Valencia is the Spanish city with the most assets on the country’s Hispania Nostra red list: It has a total of 24 sets of assets on that list of threatened heritage. In this list, the Almohad wall enters the list, which has witnessed the history of Xàtiva and has defended the city for centuries. It was built on the Iberian and Roman remains and has witnessed the conflicts of different civilizations. But now, cannot cope with the abandonment of the authorities.

He canvas of the Almohad wall of Xàtiva Castle it cracks. It is losing the masonry of its wall, and has had to be filled with concrete blocks. It dates back to the 11th century and has already had several collapses.

The same thing also happens in the Levante wallswho managed to survive the taking of Xàtiva in 1287, the fire of Xàtiva in 1707 or the bloody earthquakes of 1748, but centuries later They are at serious risk with vegetation roaming freely and with three towers in a ruined state. Both parts of the walled complex They were declared assets of cultural interest (BIC) and, despite this, they are in a more than worrying state.

The second oldest train station

In Xàtiva we also find (what remains of) a building that is an authentic historical treasure. On December 20, 1854, the train arrived in the Valencian town and the station has become the oldest in the country. It played a crucial role, not only for communications, but also It was key to alleviating the epidemic of 1884. They converted it into the San José hospital and the cholera that put the region in check was treated there.

It is striking that the oldest station in Spain, Grao, has not suffered the same fate. It was rehabilitated and is currently one more tourist attraction in Valencia. Eduardo Cuñat, a resident of Xàtiva who guides us through this route of shame points out that this should be the model to follow. “The fact that we are able to maintain this as a tourist attraction would have a very important return,” he explains next to the ruins.

Looking at what remains, the crumbling walls evoke an authentic heritage cemetery, because is in a state of ruin. The building has been without its gabled roof and metal trusses for years. There are landslides on the exterior and interior facades, some arches have had to be propped up and vegetation grows uncontrollably inside. It doesn’t even have a degree of protection by the authorities.

The mill that survived the brick boom

Eduardo leads us to one of the symbols of the neighborhood resistance of Xàtiva. Its neighbors organized to defend the remains of the old Sarrampedra Millwhich wanted to be demolished in the middle of the urban bubble. It is a unique model that dates back to the 19th century. They managed to stop the demolition and, now, they watch with resignation as it is reduced to rubble.

It has been looted and plundered because, despite having been named an Asset of Generic Cultural Relevance because it is a flour mill hydraulic engineering, It does not have the protection and rehabilitation necessary in practice.

The appearance is regrettable: “You just have to look at this, and realize that in this situation we are losing… part of our culture and our heritage,” Eduardo laments. It is one of the six treasures of Xàtiva’s heritage that have entered the red list, with them already11 unique pieces of its history at risk.

The best example of Arab baths

The Arab baths of Raval de Xàtiva They are one of those pearls of heritage that constitute a true rarity. There is none left where you can see in such detail what a hamam from the 12th century. For this reason, it is classified as the best example of Arab baths in the Valencian Community.

These baths were used as centers of social interaction throughout Al-Andalus. When the Arabs were expelled, they began to fall into disuse until they were buried in more modern buildings. Located after a demolition, they were studied in different excavations archaeological studies that determined that they had the three classic bath rooms (hot, warm and cold) and a unique detail: a volumetry and interior distribution of these baths that incorporates as a novelty a rest room next to the cold area.

An attempt was made to register as an Asset of Cultural Interest in 2014 but the procedure was paralyzed and currently It does not have any protection.

Valencia, the city in Spain with the most properties on the red list

“A real embarrassment and one dishonor”. This is how the president of the Circle for the Defense of Heritage Association, César Guardeño, describes Valencia as holding the Spanish record for the most properties included in the Hispania Nostra red list. It has a total of 24 sets of assets on that list of threatened heritage.

In the streets of the Old City, where the deterioration of these heritage treasures is more than palpable. On one of the main avenues next to Mecanotubo structures and Covered by a green construction canvas is part of the Andalusian walltotally exposed and without any protection.

A few meters away is the Metropol Theater, seems to have been frozen after its last performances, because the poster is still hanging. It is closed tight so César looks through the modernist peephole to contemplate the damage. “The soil of Rodeno is all full of vegetation,” he exclaims indignantly. Furthermore, he tells us that he has unique iron columns from the shipwreck of a ship in 1914 who moved there.

It was something like the ‘Valencian Cinema Paradiso’ during the Second Republic, a unique example of the cinemas that were built in that period. The only republican cinema left standing. It was built between 1932 and 1934 and designed by Javier Goerlich Lleó, and It is currently in imminent danger of demolition for the construction of a hotel.

“The Valencian public administrations do not take enough care of heritage, they are failing to fulfill their role by not monitoring. A population that does not take care of its culture through governments is a population that is also condemned to failure. educational and cultural,” criticizes the president of the Circle Association for the Defense of Heritage next to the building. They ask for urgent measures so that its historical legacy is not reduced to rubble.