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History 
9th July 2024 VISITING VALENCIA CATHEDRAL (24/7 VALENCIA)
Exploring the magnificent Gothic masterpiece that is Valencia Cathedral is an awe-inspiring experience on any day, even more so when your visit is guided by passionate experts from the Holy Grail Association. I met Alicia Palazòn and Vicente Navarro of ‘Aula Grial’, Valencia’s local history museum all about the Holy Grail, in front of the […]
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History 
4th May 2023 CONFERENCES AT THE MAESTRANZA: ‘THE CULTURE OF HONOUR: JOUSTS, BATTLES AND CONTESTS IN LATE MEDIEVAL VALENCIA’
The city of Valencia is rich in history, and there are myriad ways to explore this as a tourist. Valencia’s Maestranza has organised a series of conferences open to the public to learn about the city during the medieval ages. This year’s conference will be open to the public on May 4, 11 and 18 […]
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Food 
23rd March 2023 FOOD BY HELEN WESTWATER OF LA OLA FRESCA…‘ARNADÍ DE CALABAZA’
One of the most fascinating things about cooking, for me, is the dialogue or stories that can be passed down through the ages. Traditional recipes, and the way they are celebrated in our homes, can give coded messages of where we came from and the stories of our journey. As we are approaching Easter, we […]
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History 
17th January 2023 JEWISH VALENCIA
There is a long and tragic history associated with the presence of Judaism in Valencia. At its height, during the Medieval period, Valencia had one of the largest and most prominent Jewish communities in the Iberian Peninsula. Under Moorish reign, the Jews that resided here were held under restrictions and laws that forbade them from […]
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History 
15th May 2021 VICENTE BLASCO IBÁÑEZ…VALENCIA’S MOST UNIVERSAL CITIZEN
Novelist, journalist, politician, war correspondent, founder of Utopian communes, publisher of books and newspapers, voluntary exile, tireless traveller, political prisoner, anti-clerical, duellist and womaniser…Vicente Blasco Ibáñez was born in Valencia in 1867. His novels have made him one of Valencia’s most celebrated literary sons but, just like so many Valencia Football Club managers, he always […]
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History 
23rd February 2021 TANKS FOR THE MEMORY
For those of us living in Spain today, democracy is a given and pretty much unmoveable. The dark, dull days of dictatorship seem a long way off. However, if some dangerously deluded bright sparks had got their way on 23 February 1981, things might have been a whole lot different and at the centre of […]
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Places 
12th April 2020 CHURCH OF SAN NICOLÁS…BAROQUE TREASURES IN THE HEART OF THE CARMEN
Hidden at the end of a little passageway marked “Parroquia de San Nicolás”, about halfway down C/ Caballeros amongst the tourist trap bars and ‘authentic’ bodegas, is one of the city’s greatest art treasures. The dazzling Baroque frescoes at the Church of San Nicolás have recently been restored to their former glory and are now […]
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Places 
31st July 2019 VALENCIA CATHEDRAL
Built at the city’s highest point, Valencia Cathedral – or to give it its full name, the Santa Iglesia Catedral Basilica Metropolitana de Santa María – does not quite dominate the skyline as much as its grand title might suggest. If it wasn’t for the great Miguelete bell tower you’d hardly know it was a […]
