Architectural monuments

ARAB BATHS

Andalusi medina. C12-13. BRL (Property of Local Relevance).

The Hammam de Madinat Lyria was built in the twelfth century outside of the walled area of the medina of Lyria to make use of the water that flows from the source, currently known as Saint Vincent’s Spring, and through this beautiful place. It fulfilled different basic functions for the local Muslim community at that time.

Hygiene: the neighbours came to bathe and wash themselves using soaps, henna, perfumes, toothpastes and hair removers. Social: it was the common meeting place for the neighbours and there were different set times for women and men. Religious: the Muslim society purified themselves here before going to the Mosque, therefore, it was a compulsory visit on Fridays, a sacred day in the Islamic world.

The building has a surface area of 400 m2 which is divided into two different areas. On the one side, the Al-Maslah or the outdoor garden lounge. And on the other side, the three interior halls with baths: Bayt al-Barit or cold hall, Bayt al Wastani or warm hall and Bayt al Sayun or hot hall.

The Hammam was fully operational until the Christian Conquest in the thirteenth century. As of then, people gradually stopped using it as a public bathing area until in the fifteenth century the space is reused as a medieval industrial area, specifically, a dried-brick factory known as “adonería de Barulles”.

MEDIEVAL CITY WALL

Medieval town. C12-14. BIC (Property of Cultural Interest)

The old town of Llíria preserves architectural remains of what was once the walled area. Parts of the medieval wall that can still be seen are the walls with battlements and the square-floored watchtowers in Viriato Street and San Juan de Mata Street.

The function of this building was to defend the Madinat Lyria, during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and the vila real de Llíria, during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. From the seventeenth century onwards the demolition of the walled area began which coincides with the demographic growth of Llíria towards the flatland areas, outside the current Old Town.

BON PASTOR PAINTINGS

Medieval town C13-15. BRL (Property of Local Relevance).

Built in the fourteenth century to house the medieval hospital of Llíria, the building still preserves, to this day, the original structure of diaphragm arches. In the fifteenth century, the hospital is reconverted to the see of the Brotherhood of Jesus Christ, which implies the refurbishment of the interior space to adapt it to its new usage. That is, precisely, the moment when the extraordinary Italo-Gothic mural painting that represents the Crucifixion and the Annunciation is done.

The top part of the painting represents the Crucifixion, with Christ in the centre, crucified and with the two thieves, Dismas and Gestas, on each side; on the left, the Virgin is represented with the three Marys: Magdalene, Salome and Clopas; and on the right, Saint John, with other people. The bottom part represents the Virgin and the Archangel Saint Gabriel with a vase of white lilies, a symbol of purity.

As of the eighteenth century, it is started to be named church and home of the Good Shepherd, given that the Brotherhood of Jesus Christ is then named “the Brotherhood of the Good Shepherd”.

Church of the Good Shepherd Lliria Tourism — Church of the Good Shepherd

CHURCH OF THE BLOOD OF CHRIST

Medieval town. C13-14. National Monument

Considered one of the finest examples of Conquest churches, with transitional architectural elements from Romanesque to Gothic. It was built on the ancient Main Mosque and still preserves several relics such as the columns that support the choir and part of the archway to the well.

Its original name is Church of Saint Mary and it was built during the late thirteenth century and early fourteenth century.

The church tower was built during the mid-fourteenth century, its style is Neapolitan with a square floor plan.

The main doorway, also built during the mid-fourteenth century, has a triple archivolt supported by Gothic columns. It has one decorative piece which makes reference to God on the heavenly throne in the form of a Lion and earthly life in human, animal and plant form.

The interior has one single rectangular nave, with five extraordinary diaphragm arches, between which the side chapels are situated, decorated with mural paintings from the thirteenth century in which images and scenes of Saint Stephen, Saint John the Baptist, Saint Peter of Verona and Saint Barbara are represented.

