Alcala de Xivert puts its historical-artistic heritage on display
The Alcala Bell Tower, the wealth in the Parish Museum, the church of Saint John the Baptist and the Xivert Castle museum collection, are meeting points for many tourists who, drawn by the richness of Alcala’s patrimony and culture, each week join the guided visits organised by the Council through the Culture and Tourism departments.
“The heritage possessed by Alcala and Alcossebre is very important. We are not a town with only sun and beaches and this is a perfect opportunity for our visitors to get to know our history better and what gives us our identity”, mayor Francisco Juan explains.
“Visitors to the town have a great chance of combining holidays and culture in a novel way. And there are up to three different routes to enjoy the culture of our Xivert Castle, the Saint John the Baptist Church and the museum collection about the Castle in the CESAL building”, added María Agut, Alcala Council’s Culture councillor.
Every Thursday, there are three different routes for visitors which start early in the morning. Information about times can be obtained from the town’s tourist offices. The first one takes visitors to the Xivert Castle, originally a Moslem fortress; it was then conquered by the Templars. Xivert is also right in the middle of the Sierra d’Irta National Park, which guarantees some extremely beautiful spots around the fortress settlement.
The second route takes visitors inside the Saint John the Baptist Church, an example of classic Valencian architecture, which houses an interesting parish museum. Next to the church is the impressive ‘Campanar’ (bell tower), regarded as a jewel of Valencian Baroque architecture where, following a long period of restoration, there is a projection room in which visitors can see a film explaining the history involved in the construction of this tower.
Finally, the third route proposed by the Xivert Council is a visit to the historical graphic collection about the Castle, in the Alcala CESAL building. Rafa Ronchera will explain to visitors about all the hidden aspects of the different items found during the excavations carried out at the Xivert Castle over the years.
The Alcala Bell Tower, the wealth in the Parish Museum, the church of Saint John the Baptist and the Xivert Castle museum collection, are meeting points for many tourists who, drawn by the richness of Alcala’s patrimony and culture, each week join the guided visits organised by the Council through the Culture and Tourism departments.
“The heritage possessed by Alcala and Alcossebre is very important. We are not a town with only sun and beaches and this is a perfect opportunity for our visitors to get to know our history better and what gives us our identity”, mayor Francisco Juan explains.
“Visitors to the town have a great chance of combining holidays and culture in a novel way. And there are up to three different routes to enjoy the culture of our Xivert Castle, the Saint John the Baptist Church and the museum collection about the Castle in the CESAL building”, added María Agut, Alcala Council’s Culture councillor.
Every Thursday, there are three different routes for visitors which start early in the morning. Information about times can be obtained from the town’s tourist offices. The first one takes visitors to the Xivert Castle, originally a Moslem fortress; it was then conquered by the Templars. Xivert is also right in the middle of the Sierra d’Irta National Park, which guarantees some extremely beautiful spots around the fortress settlement.
The second route takes visitors inside the Saint John the Baptist Church, an example of classic Valencian architecture, which houses an interesting parish museum. Next to the church is the impressive ‘Campanar’ (bell tower), regarded as a jewel of Valencian Baroque architecture where, following a long period of restoration, there is a projection room in which visitors can see a film explaining the history involved in the construction of this tower.
Finally, the third route proposed by the Xivert Council is a visit to the historical graphic collection about the Castle, in the Alcala CESAL building. Rafa Ronchera will explain to visitors about all the hidden aspects of the different items found during the excavations carried out at the Xivert Castle over the years.
