Silk Exchange (La Lonja)

In front of you stands the great temple of trade of fifteenth-century Valencia, when the city was one of the richest in the Mediterranean. This is the Merchants' Exchange, also known as the Silk Exchange or simply La Lonja. In 1996 UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site as a “wholly exceptional” example of a late Gothic secular building.

1Fifteen years for a palace of money

Francesc Baldomar drew up the first plans, and Pere Compte directed the works from 1483, together with Joan Iborra. By 1498 the great trading hall was finished. There merchants struck deals in silk, cloth, wheat or oil beneath vaults resting on twisted columns, like palm trunks that branch out into ribs as they reach the ceiling.

2A sermon in gold letters

Around the hall runs a Latin inscription in gilded letters, urging traders not to deceive with their tongues, to keep their oaths and not to lend at usury. It promises the honest merchant abundant riches and, in the end, eternal life.

3Debtors and disputes at sea

The upper floors of the tower served as a prison for merchants who failed to pay their debts. In the wing of the Consulate of the Sea, completed in 1548, maritime trade disputes were judged. The name “Silk” came later, from the silk industry that for centuries provided work for thousands of Valencian families.

From outside it looks like a fortress; inside, it is a forest of stone.

4What to look for

• The doorway on Plaza del Mercado, with its Gothic arches and delicate reliefs.
• The crown-shaped battlements running along the top of the whole building.
• The central tower, between the trading hall and the Consulate.