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Palace of the Generalitat of Valencia

The Palace of the Generalitat, known as the Palau de la Generalitat Valenciana (Valencian) or the Palacio de la Generalidad Valenciana (Castilian) is a building in the valencian gothic style with Renaissance interventions that date from the 15th century. Since 1931 it has been designated a Bien de Interés Cultural, made from local materials, such as stone from Godella and Rocafort, tiles from Manises and Paterna, marble from Buixcarró and wood carved from native forests.

The palace is located in the La Seu neighborhood in the Ciutat Vella district of the city of Valencia. It is located between Carrer dels Cavallers on the south, Carrer Bailia on the north, and between Plaça de Manises to the west and Plaça de la Verge to the east. This is one of the most ancient areas of the city where one also finds the Metropolitan Catedral-Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady of Valencia, the Basilica of Our Lady of the Forsaken, the Palace Fuentehermosa, and the Palace Baylía.

Today, the Palace of the Generalitat is the headquarters of the government of the Valencian Community, but the building has had various names during it’s long existence:

• House of the General Deputation of the Kingdom of Valencia (1421-1705)
• Royal Territorial Court (1750-1923)
• Provincial Deputation (1923-1982)
• Popular Executive Committee (1936-1937)
• Generalitat of Valencia (1982-present)

The Palace of the Generalitat of Valencia, like that of Catalonia, is one of the few buildings of medieval origin in Europe that remains the seat of the government and the institution that built it, the Generalitat of the Kingdom of Valencia. In addition to its political symbolism, it is one of the best examples of Valencian civil architecture of the period, built by the master craftsmen of the time.

Function

The Generalitat or Diputació General was a delegated commission of the Valencian Cortes created in 1361. It was in charge of the management and administration of donations and taxes paid to the Crown by the three arms of the Cortes: ecclesiastical, military, and civil. The precarious economic situation of the Kingdom of Aragon, of which the Kingdom of Valencia was a part, at the beginning of the 15th century would lead to the consolidation of taxation by the Cortes de Monzón (Montsó ca). The Generalitats (or departments) were created to collect and manage the taxes and the members were called deputies.

In 1403, the Valencian Court appointed to the Generalitat thirty-two deputies made up of eight members each representing the royal, civil, military, and ecclesiastical arms, in order to legislate on matters that the Court considered minor. In 1418, Alfonso the Magnanimous made the Generalitat of the Kingdom of Valencia the organ of administration of the kingdom's funds and the highest representative of the kingdom in the absence of the Court.

The palace was begun in 1421 with the aim of housing the same entity that it houses today and that gives it its name, the General Provincial Council or Generalitat of the Kingdom of Valencia, the highest governmental institution of Valencia since 1418.

The old emblem of the Generalitat, seen throughout the palace, was made up of Saint George, representing the military and nobility, the Virgin Mary, representing the church, and the Guardian Angel, representing the civic life of the royal cities and towns. Today this emblem is that of the Valencian Parliament, and for the Generalitat the heraldry of King Peter the Ceremonious is used, which consists of a four-barred shield inclined to the right, accompanied by a crowned silver helmet, an azure mantle, a curvilinear cross pattée (Cross_pattée) and, at the top, a winged dragon.

After the War of the Spanish Succession, King Philip V abolished the charters or furs in 1707 and the building lost its function. The building housed the Territorial Court from 1751 to 1923, the year in which the Provincial Council was installed. After the advent of the current democracy and the recovery of the Valencian institutions, it was once again the seat of the Generalitat, and a symbol of Valencian unity and identity. In 1978, it once again housed the Council and the Cortes, but in 1984 the Cortes or legislature was moved to the Palace of the Borgias (Palau de Benicarló ca) and the building remained exclusively for the Council of the Generalitat Valenciana (Consell de la Generalitat Valenciana ca).

Building

The architecture of the building represents a mix of artistic styles that move from the Gothic passing through the Renaissance to the Herrerian style. The original building is Mediterranean Gothic with an open patio, an open staircase, an ogival or gothic door on the mezzanine as well as on the facade, and lintel windows on the mezzanine as well as in the windows located under the eave. The falcon doors and corners are Renaissance and the windows of the second floor are classic. The balustrade that crowns the towers is in the style of El Escorial.

Central body (1481-1541)

Built in late Gothic style by Pere Comte and Joan Guivarró, the oldest part is the doorway of Carrer de Cavallers (1481), and the most modern, but still Gothic, are the arches of the upper gallery (1541). It is distributed as a Mediterranean Gothic palace with an open courtyard, a grand staircase, a semi-basement, and three floors: mezzanine, main floor and gallery.