The Gothic-Mudejar coffered ceiling is the most valuable artistic piece in the temple, comparable to the Cathedral of Teruel. It was done during the thirteenth century using the medieval artisanal technique “parell i artell” using panels and small panels with a polychrome decoration that represents the feudal society at that time. There are countless scenes of noble human figures, animals of medieval bestiary and plant-like, geometrical, epigraphic and heraldic motifs.

CA LA VILA VELLA

Medieval town. C14

Ca la Vila Vella is a Gothic style building built during the fourteenth century in the medieval town of Llíria to house regional municipal institutions such as the Council Chamber and the Jury Chamber. The interior has a large hall with diaphragm arches.

Refurbished in contemporary times, it currently houses the Silvestre de Edeta Museum, in which the collection named “Espai per a un Escultor-Space for a Sculptor” is exhibited made up of 150 works including sculptures, drawings, monotypes, watercolour paintings and oil paintings by the Lliria-born Manuel Silvestre Montesinos, one of the most significant Valencian plastic artists of the twentieth century.

Lliria Tourism - Silvestre d'Edeta Museum — Silvestre Museum

FORN DE LA VILA

Medieval town. C14

A medieval bread bakery which occupies the space of an ancient moorish oven from the Al-andalus period. It was built next to one of the gateways to the medieval town and right next to the city wall, remains of which are still preserved in the outer courtyard. It is a Gothic style building with an original semicircular arch at the entrance and an interior structure made up of a hall area covered with diaphragm arches. The oven opening is preserved made up of a semicircular arch and a quarter-sphere vault, and a space to store wood on the upper part.

The Forn de la Vila, known as the Forn del Portal, which no longer exists, were publicly owned and privately run. The business was leased by public auction for a period of three years. The leaseholder and their family lived in the building and were obliged to comply with a series of public health and social requirements.

CA LA VILA

“Foral” town. C16.

A Renaissance-style palace built during the late sixteenth century and early seventeenth century, between 1594 and 1602, to house the municipal institutions during the years of the “fueros” such as the Council Chamber, the Jury Chamber, the Almodín, the Court of Justice and the Prison.

There are three doors on the outside. The main door led to the first floor where the Council Chamber was situated, and to the second floor where the Jury Chamber was situated. The secondary door led to the Jury Chamber and the Prison. And the side door led to the Almudín, or the grain store.

The main facade is built using masonry and sculpted stone on the corners, doors and windows. The main doorway is made up of a semicircular arch, with Tuscan-style Doric frames and finished off with a stone relief with the town coat of arms set amid angels and decorated vases.

The upper part is made up of a hipped roof and an octagonal lookout which served as a watchtower or control tower.

Lliria Tourism Ca la Vila Town Hall — Main facade Ca la Vila

CHURCH OF THE ASSUMPTION

Ducal town. C17.

An archpriestal church built between 1627 and 1676. It isone of the finest examples of Baroque churches in the Valencian Community and the finest architectural example of the Valencian Catholic Counter-Reformation.

Its building follows the architectural precepts of San Carlos Borromeo, adapted in the Valencia diocese by the Archbishop Isidoro Aliaga and born as a result of the Council of Trent. The plans were drawn up by the Jesuit Pau Albiniano, born in Llíria, and the foremen were Martín de Orinda and Tomás Leonard.

The facade, considered one of the best of Valencian Barroque, was done by the stonemason Pere d’Ambuesa and the images are work of the sculptor Raimund Capuz.

The interior comprises three naves covered by barrel vaults, linked to one another by semicircular arches. The transept is covered by a dome with an octagonal tambour which rests on pendentives. Both the Sacristy and the Communion chapel have a Mannerist-style door made in the seventeenth century by the sculptor Rodrigo López.

The rectangular presbytery, is situated on a wide terrace. There the High Altar is preserved, a baldachin of coloured marble from Valencia Cathedral which accommodates the image of the Assumption, a pipe organ from the Church of the Company of Jesus of Valencia, and the mausoleum of the Duchess of Llíria, Alba and Berwick, Teresa De Silva and Palafox, built in Rome in the nineteenth century by the sculptor José Álvarez.

