It was hot, really hot, the day we chose to visit the Ducal Palace at Gandia and the driver didn't know Gandia at all so we had an unexpected general tour before and after the visit to this former home of the Borja's. That family is renowned for many things but the guide who showed us around was strangely reticent; no naughtiness as far as she was concerned.
The Ducal Palace of Gandia, also known as the Palace of the Borja, is an impressive building, typical of the civil architecture of the time.
It was the Royal Dukes of the Aragon Kingdom's main residence. In 1485, the Cardinal Rodrigo of Borja, the future Pope Alexander VI, bought Gandia Dukedom for his descendants, establishing the Borja Dukes' dynasty until the year 1740, notably amoung them was its fourth Duke Saint Francis of Borja.
The building is magnificent filled with wonderful paintings and personal memorabilia. It was taken over by the Jesuits in 1887 , bought by public subscription when it was nearly in ruins and is now the pride and joy of Gandia. The "Golden Gallery" shown in the picture on the left features panels at each side which can be folded back to allow for the wide dresses that the ladies wore at that time.
A stroll through the narrow streets of the old town was interesting before a look at the 3 kms length of the wonderful sands of the Grau - the second, and distinct part of Gandia, with, of course, an excellent buffet lunch in a restaurant on the sea front.