The façade facing Carrer de Cavallers presents:

access door with semicircular voussoir, which leads to the courtyard; mezzanine, with six rectangular moulded windows; main floor, with six three-lobed Gothic windows with fine columns; gallery, with sixteen windows below the wooden eaves; gabled roof, in contrast to the four of the primitive tower.

The façade facing Plaça de Manises has:

access door with voussoir, in line with the previous one, which also leads to the courtyard; mezzanine, with seven rectangular moulded windows; main floor, with eight three-lobed Gothic windows with fine columns; gallery, with twenty-three windows below the wooden eaves.

In the open courtyard, the grand staircase was built by Joan Corbera in 1551. This example of Flamboyant Gothic is made up of two sections at right angles joined by a landing. In the same courtyard, there is a bronze chimney by Mario Benlliure (1899) and a sculpture of a crossbowman from the Centenary of the Feather, by Salvador Furió.

From the courtyard, there is access by a smaller staircase to the old tower, and by the grand staircase to the main floor, on the access landing to which there is a double door forming an angle of 90°, on which the old emblem of the Generalitat can be seen on an arch and on another two chiseled busts facing each other, possibly of Ferdinand the Catholic and his second wife, Germaine of Foix.

Ancient Tower (1518-1585)

A large tower was erected together with the body of the central building, which overlooks the Plaça de la Verge, designed by the master Montano and executed with great difficulty, since the works were suspended for various reasons and were changed from the original plans. This long process influenced the diversity of styles in the construction, because it was begun in the Gothic style, continued in the Renaissance style and finished in Herrerian style.

The tower consists of five floors. The first three are the work of Joan Corbera, who also participated in the works of the Pavilion of the Consulate of the Silk Exchange, and the last two floors by Gaspar Gregori. The windows of the mezzanine follow the same scheme as those of the central body. On the main floor, the Gothic arches are topped by the addition of the Renaissance triangular pediment. The squared balcony was built so that the authorities could view the Corpus Christi procession. The top of the tower, in Herrerian style, is crowned by a cornice and stone balustrade completed with balls decorating the railing and pinnacles in the corners.

Modern Tower (1940-1952)

The twin tower, by Lluís Albert Ballesteros, which overlooks the Plaça de Manises, is a copy of the older one. It is similar, but it does not have a balcony and the arrangement of windows is completely regular, unlike the old one.

It was from 1940 when the Provincial Council of Valencia began to expropriate all the houses that were needed to build the new tower. For the construction of this second tower the same stone that had been used for the first tower was used in order to match aesthetically. In the new tower there is the current primary access door to the building, semicircular with voussoir and coat of arms with the bars of Aragon.

Sala Dorada (1517-1538)

The staircase to the right of the courtyard gives access to the old tower, where the Great Golden Room and the Small Golden Room or Retreat are located. The large one had the function of an extraordinary meeting room, and sometimes a prison for nobles, while the small one was a room for common or everyday meetings.

The most characteristic of these is the golden ceiling from which they take their name. In the Great Golden Room, the gilded ceiling establishes a relationship of equality between Renaissance symmetry and Mudejar taste. Each square section has another rhomboidal figure inside, which, in turn, includes an octagon with a central hanging floret. All this worked with the meticulous Mudejar cut, but also including characteristic Renaissance motifs such as acanthus leaves, busts, strawberries, thistles and denticles. This work, made by the master Genís Llinares in 1534, was finished with polychrome and gilded by Joan Cardona.

In the ceiling of the smaller room, there is a change in the geometric distribution, since the coffers are made up of symmetrical octagons that give the appearance of triangular and square figures, adorned with plant scrolls, denticles, hanging florets and a wide variety of medallions with human heads and dragons. The depth and complication in the coffered ceilings of the small room is greater, compared to of the large one. It is also the work of Genís Llinares and his son Pere Llinares Blasco, who would conclude it on the death of his father.

Sala Vella (1481-1494)

The Sala Vella has had various uses, and currently the plenary sessions of the Council of the Generalitat Valenciana are held there. It stands out for the polychrome decoration of its ceiling by the master cabinetmaker Antoni Peris Alterol, and for the crushed stone doorway attributed to Pere Comte, which serves as access from the Gothic courtyard.