Lliria-Tourism-Church-of-the-Assumption — Church of the Assumption

Church of the Assumption view of the altar

Church-of-the-Assumption-view-of-the-doorway-Llíria-Tourism — Church of the Assumption view of the doorway

Church-of-the Assumption-(photo) — Church of the Assumption

Church-of-the-Assumption-street-view-Llíria-Tourism — Church of the Assumption street view

PORTAL DE LA TRAICIÓN

Medieval town. 14th century

Gateway to the medieval town. Of Islamic origin, it was originally one of the gateways of the Al-andalus medina of Lyria. It was renovated in the fourteenth century, following the Christian conquest.

CRUZ DE LA VENTA

“Foral” town. 17th century

A cross on the road that pointed the way to the town of Segorbe, the inland of the Kingdom of Valencia and the Crown of Aragon.

CHAPEL OF SAINT BARBARA

“Foral” town. 17th century.

The remains of a chapel built during the early seventeenth century, on a previous chapel, from the late fifteenth century. It is situated at the top of the Tossal of Saint Barbara, which offers an impressive panoramic view of the town of Llíria and the monastery of Saint Michael.

The chapel was dedicated to Saint Barbara, who protected from stone, and Saint Sebastian, who protected from plague.
The building was used as a defensive fort during the Carlist wars. Its abandon corresponds to the period of French occupation during the early nineteenth century.
It is accessed via the Calvary of Llíria, built in the mid-nineteenth century, along the uphill zig-zag path.

Lliria-Tourism-Chapel-of-Saint-Barbara-from-Chapel-of-Saint-Michael — Chapel of Saint Barbara from the monastery of Saint Michael

MONASTERY OF SAINT MICHAEL

Ducal town. 18th century

Architectural complex situated at the top of the Tossal of Saint Michael, 271 metres above sea level, from where you get an impressive view of the Comarca del Camp de Túria, the mountains of the Sierra Calderona and the Mediterranean Sea.
It is one of the most popular sanctuaries in the Valencian Community, dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel. It was founded by the King of Aragon James II, “The Just”, in 1326, as a hermitage for lay sisters dedicated to prayer.
In 1406, the King of Aragon, Martin “The Humane”, issued decrees that greatly affected the residents of the hermitage. From that moment on, in order to become part of the cloisters, the lay sisters had to come from good families and have a good reputation.
The church was built in the eighteenth century and it is neoclassical. The presbytery pendentives are decorated with a set of frescoes, work of the academic painter José Vergara. The church also has a panel from the fifteenth century, work of the Valencian painter Vicent Masip, father of Juan de Juanes, and a sculpture of Saint Michael the Archangel done in 1939 by the sculptor Ponsoda Bravo.

The magnificent chapel is worth a special mention. It is decorated with mural paintings dedicated to the iconography of Saint Michael the Archangel, work of the painter from Segovia Manuel Camarón, a student of Velazquez. It also has a museum of gold articles, silk goods, silverware and religious gowns.

Lliria-Tourism-Panoramic-view-of-Saint-Michael — Panoramic view of Saint Michael

CHAPEL OF SAINT VINCENT

Ducal town. 18th century.

Chapel situated in the surroundings of Saint Vincent’s Spring, 2.5 kilometres from the town of Llíria, direction Olocau, what is now commonly known as Saint Vincent’s Park.
It was built in the eighteenth century on a previous construction, known as the convent of the Virgin of the Springs.
The chapel is dedicated to Saint Vincent Ferrer due to the event known as the “Miracle of the Water” according to which, the Dominican friar Vincent Ferrer, in 1410, made water bubble up from the dry spring.
The building is of a neoclassical Baroque style. The interior has a rectangular floor plan, with a single nave finished off with a polygonal apse. There are pillars and semicircular arches which support a barrel vault.

CHURCH OF THE VIRGIN

Ducal town. 18th century.

