La Lonja de la Seda (Silk Exchange)
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Upon entering the Plaza del Mercado that magnificent building on your right hand side is La Lonja de la Seda (the Silk Exchange), protected as a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1996 and an absolute “Must See” for anyone visiting Valencia.
One of Europe’s finest examples of Late Gothic architecture, fancifully adorned with 15th century Mediterranean Renaissance art, La Lonja is a blend of imposing monumental medieval castle coupled with a playful fairyland edifice. This odd mixture of architecture served an intentional purpose. La Longa was designed to represent the commercial and financial powers of Valencia during its Golden Age. And, if I might add, La Longa very successfully represented Valencia’s powers. Perhaps difficult to believe today, especially when one compares Valencia to the powerhouse cities of Madrid and Barcelona, but at the time La Lonja was built (1482 – 1533) Valencia was the leading economic and cultural Mediterranean mercantile city.
Constructed entirely in limestone, La Lonja is composed of three parts plus the Orange Garden, the walled court-yard. The main hall, Sala de Contratacion, aka the Contract Hall, is an enormous, lavishly decorated space. This was the centre of life in La Lonja and Valencia; the place where the merchants of the day would meet, wheel and deal and ultimately sign on the dotted line.
Its lofty interior is divided into three main aisles; the vaulting roof supported by five rows of slender spiral pillars. Throughout the building the floors are inlaid with different colored marble. A Latin inscription in Gothic characters runs around the walls proclaiming the principles upon which trade within the hall was based, the honesty of its traders and justice of its syndicates. The interior is lit by soaring Gothic windows which, like the doors, are exuberantly ornamented. In the center of La Lonja's main façade, facing Plaza del Mercado, is an imposing doorway crowned by an image of the Virgen del Rosario and above the doorway, the royal arms of Aragon.
The side-wing is the Pavilion of the Consulate and was the seat of the Tribunal del Mar - the first merchant tribunal to be formed in Spain. The first two floors served as the main function rooms, with the upper one hosting a richly decorated ceiling often referred to as a masterpiece of medieval art. These rooms are still authentically furnished.
The third part of La Longa’s structure is the tower which, upon occasion, was used by the Tribunal as a jail in which to incarcerate merchants with unfulfilled debts.
After five centuries, La Longa continues to represent the city’s past and its commercial and financial glory. Today the Sala de Contratacion serves primarily to handle the negotiations for, and trade of, agricultural products. It is also the seat of the Cultural Academy of Valencia and hosts innumerable exhibitions and cultural activities.
Hours of Operation: Monday through Saturday from 9:30am through 19.00 (7pm); Sundays and bank holidays from 9.30am through 15.00 (3pm).
Entry fees: Tickets €2 for individuals or €1 for visitor in a group, students, pensioners, large families. Free entry on Sundays and public holidays.
One of Europe’s finest examples of Late Gothic architecture, fancifully adorned with 15th century Mediterranean Renaissance art, La Lonja is a blend of imposing monumental medieval castle coupled with a playful fairyland edifice. This odd mixture of architecture served an intentional purpose. La Longa was designed to represent the commercial and financial powers of Valencia during its Golden Age. And, if I might add, La Longa very successfully represented Valencia’s powers. Perhaps difficult to believe today, especially when one compares Valencia to the powerhouse cities of Madrid and Barcelona, but at the time La Lonja was built (1482 – 1533) Valencia was the leading economic and cultural Mediterranean mercantile city.
Constructed entirely in limestone, La Lonja is composed of three parts plus the Orange Garden, the walled court-yard. The main hall, Sala de Contratacion, aka the Contract Hall, is an enormous, lavishly decorated space. This was the centre of life in La Lonja and Valencia; the place where the merchants of the day would meet, wheel and deal and ultimately sign on the dotted line.
Its lofty interior is divided into three main aisles; the vaulting roof supported by five rows of slender spiral pillars. Throughout the building the floors are inlaid with different colored marble. A Latin inscription in Gothic characters runs around the walls proclaiming the principles upon which trade within the hall was based, the honesty of its traders and justice of its syndicates. The interior is lit by soaring Gothic windows which, like the doors, are exuberantly ornamented. In the center of La Lonja's main façade, facing Plaza del Mercado, is an imposing doorway crowned by an image of the Virgen del Rosario and above the doorway, the royal arms of Aragon.
The side-wing is the Pavilion of the Consulate and was the seat of the Tribunal del Mar - the first merchant tribunal to be formed in Spain. The first two floors served as the main function rooms, with the upper one hosting a richly decorated ceiling often referred to as a masterpiece of medieval art. These rooms are still authentically furnished.
The third part of La Longa’s structure is the tower which, upon occasion, was used by the Tribunal as a jail in which to incarcerate merchants with unfulfilled debts.
After five centuries, La Longa continues to represent the city’s past and its commercial and financial glory. Today the Sala de Contratacion serves primarily to handle the negotiations for, and trade of, agricultural products. It is also the seat of the Cultural Academy of Valencia and hosts innumerable exhibitions and cultural activities.
Hours of Operation: Monday through Saturday from 9:30am through 19.00 (7pm); Sundays and bank holidays from 9.30am through 15.00 (3pm).
Entry fees: Tickets €2 for individuals or €1 for visitor in a group, students, pensioners, large families. Free entry on Sundays and public holidays.
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