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TRAVEL REPORT
by Gill Moorcroft
Report on Day Trip to Xątiva - Wednesday 23rd January 2008
The last of our three subsidised trips for members only, was to the town of Xątiva, which is situated some 50kms south of Valencia, not too far from Gandia. Althouth, Xątiva is now a modern, bustling town, its history goes back for centuries. One of its many claims to fame was that the Moors introduced paper from here to the rest of Europe.
It's a very interesting town for historical and cultural reasons. All Spanish towns have at least one fountain but Xątiva is commonly known as the "City of a Thousand Fountains". One of these fountains, boasts 25 spouts.
A stroll through the centuries old plane trees, crossing Xątiva diagonally and forming the outer limits of the ancient town centre is a small piece of tranquility in this busy town.
Xątiva is located at the foot of a mountain, dominated by the Serra Vernissa. The town boasts a magnificent medieval castle fringing the surroundings.
On arrival in Xątiva we were taken, by the local Tourist Train on a sightseeing tour of the town with commentary, which pointed out a lot of the historical buildings which would be worth a better look. The tour then took us up the very steep road to the castle.
Although both the Iberians and the Romans fortified the same peak, the majority of the surviving walls and towers are Moorish in technique and Gothic in styles. On arrival at the Castle, there was an optional film showing its history. A walk to the top most point allowed us to see the spectacular views of the area, the rooftops of the town, churches and even the newly constructed bullring.
The Tourist Train took us all back down to the town, where we had free time to find a restaurant for lunch and to explore the town more fully.
I think everyone would agree that this was a very interesting trip and worth a more extensive visit at a later time.
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