Logbook · 6 places

What to see and do in Albaida

What to see and do in Albaida (La Vall d'Albaida, Valencia): 6 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 1 Activities · 2 Historical milestones · 2 Food and drink

Towns near Albaida

What to see in Benissoda 1.4 km · 2 places
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What to see in Palomar el 2.2 km · 4 places
What to see in Agullent 3.4 km · 5 places
What to see in Bufali 3.4 km · 1 place
What to see in Carrícola 3.8 km · 2 places
What to see in Bèlgida 4.3 km · 3 places
What to see in Montaverner 6 km · 3 places

Spain › Valencian Community › Valencia › La Vall d'Albaida › Albaida

What to see and do in Albaida

Albaida
Village
Albaida gives its name to the Valencian district of the Vall d'Albaida, of which it is the historic capital, and its name comes from the Arabic al-baydà ('the white one'), a reference to the colour of the soil. It stands on a rise at 311 metres, next to the river Albaida, a tributary of the Júcar, and has 6,322 inhabitants. Conquered by James I in 1244, the lordship of the town was raised to a county by John II in 1477 and to a marquisate by Philip III in 1604 in favour of the Milà d'Aragó family, whose 15th-century palace presides over the main square. At the site of the Covalta and at the Castell Vell, remains of the Iberian and Muslim periods have been found, from which the present urban centre derives. The house-workshop of the illustrator José Segrelles, born here in 1885, is today a municipal museum.
Festivities of Albaida
Activity
Patron saint festivities of Albaida in honour of the Virgin of the Remedy, on 6 and 7 October: on the 6th the offering and the raising of the Virgin's throne are celebrated, and on the 7th, the main day, a solemn mass and a procession; they are preceded, on 29 September, by the arbolà de Sant Miquel. From 9 to 11 October the Moors and Christians festivities are added, with seven Christian comparsas and seven Moorish ones performing traditional embassies and parades. On the weekend closest to 25 July, the Fair of Saint James, co-patron of the town, is also held.
From the county to the marquisate of Albaida
Historical milestone
Juan II granted in 1477 the title of count of Albaida to the Milà d'Aragó family, lords of the villa, and in 1604 Felipe III raised it to a marquisate. The palace of the Milà i Aragó, of the 15th century, still presides over the town's main square.
José Segrelles, illustrator of Albaida
Historical milestone
Born in Albaida in 1885, Segrelles illustrated editions of Don Quixote and the Divine Comedy and worked for magazines in the United States. His house-workshop is today a municipal museum and preserves more than a hundred originals together with his library.
Carquinyols and marzipans of Albaida
Food and drink
The pastries of Albaida rest on the almond. Carquinyols are very hard biscuits, baked in a bar and then cut into slices that go back into the oven; the marzipans are moulded for Christmas. Both are still made in the local bakeries.
Tomato coca
Food and drink
Flatbread of thin dough covered with chopped tomato, onion, pepper and olive oil, baked in a wood-fired oven. It is country and festival food in Albaida, where it accompanies the oven-baked rice dishes and the paellas of rabbit and vegetables.