by protesters. When the rebels forced the viceroy to flee and took control of the city, the Germania uprising entered its most volatile phase. Find out more in Josep's 'Revolutionary Road' audio trail.
As with other parish churches, the doors of Santa Catalina were a place of work for the city's blind street singers. Since the fourteenth century, the blind had organised themselves into brotherhoods, like guilds, promoting the recital of prayers, songs and stories as a recognised profession. Find out more from the blind storyteller who has all the news about Valencia's political uprising in the 1520s, in Josep's 'Revolutionary Road' audio trail.
Above the main door of the Silk Market, la Llotja de la Seda, the coats of arms of both city and kingdom attest to the importance of silk to Valencia by 1500. It's even more apparent when you step inside and see the Commercial Exchange Room, supported by twisted columns in the form of palm trees. As for the industry's craftsmen, members of the velluters guild were the most radical wing of the Germania uprising in the early 1520s. Find out more in Josep's 'Revolutionary Road' audio trail.
Completed in 1928, Valencia’s central market building is one of biggest in Europe - and the square itself has a long history as a marketplace. In the 1500s, however, Valencians came to la Plaça del Mercat not only to shop but to witness executions at the public gallows. In the wake of the surrender by the Germania revolutionaries in late 1521, hangings became a common sight as viceregal authorities sought to purge the city of rebels. Find out more in Josep's 'Revolutionary Road' audio trail.