Village
Godelleta is a municipality in the south-eastern part of the comarca of La Hoya de Buñol, in the province of Valencia, with around 4,300 inhabitants and 30 kilometres from the capital. Its territory, marked by the sierra Perenchiza and the ravines of Pelos and la Fuentecita, borders Chiva, Turís, Torrente, Buñol and Alborache. Its origins go back to the 11th century, when the Andalusi alquería of Godayla stood here, on which the so-called Torre árabe was built between the 12th and 13th centuries, part of Valencia's defensive system. In 1304 it received a founding charter from Gombau d'Entença, and its lordship later passed through several noble families down to the Moncadas. In 1574 it separated from Chiva and adopted San Pedro Apóstol as its patron; after the expulsion of the Moriscos it was repopulated in 1610 with settlers from Alcublas.
Activity
Godelleta celebrates its patron saint San Pedro Apóstol on 29 June, and its patron saint, the Virgen del Rosario, on the first weekend of October (main festival, around 7 October).
Monument
The Optical Telegraph Tower of Godelleta stands on the Alto de la Torre, also called Alto del Herrero, at 380 metres above sea level and a little over a kilometre west of the town centre. It is a square, three-storey structure with a battered base measuring 6.40 by 6.40 metres and walls up to 95 centimetres thick, reaching a height of 8.5 metres; the ground floor has no openings apart from three loopholes on each side, and the door is set above ground level. The optical signalling system was installed on the terrace. It was built between 1848 and 1849 as part of the Madrid-Valencia line, which came to have thirty towers, nine of them on Valencian territory. Declared a Bien de Interés Cultural (Spain's highest level of heritage protection) on 15 March 2011, the tower and its land are now privately owned.
Monument
Tower of Muslim origin located in the center of Godelleta, one of the municipality's heritage elements, with a possible Arab foundation and built between the 12th and 13th centuries. It is 25 meters high and is arranged over three levels: the ground floor was used as a storeroom, while the upper floors, with no windows, served as rooms. It was part of the region's network of watchtowers, integrated into the defensive system of Valencia along with those of Buñol, Chiva and Turís, and fulfilled defensive, offensive, political and cultural functions. Today it is privately owned, has not been restored and access to its interior is prohibited for safety reasons, although the town council is considering opening it to the public.
Activity
The Fallas of Godelleta are held between 4 and 8 March, making them the earliest in the whole Comunitat Valenciana. The festival is organized by the Asociación Cultural Fallera Godayla, which schedules mascletás, lunches and dinners, street parades, globotades, open-air dances and the traditional burning of the falla. The Friday of falla week is a local holiday in the municipality, reflecting the importance this celebration holds for Godelleta compared with other Valencian towns.
Monument
The Arab tower of Godelleta was built between the 12th and 13th centuries on top of a Muslim alquería (rural hamlet), next to the present-day parish church, in the centre of the old town. It stands 25 metres tall and has three floors: the ground floor served as a storeroom, while the two upper floors contained windowless rooms, resting on possibly Arab foundations. It was part of the network of watchtowers which, together with those of Buñol, Chiva and Turís, made up the defensive system of the city of Valencia, with defensive, offensive, political and cultural functions. It is preserved in fairly good condition, though unrestored, on private property that does not allow visits for security reasons. It has been protected since 1949 and under Ley 16/1985 de Patrimonio Histórico Español (the Spanish Historical Heritage Law).
Monument
The church of San Pedro Apóstol in Godelleta (Valencia) is a neoclassical church whose construction began in the 17th century. It has a single nave covered by a barrel vault, decorated with pilasters and round arches, to which the transept and presbytery were later added; a dome rises above the transept, and the tower stands at the rear left corner of the building. It keeps as relics a fragment of the cross on which san Pedro was martyred and a small bone of san Pablo, venerated by the faithful of the municipality.
Nature
The Sierra Perenchiza, covered in pine forest and scrubland and also called Pelenchisa (in Valencian, Serra Perenxisa), stretches some seven kilometres from northwest to southeast across the municipalities of Torrente, Chiva and Godelleta, to the north of the latter. It is one of the foothills of the Iberian System that comes closest to the Levantine coast. The place name is already documented in 1238; according to Joan Coromines it would derive from the Latin petra incisa, cut stone. Its peaks rise above 200 metres; the highest lies above the Llano de Toxar, with a geodetic point and elevations of close to 330 metres now used for relay antennas. The relief, shaped by erosion, has rounded or flat summits of porous limestone that retains rainwater.
Curiosity
Cooperative winery founded in 1939 by a group of farmers from Godelleta under the name Cooperativa Vinícola San Pedro Apóstol, a pioneer in the Comunitat Valenciana in the use of pneumatic pressing, specialising in moscatel grapes, citrus fruit and stone fruit. It now has modern facilities adapted to processing moscatel grapes, with hoppers for receiving the grapes and pneumatic presses.
Activity
Summer festival of Godelleta in honour of the Virgen de la Asunción, San Roque and the Virgen del Carmen, with bull-related festivities. It is held from 15 to 18 August: on the 15th the Virgen de la Asunción is honoured, organised by the married clavarios (festival stewards); on the 16th, San Roque, by clavarios aged 19 and 20; on the 17th, the Virgen del Carmen, by clavariesas aged 18 and 19; and the 18th is dedicated to the Cristo del Perdón y de la Buena Muerte. Each day includes a despertá (wake-up parade), mass, mascletà (firecracker display) and procession, with a night-time party at the sports centre. After the religious events comes a week of bull events, with the Toro de la Cuerda led on a rope through the whole village, a midday running of the bulls, a toro embolado (bull with flaming horn-balls) and the release of young cows.
Historical milestone
The former Andalusi hamlet of Godayla received a charter of settlement in 1304 and managed to separate from Chiva in 1574, adopting San Pedro Apóstol as its patron. After the expulsion of the Moriscos it was resettled in 1610 with residents who came from Alcublas.
Activity
A fair dedicated to the moscatel de Alejandría table grape, the basis of the district's cultivation, with tastings, direct sales and activities around the grape harvest. It brings together the wineries and cooperatives that make mistela and sweet wine with that variety.