Baroque church with neoclassical elements built during the eighteenth century.
It is a simple building with noteworthy stonework on the outside and the ashlars on the corners.
The interior decoration is outstanding, which by means of sgraffito, highlights the structural elements. On the outside, the typical blue-tiled dome jutting out is clearly noticeable.

CONVENT OF OUR LADY OF LOS REMEDIOS

Ducal town. 18th century.

An architectural ensemble built in the eighteenth century, of a neoclassical-Baroque style.
The church has three naves with a half-barrel vault and contains an eclectic style altarpiece in the presbytery. The convent outbuildings are, at present, an old people’s home, where it is worth noting the neoclassical style cloister.
The building was built in the eighteenth century on an old convent from the sixteenth century which accommodated the sandal-wearing Trinitarian monks who came from the convent of the Springs.
In the nineteenth century, following the sale of church lands of Mendizábal, the expulsion of the Trinitarians comes about, and the building becomes municipal property and is used as a charity hospital.
In 1890 the building was donated by the Town Hall of Llíria to found the current old people’s nursing home.

CONVENT OF SAINT FRANCIS

Ducal town. 18th century
Baroque style architectural structures which house the convent and the church of Saint Francis.
The convent was built in the mid-seventeenth century, the church and the chapel of the third Order are from the early eighteenth century. The chapel dates back to the first half of the twentieth century.
The building is integrated in the structure of the original Franciscan convent.
It has a rectangular floor plan with three naves covered with a vault and dome without a tambour over the transept. Its decoration is simple, done using paints with academic-style elements.
In 1835, with the sale of church lands of Mendizábal, the expulsion of the Franciscans comes about and the building becomes municipal property, except the church.

MOLINO DE LA PARRA

Ducal town. 18th century

Ancient water mill for grinding grain. The current structure was built on a previous mill from medieval times. The existing remains date back to the eighteenth century. Part of the paving has been preserved, along with a millstone and several underground galleries to produce hydro-energy using the water from Saint Vincent’s Spring.

CA PORCAR

Ca Porcar is a house built between the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. In architectural terms it is modernist, of a regionalist type and with a neoclassical air. The main two-storey building has a rectangular floor plan, a gabled roof and a lookout tower.

The townsman of Llíria Francisco Porcar, senior State official and Post Office director had a house built for leisure and relaxation purposes in the Censals area, an area of land surrounded by fertile agricultural land half a kilometre from Llíria town centre.

In 1917, whilst renovation work was being done on the house, a mosaic from the Roman era was recovered: “The Twelve Labours of Heracles”.

The mosaic was in the garden of the house, uncovered for 25 years, until it was pulled up in 1942 by restorers from the Ministry of Culture and taken to Madrid, to the National Archaeology Museum, where it remains on exhibition to this day.

The finding proves that Ca Porcar was built on the grounds of an ancient rural villa belonging to the Roman Edeta. It was possibly the summer home of a family of patricians who had their everyday house in the town centre. The mosaic would have been the paving in one of the rooms in the villa given that a pair of doorjambs were also found which would have belonged to the door to the same room.

SAINT VINCENT’S CHALET

A building built in 1930 belonging to the family of José Vivó Vidal. A well-off family from Valencia city who bought a private plot of land within the rural area of Saint Vincent’s Spring from a townsman of Llíria Simeó Morató with the aim of having a holiday home built, comprising house and garden.

In 1994 it came to be property of Llíria Town Hall. in the town of Gátova there is a building with similar characteristics.

Saint Vincent’s Chalet is a modernist building, a style that was in vogue during the early twentieth century, and of the Secession type. In architectural terms more priority is given to visual effect than to utility. It has five floors, each upper floor smaller than the previous, and a gabled roof.

On the outside there are small windows and all elements are symmetrical. White is the predominant colour, with the roof tiles and mouldings and decorative elements painted blue.

The vestibule is situated on the ground floor along with the lounge-dining room, kitchen, the bathrooms and the start of the spiral staircase which leads to the upper floors where the rooms, bedrooms and terraces are situated.

Historical heritage