Village
Gandia is the capital of the comarca of La Safor, in the province of Valencia, and one of the main tourist destinations on the Valencian coast, with 83,135 inhabitants (INE 2025). Located by the Mediterranean Sea, 70 kilometres from the provincial capital, it combines a coastal strip of beaches with a mountainous interior dominated by the Mondúver massif, 841 metres high, and is crossed by the mouth of the Serpis river. The origin of its name is disputed: some experts derive it from the pre-Roman Iberian root gand-, meaning stony ground, and others from the Latin Candidius, the name of an ancient Roman settlement. Its climate is Mediterranean subtropical, with mild winters around 14 degrees and moderately warm summers close to 26.
Monument
Former palace of the Borja family and one of the most important monuments in Gandia, considered one of the finest examples of Valencian civil Gothic architecture. Saint Francis Borgia was born here, and his room is preserved as it was, though it can only be seen from outside. The building, begun after Gandia was raised to a duchy in 1399, was extended by the Borjas from 1485, when Rodrigo de Borja, the future Pope Alexander VI, bought it for his son Pedro Luis, the first duke. The Patio de Armas dates from that period, and in the Baroque era the Galería Dorada was built to commemorate the canonisation of Francis Borgia. In 1788 Goya set on its staircase the scene from his painting of the saint's farewell. Abandoned for almost a century, in 1890 the Society of Jesus acquired it in ruins and restored it.
Nature
Long stretch of fine sandy beaches running along the coastal municipalities of the comarca of La Safor, from Gandia to Tavernes de la Valldigna.
Curiosity
The Borjas were a noble Valencian family, originally from the Aragonese town of Borja and settled in Xàtiva, who in the 13th century took part in the conquest of Valencia under James I. They became one of the most powerful families of the Renaissance in the Crown of Aragon and in Italy thanks to two popes: Alfonso de Borja, elected as Callixtus III in 1456, the first Catalan-speaking pope in history, and his nephew Rodrigo de Borja, elected as Alexander VI in 1492, whose children Juan, César, Lucrecia and Jofré were born before his pontificate. From Alexander VI descend the dukes of Gandia, a line divided into five branches, to which belonged Saint Francis Borgia, first marquis of Llombai and duke of Gandia, who went on to become the third superior general of the Society of Jesus between 1565 and 1572.
Activity
The Fira i Festes de Gandia is the city's most prominent local festival, along with the Fallas and Holy Week, and is celebrated every year around 3 October, the feast of Sant Francesc de Borja, in late September and early October. Its origin lies in the market authorised by King James II in 1310, and it combines religious acts with numerous cultural activities throughout the city. One of its most characteristic moments is the start of the festival: on one of the last days of September, a group of drum bands parades through the city and visits the schools in the morning, with the musicians dressed in a parody of 19th-century French military uniform, with fake noses and glasses, led by a director known as the Tio de la Porra.
Historical milestone
Francisco de Borja obtained in 1548 a bull from Paul III that raised the Jesuit college of Gandia to a university, the first of the Society. Baltasar Gracián and Cavanilles passed through its lecture rooms, until Carlos III suppressed it in 1772 after expelling the Jesuits.
Historical milestone
In July 1521 the Germanía militias of Vicent Peris defeated beside the river Vernissa the noble troops that were defending Gandia. Duke Joan de Borja fled and the city was sacked: it was the high point of the Germanías in the south of the kingdom.
Historical milestone
In 1399 King Martin the Humane granted Alfons d'Aragó the Elder the title of duke of Gandia. His court attracted poets and jurists and promoted the founding of the monastery of Cotalba in 1388; in 1485 the duchy passed into the hands of the Borja family.
Historical milestone
British capital financed the Alcoi-Gandia railway line, opened in 1892, and the port of El Grau, built the following year to unload coal and ship oranges. Both works brought the textile and paper production of the mountains out to the sea and reoriented the comarca's economy.
Food and drink
The fideuà arose around 1930 on board a boat of El Grau de Gandia, when the cook Gabriel Rodríguez replaced the rice with noodles so that there would be a portion for the whole crew. It is prepared with monkfish, cuttlefish, prawns and fish-scrap broth, and is accompanied by allioli.
Food and drink
Since the seventies Gandia has held an international competition that brings together every spring professional cooks who come from all over Spain and from abroad. The jury assesses the point of the noodle, the broth and the sofrito, and it has ended up fixing the reference recipe for the dish.