Serranos Towers

In front of you rises the great northern gate of medieval Valencia. This is where travellers arrived from the road to the Serranía and Aragon, which is why people called it the gate “of the Serranos”, the highlanders. Notice a curious detail: towards the river, the towers present an almost blind wall; towards the city, by contrast, they open up like a palace.

1A gate built to impress

The master builder Pere Balaguer raised it between 1392 and 1398, with stone brought from local quarries. More than a defence, it was a triumphal arch: kings, ambassadors and viceroys made their solemn entry through it, and its open galleries served as a grandstand during the great festivals.

2A prison for knights

In 1586, after a fire at the Casa de la Ciudad, the towers became a prison for nobles and knights, and remained one until 1887. That use saved them: when Valencia began tearing down its walls in 1865, the gates that still served a purpose were kept.

3The Prado's refuge

During the Spanish Civil War, when the Republican government had moved to Valencia, masterpieces evacuated from the Prado Museum were stored here. To protect them from the bombing, a reinforced concrete vault was built inside the towers in December 1936.

Every year, at the end of February, the Crida that opens the Fallas festival is proclaimed from the top of these towers.

4What to look for

• The two polygonal towers, joined by the central body of the gateway.
• The galleries open towards the city, which reveal the interior as if it were a stage.
• The old bed of the Turia, behind you to the north, now turned into a vast park.