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The morning is fresh. The sun is still going to take time to enter the streets of the old town of Xàtiva, almost all of them narrow and with tall buildings, palaces and manor houses that remind us that in medieval times this city became the second most relevant of the, by then, Kingdom of Valencia In the Alexander VI square only a few birds can be heard and the relaxing flow of a fountain ... one of the many (many!) That are in this town, in the squares, in the streets and even inside many houses .
This place is usually the beginning of the thematic tours on the Borja (or the Borgia, after the Italianization of the surname), one of the most important and powerful families during the European Renaissance. From Xativa came this lineage (of Aragonese ancestors) that would put two of its members on the throne of St. Peter, in Rome, and get another to be canonized. The placeta Alexander VI does not bear the name by chance: here is the old abode of the Borja, the house where Rodrigo de Borja was born, who, over time, would become Pope.
Before him he had already been his uncle, Alfonso de Borja, under the name of Calixto III, with which the stories of intrigues, tricks and conspiracies that turned this family into a most novel lineage, surrounded by a Black legend , true in part, but magnified by literature and cinema.
From the church to the castle
Many of the buildings of the architectural and cultural heritage of Xàtiva are thus related to the Borja. It is necessary to cross Montcada street, full of palaces, convents and monastery s, such as Santa Clara, which was abbess Beatriz de Borja ; visit La Seu, the basilica collegiate church of Santa María which, despite not having a cathedral rank, is larger than that of Valencia; contemplate the altarpiece of the Artigues house, next to La Seu, commissioned in the 18th century by a popular initiative to pay tribute to the city's illustrious characters.
Among them, are the two pontiffs Borja; and stroll through the rooms of the Museum, formed by the Almodí and the House of Education, where the remains of the Borja chapel are exhibited, in addition to an interesting artistic collection among which a canvas stands out and not because its factory is of higher quality than others, but for being hung upside down. He was painted by a local artist, Josep Amorós , and is a portrait of Felipe V, the monarch who won the War of Succession and had the city burned and changed his name. It seems that here they do not end up forgetting that episode and they have the king like that, upside down, as a life-time lesson.
Then you have to climb up to the Castle, a fortress whose wall extends along several of the hills that flank the city, and whose strategic value determined the geopolitical importance of the town. He always had a more defensive mission than a palace, besides serving as a prison. Many illustrious characters, such as the count of Urgell or the Duke of Calabria, ended up locked up here. And the Borja family was not spared either: Diego de Borja, great-grandson of Pope Alexander VI, was imprisoned for a murder and executed for that crime.
The route through the Borja Territory continues in Gandía, the coastal city that Rodrigo Borja , while still a cardinal, bought, for his firstborn Pedro Luis, as part of a royal duchy who had returned to the Crown. In addition to taking advantage of the occasion to turn his son into a duke, the future Pope Alexander VI had taken a look at this city for the cultivation and commerce that was made here of sugar cane. It is not that His Holiness was sweet, but very hustling, for this exotic crop was tremendously profitable. From here he would end up taking America, after passing through the Canary Islands and Madeira.
BETWEEN TRAMPANTOJOS AND BALCONES
The key visit in Gandía in relation to the Borja is, needless to say, the Ducal Palace. It is best to go through it with a guide because it is so large and contains so many transformations inside, made by the different owners that it has been having throughout history, that without a good explanation we run the risk of not understanding much what we are seeing. Of course, dazzled we will be anyway, in the Hall of Corona s, in the neo-Gothic chapel, in the Holy Chapel (in the form of a coffin) and, above all, in the Golden Gallery, a run room composed of five rooms contiguous, designed for that, to overwhelm: gold, fresco, trapntojos, games of light , balconies and a room with circular flooring in polychrome and historically ceramic.
The history of the Doge's Palace is linked, especially, to Francisco de Borja, the IV Duke of Gandia and III General of the Society of Jesus, as well as becoming a saint after his death. His statue is also found in different corners of the city, such as in the Plaza de las Escuelas Pías, which is the building of the Old University (founded by Francisco de Borja), or in the Market Square , where the Collegiate Church is also. It is of Gothic style but quite decorative sobriety, since it was built after the conquest of Muslim territory and was intended to be more functional than anything else.
In spite of that, it has gone down in history for one of its few ornamental elements: it seems that when a young maiden walked by the temple, a jasmine petal fell on her head, causing her death. The young woman earned the title of Gandía's delicà for having passed to a better life by having touched a flower ... of course, everything is explained if we consider that it was a stone flower that adorned the facade of church...
The tour of Gandía is closed with the visit of the new Museum of Santa Clara , in the old Hospital of Sant Marc, a space where a collection of sacred art is exhibited, which includes paintings, altarpieces, reliquary busts, sculptures, custodians and even the cord of the tunic with which the mother of San Francisco de Borja grew up to give birth after three days of childbirth. See (or not) to believe ...
PRACTICAL GUIDE
Drop down
WHERE TO SLEEP RH Bayren Hotel & Spa . Paseo de Neptuno, 62 (Gandía). Modern four star superior hotel, located in front of the sea. Very comfortable rooms. Spa area and treatments. From 69 euros.
WHERE TO EAT Vins i més restaurant . Jesuitas Street, 3 (Xàtiva). Tél. 639 13 08 50. Market cuisine and traditional and modern preparations of high quality. Extensive, varied and attractive wine list. Average price: 33 euros.
DO NOT MISS . The Ducal Palace of Gandía conducts theatrical guided tours every two Sundays, from September to June. During July and August night visits are organized (Tuesday and Thursday), gastronomic days and Borgian dinners. All under previous reservation.
MORE INFORMATION. On the websites of www.visitgandia.com and www.xativaturismo.com
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