!!!Valencia
Photo by Stas Sedov and Dmitry Moiseenko,
members of the [AirPano Team|Geography/About/Consortium/AirPano,_Team] that is a member of the [global-geography Consortium|Geography/About/Consortium]. \\
20 January 2015
with kind permission of [AirPano|http://www.AirPano.com]
Valencia is one of the largest and most famous cities in Spain. The city
has a perfect geographical location: it is situated on the banks of the
Turia river, which flows into the Mediterranean Sea. So, for centuries
Valencia had been a key point during knockdown battles between Romans,
Visigoths, Christians and Moors to be owned by.
In the 13th century Valencia finally adopted Christianity and became a
mighty kingdom, which was in the centre of spanish historic events.
Battles for these lands continued, and during the Civil war of 1936-1939
Valencia even became a temporary capital of Spain. Now it is the third
largest city by population in Spain after Madrid and Barcelona. The
representatives of different cultures coexist here, so here one can find
architectural heritage, reflecting both Moresque and Christian periods
of its way.
[{Image src='01_City of Arts and Sciences, Valencia.jpg' caption='City of Arts and Sciences, Valencia' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='621'}]
In 1996 Valencia was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, and it's
not surprising: if we list all the sights of Valencia it will fill
several pages. We will describe only some of them, which are the most
unusual even for Spain, full of marvellous monuments of different
epochs.
Ones of them, for example, are guard towers of the city gate Torres de
Serranos, situated in the nothern part of the Old Town. Built in 1398 in
the form of a regular pentagon, these towers are connected by a common
gallery and decorated with gothic designs. For now The Torres de
Serranos, having lost its defensive function, serves for peaceful
purposes: that is where the start for Las Fallas (Spanish for ‘The
Falles') — the most famous festival in Valencia — is announced.
[{Image src='02_Valencia, Spain.jpg' caption='Valencia, Spain' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='794'}]
There are the other ‘Twin-towers' in Valencia — The Torres de Quart.
Since 1931 they have become the national patrimony of Spain and have
been included in the list of the national cultural heritage. In the 15th
century the towers were a part of a medieval defensive wall, which was
surrounding the area of the Old Town. They were designed in Gothic
style, imitating the triumphal towers of Castel Nuovo (Italian for ‘New
castle') in Naples. In the 17th century The Torres de Quart were the
female prison, in the 19th century, during the war for Independence, and
in the 20th century during the Civil war they protected the city.
[{Image src='03_City of Arts and Sciences, Valencia.jpg' caption='City of Arts and Sciences, Valencia' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='621'}]
There is also a rather unusual monument of both historical and
architectural importance in Valencia: The Silk Exchange (Spanish: Lonja
de la Seda). Silk production had been a key industry for Valencian
economics for several centuries; and the 18th century was its golden
age: at that time 25000 people worked in this field. The complex of the
Silk Exhcange was being built between 1482 and 1533. It consists of four
parts: the Room of Columns (also called the Trading Hall), the Sea
Consulate Room, The Orange-tree Patio and the Prison Tower where silk
thieves and bankrupted merchants were put. The exchange has a very
obvious symbolism: it was designed as a temple of commerce, with the
main hall decorated as a paradise garden.
[{Image src='04_Valencia, Spain.jpg' caption='Valencia, Spain' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='621'}]
The City of Arts and Sciences is absolutely unique: it is an
architectural complex made up of five buildings and situated at the
drained riverbed of the river Turia. It is the most outstanding and
ambitious project of the recent decades not only in Valencia, but
perhaps in the whole country. In 1989 the idea of its creation was
accepted, in 1994 the construction was initiated, and in 2005 it was
fulfilled. The complex includes the following objects: the Queen Sofía
Palace of the Arts; L'Hemisfèric (an IMAX Cinema, planetarium and
laserium); L'Umbracle — a greenhouse gallery; L'Àgora (The Agora) — a
multifunctional covered space for exhibiotions and other events; the
Prince Philip Science Museum; and the largest open-air oceanographic
park in Europe. Being ‘the city within a city' and combining educational
and entertaining facilities, this complex is one of the most popular
sights in Spain.
[{Image src='05_Valencia, Spain.jpg' caption='Valencia, Spain' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='621'}]
And, undoubtedly, one of the most important cultural, architectural and
historical monuments is Valencia Cathedral, situated in the centre of
the Old Town, near Plaza de la Reina. The foundation had been laid in
1262 over the site of the former Mosque, but during the following five
centuries it was being constantly rebuilt. As a consequence there is a
mixture of architectural styles, ranging from Baroque, Gothic, exquisite
Renaissance and Neoclassicism. The Cathedral is covered by an octagonal
lantern tower (Cimborio) with lancet windows, and the front is decorated
with several sculptures dated 13th century.
Masterpieces of the greatest Italian and Spanish artists, such as
Niccolo Fiorentino, Vincente Juan Masip, Francixco Goya, José de Ribera
and others, are exhibited in the museum of the Cathedral. But the most
interesting thing in Valencia Cathedral is a key item of Passion of
Christ — The Holy Grail. According to legend that is the very vessel
Christ used during the Last Supper. This sacred object is recognized by
Vatican.
To the north of the front of the Cathedral the tower of El Miguelete is
situated. It is an octagonal Gothic-style tower about 50 meters tall and
is one of the symbols of Valencia. From above one can enjoy the
picturesque view of the Mediterranean and the city. And the viewers of
our 3D-panoramas can get a bird's-eye view of these sights as well.
\\ \\
[12 Panoramas of Valencia|Geography/Europe/Spain/Pictures/Panoramas_of_Valencia]
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