Valencia

Brief information

Valencia did not grow right by the sea, but about four kilometers from it, on a river island of the Turia. This detail helps read the city as a place where water was constantly changing the shape of space: the Mediterranean Sea is nearby, a large alluvial plain lies beneath the city, and the Turia itself was partly drained.

The most noticeable turn in this story is connected not with a facade, but with an empty riverbed. After frequent floods, the river was diverted into a new channel south of the city, and the former riverbed was turned into a long urban park. The City of Arts and Sciences was placed there, so the modern complex stands where a river once ran that was dangerous for the city.

What to notice right away

In Valencia, it is worth comparing the traces of defense, trade, religion, and new urban engineering. The Quart Towers are part of the old gates; the text specifically notes that they are riddled with shells from the French assault of 1808-1812. This is not just a medieval form, but stone bearing later traces of war.

The cathedral stands on the site of a mosque and carries another layer of changing power: beside its Gothic volume, the Miguelete bell tower is mentioned, and inside is a chapel with the Grail cup. La Lonja shows the city as a silk trading center: it is not a palace, but a Gothic exchange. At the Central Market, the railway station, and the post office, one can compare a different language of the city: Art Nouveau from the 19th to the early 20th century. And the City of Arts and Sciences is read differently through water: its ponds and pools are located in the former bed of the Turia.