Palace of the Generalitat

I wondered. I wondered how old was it, really. I wondered if it was really in continuous use. Being me, I went immediately to Wikipedia. Nothing. Once again, there was an egregious gap in the English language Wikipedia. The palace is one of the most ancient buildings in the city. It is beautiful and looms over a two thousand year old plaza. How could we not have an article about it? Something must be done.

So I did something about it.

The Palace of the Generalitat Valenciana was begun in 1422 when the King of Valencia (and king of the Crown of Aragon), Alfonso the Magnanimous made the Generalitat and its Deputies a permanent organization to administer the Kingdom and its taxes under terms of the Furs of Valencia (the Spanish article is better… another project). At this early stage, the Deputies are simply buying houses near the city hall, called the Casa de la Ciutat. The building we see today really dates from around 1511 when the Deputies hired Joan Corbera and Joan Mançano to undertake a massive renovation.

I was fascinated to learn, however, that the double tower we see in the photo above is relatively new. In 1941 plans were drawn up for a renovation and expansion of the building that resulted in the addition of the tower block we see from the Plaça Manises and that you can see in the photo above. It was carefully designed to be a duplicate in most ways of the original from the late 16th century.

I understand the need to protect ancient buildings, but I also like the way some of these buildings have been protected by being made useful. Change is a constant and I think functional renewal is the best way to maintain a building. Many of the beautiful old palaces of Valencia are now functional offices of various governmental bodies. The Palace of the Marquis de Dos Aguas is an interesting example. It is now the National Ceramics Museum for Spain and when you visit, you also can tour the prettiest of the rooms from the palace while the majority of the rooms are renovated to be the museum.

So, we have this ancient building with modern adjustments to protect it and make it useful. Inside, should you get to visit, it is really lovely. Visiting is allowed only on special occasions or by special arrangement. Typically, if you are here in October, the building is open during the days before Valencia Day (9 October).

While inside, the main courtyard is lovely and has many of its original features as the building was rarely out of use across these many centuries. In the courtyard we see the stairway and arches from the massive building effort of the early 16th century.

Even more famous, of course, is the Sala Daurada and its companion, the Sala Daurada Menuda. These two are justly famous for their smashing ceilings.

If you would like a quick tour of the building, and you cannot be here at a time when it is open to the public, I did find this video. It is in Castilian, but you may be able to turn on auto-translate captions.

References and Credits

Wikipedia contributors, “Palace of the Generalitat Valenciana,”  Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Palace_of_the_Generalitat_Valenciana&oldid=1263576778 (accessed December 17, 2024).

All photos save the top photo are via Wikipedia and can be found and fully credited from the page referenced above.

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