Village
Morella is the capital of the comarca of Els Ports, in the north of the province of Castellón, a walled medieval town on a rocky hill that rises to 985 metres of altitude. It has 2,501 inhabitants and, since January 2013, has been part of the network of Spain's most beautiful villages. Its territory, rugged and mountainous, reaches peaks of up to 1,286 metres at the Alt de la Nevera, and encompasses the fertile plains of the Moll and dels Llivis, one of the largest agricultural areas in the comarca. The climate is Mediterranean high-mountain, with cold winters and frequent frosts, and an average of fifteen days of snow a year.
Monument
The castle of Morella crowns the hill on which the city sits, with views over the whole comarca of Els Ports, and has witnessed numerous historic battles. Within its precinct there are prehistoric, Iberian and Roman remains, although the current fortress dates from the 13th century, of Islamic origin, with Christian alterations after the Reconquest. It is organised into three levels: the entrance and the Governor's Palace below, the artillery batteries at mid-height, and above the castle precinct with semicircular towers and a Roman cistern. In 1813 the troops of General Elío bombarded the tower until they forced the French garrison to surrender, and it suffered damage again during the Carlist Wars. Declared a historic-artistic monument in 1931, it is now accessed through the cloister of the Convent of San Francisco.
Monument
The wall of Morella is the fortified precinct that surrounds the town, in the comarca of Els Ports, with a perimeter of about 2,500 metres, an average height of between 10 and 15 metres and a thickness of approximately two metres; it is preserved in very good condition and has a wall-walk that runs along its entire length. It stands on an earlier Muslim wall, from the 11th century, and its current structure was begun between 1324 and 1330 under the direction of the master builder Aparisi Joan, with later alterations in the 17th and 18th centuries. The precinct is punctuated by fifteen towers, among them those of Públic, Nevera and San Miguel, and seven gates, such as those of San Miguel, Forcall and San Mateo.
Monument
The archpriestal basilica of Santa María la Mayor, on the square of Benedict XV in Morella, was built between 1265 and 1343, already in the 13th and 14th centuries, in Valencian Gothic style, although it was not entirely finished until 1593, when it was consecrated by the bishop of Tortosa, the Morella-born Gaspar Punter; the marquis of Lozoya considered it the most beautiful Gothic church in the Valencian region. It has a three-nave plan with their apses and a raised choir, atypically located in the second-to-last bay, reached by a spiral staircase. It preserves three rose windows with original 14th-century stained glass, the organ of Francisco Turull, the most important in the Comunitat Valenciana, and a 17th-century Churrigueresque altarpiece with paintings of the Assumption and of the first mass celebrated in Morella after the Reconquest.
Monument
Hydraulic infrastructure in Valencian Gothic style, also known as the Aqüeducte de Santa Llúcia or Séquia Reial, built between the 13th and 14th centuries to bring water from the Vinatxos spring to Morella. In 1273 James I granted the spring to the city, and in 1315 James II authorised the Consell of Morella to build the aqueduct, work on which began in 1318; the present run of arches was raised in 1338 and in 1359 the water reached the Pla del Sol, today Font Vella. It has been repaired on several occasions, after the collapse of arches in 1391 and with new reinforcement works in 1421, 1739 and 1845; in the mid-20th century it was modernised with the introduction of a polyethylene pipe. It was declared Bien de Interés Cultural (Spain's highest level of heritage protection), with the category of monument, in 2006.
Monument
Former Franciscan convent in Morella (Els Ports, Castellón), within the walled precinct of the town. Its construction began in 1272 and the church, in Valencian Gothic style, was solemnly consecrated in 1390; it has a single nave without a transept, with side chapels, large pointed transverse arches and a simple ribbed vault in the apse. The wooden roof was finished in 1387. In the chapter house a 15th-century fresco depicting the Dance of Death is preserved, and the complex also includes a refectory and cloister. The church was covered over in neoclassical style in 1800, although today the original Gothic style can once again be appreciated.
Curiosity
Festival that Morella celebrates every six years, in the second half of August, in honour of the Mare de Déu de Vallivana. Its origin dates back to the 17th century: after the plague epidemics of 1648-1650 and 1672, a group of notables of the town organised a procession of rogation to the hermitage of the Vallivana, and on 31 December of that year the image was carried in procession through Morella; according to tradition, the sick recovered their health and the epidemic subsided. In gratitude, the Consell of Morella agreed in 1673 to hold, in perpetuity, a nine-day thanksgiving every six years, a custom kept up almost without interruption ever since, with 53 editions celebrated. The year before each Sexenni, «l'Anunci» is held, reminding the people of Morella of the festival's approach with ninots, a proclamation and a rosary.
Activity
Morella honours San Julián, its patron saint, on 7 January, and San Antonio on the weekend after 17 January. Its most distinctive festival is the Sexenni, in honour of the Virgen de Vallivana, held only every six years in August, with guild dances; it is declared a Fiesta de Interés Turístico Nacional and Intangible Heritage.
Monument
Museum in Morella with fossil dinosaur remains, especially of Iguanodon, found in the area of the comarca of Els Ports.
Curiosity
The comarca of Els Ports was formed between the Upper Jurassic and the Lower Cretaceous, between 146 and 98 million years ago, leaving abundant remains of marine fauna and calcareous algae.
Historical milestone
In 1232 a group of Blasco de Alagón's men scaled the crag by night and surprised the Muslim governor: it was the first important stronghold won in what would be the Kingdom of Valencia, and James I ended up claiming it for the Crown for its strategic value.
Historical milestone
Ferdinand I of Aragon, pope Benedict XIII and fray Vicent Ferrer met in 1414 for close to fifty days in the convent of San Francisco to try to put an end to the Western Schism; the Papa Luna refused to renounce and ended up isolated in Peñíscola.
Historical milestone
Ramón Cabrera stormed by night the castle held to be impregnable and made Morella the capital of the Carlist Maestrazgo; the pretender named him count of Morella and the stronghold did not fall until Espartero's offensive in May 1840.
Food and drink
A small pastry of thin dough flavored with aguardiente and filled with curd cheese and almond, baked in a half-moon shape; it is the town's emblematic sweet and its recipe connects with the medieval and Andalusi baking of the comarca.
Food and drink
The tuber melanosporum gathered in the comarca's holm-oak scrub sustains the Jornades de la Trufa Morella-Els Ports, with a fresh truffle market in February and dishes in which it accompanies lamb, hen and eggs.