Village
Moixent is a municipality of the Costera comarca, in the province of Valencia, situated in the valley of the río Cáñoles, between the sierra Grossa and the sierra de Enguera. It has 4,401 inhabitants. In its territory lies the Bastida de les Alcusses, the largest Iberian site in the Valencian Community: a walled settlement at 714 metres above sea level where between 1,000 and 1,200 people once lived, declared a Monumento Histórico-Artístico (a heritage protection category preceding the Bien de Interés Cultural) in 1931 and destroyed, probably by an act of war, around 330 BC. The municipality also has natural sites such as El Bosquet, with its artificial lake from the late 18th century, and the Barranco de la Hoz, with rock art.
Nature
Iberian settlement of the 4th century BC situated in the territory of Moixent, on the summit of a long, isolated hill of the Serra Grossa, 741 metres above sea level. It extends 650 metres in length by 150 in width, some 200 metres above the lands of the Pla de les Alcusses, the small plateau that gives it its name, and it is considered one of the main Iberian settlements of the Valencian Community. It is reached by the CV-652 road between Moixent and Fontanares, with parking next to the site itself. The surroundings, today wooded, with pine forest and Mediterranean scrubland, preserve the traditional agricultural landscape despite the present-day cultivation of fruit trees and cereals on the plain.
Activity
Moixent celebrates the Santísimo Cristo del Monte Calvario and the Santas Reliquias in the last full week of August, and San Abdón and San Senén on the third weekend of August at the Casa Rabosa.
Monument
Fortress of Almohad origin from the late 12th century, whose ruins dominate the town of Moixent (La Costera, Valencia) from atop a hill. Among its several crenellated towers, the Torre de Coloms stands out. The castle was the seat of the old barony of Moixent from the 14th century onwards, and its image is depicted on the municipality's coat of arms.
Monument
Neo-Gothic church of Moixent built between 1881 and 1889, with eight bells and artistic elements by the local sculptor Virgilio Sanchis. It was built on the site of an earlier parish of medieval origin, from the 15th century, under the initial direction of the architect Manuel Casesnoves and, after its first year, of Antonio Ferrer, at the request of the parish priest Constantino Quilis. It displays an eclectic architecture with neo-Gothic influence, visible above all in the façade and the bell tower, which was rebuilt between 1924 and 1928 by the master builder Miguel Marqués after the original tower was at risk of collapse. Damaged during the Civil War, especially in its movable heritage, it was restored and reopened for worship in 1939. It is listed as a Monumento de Interés Local (a local-level heritage protection category).
Monument
The Bosquet dam, also called Bassa del Bosquet, is a small gravity dam built in the 18th century in the Sierra Grossa, within the municipality of Moixent, the product of the enlightened hydraulic and agrarian policy promoted under Charles III. Its creator was Pascual Caro y Fontes, son of the first Marquis of la Romana, and the works were considered finished around 1775, the year in which the botanist Antonio José Cavanilles already mentions them during his travels through the area. Of modest size, a hundred metres wide by two hundred long and eight deep, it irrigates a little over four hectares. Next to the dam are preserved an irrigation pond, an ice house for storing snow all year round, and the so-called Casa de la Bassa, built for the maintenance staff.
Monument
Museum of Moixent housed in the chapel of a former 16th-century Franciscan convent dedicated to San Antonio de Padua, founded by the Moixent-born friar Padre Moreno (1520-1603), who brought to the convent relics of martyrs from the early times of Christianity; these relics were moved in 1835 to the church of San Pedro Apóstol. Since 2007 the chapel has operated as the Museo Padre Moreno and houses pieces linked to the former convent.
Nature
The Barranc del Comediant flora micro-reserve, covering 18.65 hectares, is located within the municipality of Moixent (La Costera, Valencia) and was declared by order of 17 July 2006. It protects four priority plant species: Bupleurum gibraltaricum, Fraxinus ornus, Rhamnus lycioides subsp. borgiae and Teucrium ronnigeri, together with two plant formations of interest: thermo-Mediterranean and pre-steppe scrubland, and the rupicolous vegetation of the limestone cliffs of the ravine. A forest track runs alongside the protected area.
Nature
The El Xocolater micro-reserve is a protected natural area within the municipality of Moixent, one of three declared in the municipality, located next to the wetland of the Bosquet dam. This dam, which gives its name to the neighbouring wetland, was built in the 18th century as part of the hydraulic works promoted by the enlightened policy of Charles III, and its reservoir has over time favoured the formation of this wetland environment, which today hosts the micro-reserve.
Activity
Moros y Cristianos (Moors and Christians) festival of Moixent, held on the last weekend of October; in April the Fiesta del Medio Año de Moros y Cristianos (Half-Year Festival) is also held, on the last weekend of that month, as a prelude to the main festival.
Historical milestone
Bronze figure 7.3 centimetres high representing an Iberian horseman, found in 1931 at the settlement of La Bastida de les Alcusses. It topped a staff of command and is dated to the 4th century BC; it is kept in the Museu de Prehistòria de València.
Food and drink
Almond sweet proper to Moixent, made in the villa's bakeries and tied to the local festivities. It shares with the rest of the comarca's pastries the use of dry-farmed almond, a traditional crop on the hills that surround the municipality.