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Albaida

In its origins, Albaida was a fortified town, created during the military campaigns, and the place to recover the towns of Xàtiva and Biar. Towards the middle of the 13th century it was conceived as a place of logistic support for the Christian troops. Nowadays, the square of the town (Plaza Segrelles) and the church-palace are in the same site of the old fortified town, “clos de la vila” (origin of Albaida).

In the 13th century, during the reign of Pedro I of Valencia, the town of Albaida was given as a barony to several feudal lords, from which the family Vilarut was the most important. These nobles did not have any fixed or stable residence in Albaida, quite the opposite. This situation lasted until the 15th century, when the palace was built thanks to the cardinal Luís Juan Milá Borja. One of his sons, Jaime Milá, inherited the barony and got married with Leonor Aragó. It was a glorious time in the village until the 18th century, when their descendants stopped going to Albaida.

The old or medieval quarter of the town is on a small hill surrounded by the ravines of the river Albaida and the river Bouet. Later on, the centre of population expanded taking two directions: towards the south during the 18th century and towards the west to the present day.

All this structure of roads, squares and quarters converge in the main square of the town, where you can also find the Church and the Palace.

We will start our visit in the “clos de la vila”, the origin of the present town and a place with interesting resources.

The Milá and Aragó Palace is the most emblematic building of Albaida. Mr Alonso of Milá and Aragó, count of Albaida, laid the first stone of the palace. However, the person responsible for the construction was the cardinal Lluís Juan of Milá and Borja, baron of Albaida from 1471.

The structural evolution of the palace has suffered alterations throughout the years. The towers and the wall where the construction of the palace started were part of the old wall which surrounded the town. The building from the end of the 15th century was around the west tower. Later on, after the war of the Germanias, the palace extended to the east, with a more or less square shape, around the parade ground. The result was an enclosed and intimate palace, not easily accessible, with an architecture from te 15th century.

At the end of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century the structure of the palace changed again: a patio and a new church were added. The last change was made in the 19th century and the main door was built facing the main square of the town, which was the centre of all public events. The most outstanding parts of the palace are the main stairs and the hall with the coat of arms, decorated with paintings about the most characteristic elements of the palace.

In the noble floor, where the marquesses lived, we can find the most important halls such as the office room, an small and cosy hall decorated with paintings.

All the musical instruments were in the music hall, decorated with white motifs on blue background and with an aureole with heads of cherubs who are playing different instruments. The Salón del Trono (“Throne's Hall”) is a very important room due to its decoration and the shield which is in the middle. The walls' decoration consists of tapestries and the predominant colours are red, orange and indigo blue.

The so-called Sala Blanca (“White Hall”), because of the original white tiled floor, is another important hall.

On the other hand, there are also other private rooms used by the marquesses. The heraldic coats of arms we can find in the palace inform us about the owners of each time. The first one, the oldest (15th century), is carved in stone. It is located in the outside, under the balcony of the west tower, and makes reference to the Milà. There is another more bright and colourful coat of arms in the part finished in 1610 that belongs to Cristóbal II. The third one, located in the parade ground, belongs to the present marquesses, who live in Madrid.

The palace has been used for different purposes throughout history. It was the residence of barons, countesses and marquesses. Later on, it was the seat of the Town Council (1936-39) and recruiting office (1938). It was also used as a prison during Franco's repression. Finally, it was the seat of the charity institution called “Dominical”. Nowadays, the palace belongs to the Town Council and is being restored. In the part of the palace already restored is the seat of the International Puppet Museum of Albaida. Especially noteworthy is the relation between the palace and the church, as the lords of Albaida are who invested in its construction.

The church was built in the 16th century, on the site where the mosque of the town was, which was also the site of the church built by Jaime I around 1245. The present building has a central nave with attached chapels. It was built in Classicist style as a result of the restoration process of the 17th century. There still survive parts of the vaults from the Gothic-Renaissance style.

The most outstanding elements from the inside of the church are the high altar, with an altarpiece from the 17th century restored in 1960 by local artist José Segrelles; the “lunetos”, fresco paintings (by the same artist) with religious allegories that decorate all the arches of the central nave; and the baptismal font from the 18th century.

On the other hand, the most remarkable elements from the outside are two doors in Renaissance style and the austere decoration of the whole collection. The belfry houses a group of church bells which today are still rung by bell-ringers (by hand). The Chapel of the Virgen del Remedio (Patron saint of Albaida), from the 19th century, is attached to the church.

The Wall of the Town, in the old part of the village, dates from the middle of the 12th century, although it was restored in the 13th and 17th centuries. Its origins are from the Almohad period, when it was decided to build a more secure fortress in a lowest place: the “Tossal de la Vila”. One year later (in 1248) Jaime I ordered to build the first houses in the small walled place, called “Clos de la Vila”, as well as in the lower part of the Tossal, where the “Raval Jussà” is formed. Nowadays, there are four towers which remain standing from the original wall. Three of them are those of the Milá and Aragó's Palace, and the last one is the “Torre de Guaita”. There was a fifth tower, from which there remains only the base. Especially noteworthy are two of the three existing gates, part of the barbican which protected the disappeared gate of San Cristóbal and the viewpoint of “la Guaita”.

The Barbican of San Cristóbal is a type of building with a defensive, urban nature. It is part of the walls located in the old part of the town, which date from the 13th century. This is a lower wall added to the town wall as a kind of balcony, which was used to prevent enemies from getting into.

The “Puerta de la Villa”, Gothic gate of the wall, combines the semicircular arch in the front part with the segmental arch in the inside. It was part of the defensive building located in the old part of the town. The gate witnessed several military acts which damaged it. In fact, there are marks of projectiles in the upper part of the wall.

The “Puerta de Valencia”, the gate you find when coming from the highway of Valencia, was used by travellers from the capital or from Xàtiva. They gained access to the wide and steep “Carrer d’Avall”, a street which was the main axis of the medieval quarter of Albaida. This one was the most important access of those located outside the village.

We recommend you to go for a walk through the “raval Jussà” and the “raval Sobria”, two areas of urban development outside the town walls, in order to admire the layout of the streets.