Travel Guide Alzira

With more than 44,000 inhabitants, it is one of the most important cities in the province of Valencia. Conquered by the Moors and later by the Christians, it still preserves some architectural remains, such as the ruins of its wall built by the Arabs, the church of Santa Catalina with its baroque façade and a beautiful Renaissance building where the town hall now sits. Several Paleolithic, Neolithic, Bronze Age and Roman sites also attest to its antiquity. Despite the numerous floods, the city still preserves some typical rural facades, as well as examples of modernist historicism linked to the landed bourgeoisie. The Pío schools are now home to the Casa de la Cultura (facade, arcaded patio and grand staircase, all of which are noteworthy). The Town Hall, which has Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque elements, is the guardian of the Aureum Opus, written on two columns with miniatures and printed in the 15th century. As for the ecclesiastical heritage, we must mention the church of Santa Catalina, which combines Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque elements. Today, Alzira lives from its many industries and citrus groves, the same ones that inspired Blasco-Ibáñez in his book Entre Naranjos, written in 1900. Its inhabitants show a highly developed festive spirit. At the beginning of the year they celebrate Sant Antoni del Porquet. In March, during the Fallas, they put almost as many figures in the streets as those of the provincial capital. Their Holy Week is declared a festival of national tourist interest.