Escrivania (1565-1585)

In 1565, it was decided to use as a clerk’s office, due to lack of space, the room located above the Sala Nova and which was still unused. This room was accessed by the spiral staircase (located next to the entrance to the Sala Nova). The cabinet of the clerk’s office is an important example of Valencian cabinetmaking and the work of Gaspar Gregori. The work was completed in 1585.

Sala de Reis (1511-1592)

On the main floor, we find the Sala of Honor, which is accessed from the front door of the courtyard, and where in the past special swearing-in meetings were held that required special protocols. Crossing the mixtilini arch on the left, you enter one of the most important rooms of the palace: the Hall of Kings, which takes its name from the series of mostly imagined portraits begun in the seventeenth century by Pau Pontons of the kings who ruled the Kingdom of Valencia from James I to Alfonso XIII. The room stands on the beamed bay of the lobby and overlooks Carrer de Cavallers through its four windows divided by thin columns. The construction of the room, begun in 1511, is the work of Joan Mançano. The original ceiling disappeared in the nineteenth century and was replaced by the current one. Today it is used for Council receptions.

One end of the hall was reserved for the chapel, a common element in noble houses. The chapel is separated from the rest of the room by an iron grille and curtains. The primitive chapel consisted of an altar begun in 1514. This was originally decorated with the emblem of the Generalitat (Saint George, the Virgin Mary and the Guardian Angel), plus figures of prophets and seraphim, and it is an example of the early Renaissance in Valencia. At the beginning of the seventeenth century it was auctioned and a new altarpiece was commissioned. This is the work of Joan Sarinyena in terms of painting, and the structure was carved by Jaume de Fontestad. It is made up of three bodies: the central part is occupied by the Virgin enthroned with the child, flanked on the left by Saint George slaying the dragon, and on the right by the Guardian Angel, who wields the symbols of the Crown. In the predella, scenes from the life of Mary are represented: from left to right, the Annunciation, the Adoration of the Shepherds and the apparition of Saint Bernard. In the attic, there is a representation of the Trinity.

Other rooms on this floor are the Sala del Fumeral and the Sala de Calixto III.

Sala de Corts or Sala de Nova (1540-1593)

The Sala Nova is the most important room in the entire palace. It owes its name, erroneously, to a mistaken interpretation of the paintings in which elected deputies of the Generalitat appear. It was assumed that these representatives of the kingdom met here between convocations of the Court, but no session of the Court with the presence of the king ever took place in this room.

The deputies, in addition to expanding the building with a new room, intended to turn it into the meeting room for their sessions, so they commissioned the master Genís Llinares, and after his death, his son Pere Martí Llinares, and finally, the carpenter and architect Gaspar Gregori completed the work in 1566. This ceiling is inspired by the Throne Room of the Aljafería Palace in Zaragoza.

Genís Llinares prepared twenty-one coffers with the same structure as those in the Sala Dorada, but without polychrome in gold.

The gallery that serves as a support for the ceiling goes around the entire room. It stands on solid corbels, individually adorned with human, vegetable and mythological motifs. The central point on each of the sides of the room is reserved for the emblem of the Generalitat.

The plinth is made of tiles from Manises and Paterna (1568-1576), following the guidelines set by the ceramics of Seville and Talavera, with ornamental motifs of white, blue, yellow and soft ochres.

The paintings in the room depict a session of the Court, with the assistance of representatives of the three estates (military, ecclesiastical, civic). In 1591, the deputies commissioned the work to several painters.

Joan Sarinyena painted six deputies on the wall of the Carrer de Bailía, two from each estate, assisted by the institution's officers, on a four-barred tapestry with the coats of arms of the Generalitat. Vicent Requena painted the ecclesiastical estate to the right of the Sarinyena canvas. Each one seated with the clothes proper to his station under a Virgin Mary with the child supported by angels from which falls the phylactery (Speech_scroll) that calls the ecclesiastical branch of the court on a four-barred background. On the wall of the gardens of the Generalitat, the Italian Francesco Pozzo painted the numerous representatives of the military establishment, placed in four rows to increase their depth. Like the other paintings, he maintains the four-barred background and places in the upper centre Saint George with the military branch phylactery. The phylactery with the civic branch of the royal cities and towns of the Kingdom was painted by Vicent Mestre, with the corresponding symbol of the Guardian Angel, and the thirteen representatives of the royal towns of the kingdom, namely: Xàtiva, Orihuela, Alicante, Morella, Alzira, Castellón, Villarreal, Ontinyent, Alcoy, Onda, Carcaixent, Callosa and Guardamar.

References

External links

• www.example.com