Hello archi lovers!
We are once again enjoying and sharing architecture, urban design and this time even urban decoration, because it is Christmas. And any space and building seems to look more beautiful now, right?
Therefore, perhaps this post is a little different from others for this reason, recently I shared a Christmas walk through the downtown of the city of Valencia, in Spain showing the most iconic places now so fantastically decorated and illuminated.
But I took many photos and I also looked at other points of my beautiful city, so we can return to the Christmas walk with a different look, a look focused on the beauty of the facades of the buildings from a few decades ago, a century or two, as well as incredibly decorated premises, as well as other older and very important historical monuments. All this mixed with the warm and festive atmosphere of the Christmas lights.
Again we start at the beginning, at the Town Hall Square (Plaza del Ayuntamiento), and we look not so much at the square itself, but at what surrounds it, which are wonderful elegant and classic buildings with beautiful balconies and windows framed with filigree, and among the monumental Post Office building clearly stands out, with its metal tower above, its domes and those angels that crown it in its heights. And in front of it rivals the city's own City Hall building, which waits for nightfall to turn on its lights now.
All those facades now also look adorned with red Christmas flowers or small colored lights that we all hope will light up. And we look at the perspective and we get the feeling that all those beautiful buildings surround us or direct us to follow…
We continued walking and found a small, almost hidden square with a fountain in the middle that gives it a beautiful touch, but it is a quiet and wonderful place that seems to isolate us from all the movement of the rest of the city, and there we were left speechless at the sight and we see the profuse and elegant Christmas decorations on the doors of establishments, cafes, restaurants and hotels. Although one of them looks more like a scene from the North Pole, with a sleigh with reindeer on the same terrace, between the chairs and tables of the restaurant! What a surprise!
With joy we now head to the second large square to see, the Queen's Square (Plaza de la Reina) where as soon as we arrive and look up, the Tower of Santa Catalina stands out, of considerable height and from an older period that observes the crowd, the murmur and all the lights that shine around. The square is full, full of life but in the distance we look and another tower now takes center stage, it is the tower of the Cathedral of Valencia, the famous Miguelete (Micalet in Valencian), a cathedral that is said to house the sacred chalice, the original , the real one, that Holy Grail that we have heard so many times in movies, that's what they say, but we don't know really...
A beautiful medieval cathedral that ultimately forms many styles: Romanesque, Gothic, Neoclassical, it depends on which part, depending on where we look from. Because if we continue the architectural route behind, we can see it with its large rose window and other wonderful arched door from the third large square not to be missed, the Virgin's Square (Plaza de la Virgen) where we are surprised by a large and illuminated Christmas tree, next to the Cathedral and next to the Basilica of the Virgen de los Desamparados, a beautiful Renaissance building with a pink tone and impressive architecture as well.
But in the square there is something that has always fascinated me, the fountain. A fountain that symbolizes the local Turia river (as a god), and the small nymphs are each of the seven irrigation ditches of Valencia, which water the orchard and the Valencian countryside. Another important historical detail is that every Thursday at noon at the arched door of the cathedral that we saw before in that square, the Water Court meets to settle irrigation issues, and it is the oldest court in the world! (still working) and I've seen it some time ago.
Before leaving the square we look again because everything looks wonderful, in the distance we see another building, it is a neoclassical palace, I think, it is where the government of the region is located, and along that famous street there are more palaces than the homes of wealthy gentlemen from another era.
But we return to the present and the architecture guides us throughout the journey, and we continue along a wide pedestrian street that takes us to a large church although with a rougher appearance, the Church of San Lorenzo, which has a curious ceramic decoration about San Francisco de Assisi, and just opposite another palace, which now serves to house the Valencian Courts (las Cortes Valencianas), that is, the legislative body of the region and which also has a lot of interesting history.
Now, we leave the entire central and historical area, already on an artery parallel to the old riverbed, but there we come across one of the most important towers of the city, the Serranos Tower (Torre de Serranos) with the regional flag on the top. This is one of the two that remain that closed the city in its medieval days when it was smaller a, and those who arrived late could no longer enter through there, so they stayed there all night “to the moon of Valencia” as they say...
With the moon, stars and above all Christmas lights we say goodbye, to a tour of architecture, history, design and decoration of a beautiful city that intensely enjoys all its beautiful legacy and this beautiful time of year, Merry Christmas!
Valencia, Spain🇪🇸❤️ Europe
Thanks for reading! Have a stunning and bright day.
The text is totally mine and the photos too, by ©Duvinca
