During the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), Ontinyent had about 12,400 inhabitants and an industry working for the Republican army: blankets, uniforms, vehicle bodies and even explosives and shell factories relocated from Castellón. The town took in refugees at the International Military Hospital, and military airfields were built at La Pobla del Duc and Fontanars dels Alforins.
The Air-Raid Shelters Route
Fearing bombing raids by the Italian air force, which attacked coastal cities and inland towns such as Alcoi and Xàtiva, Ontinyent built a dozen shelters. Some were inside factories such as Paduana or J. Torró; others under streets like Trinitat and Muralla, at the Regall or beneath the vault over the Sant Jaume gully. They were tunnel-type shelters with the typical sloping or stepped entrance. In the end, the town was never bombed.
Today you can visit the Regall and Tortosa i Delgado shelters. They have no artistic value, but they bear witness to the collective effort to protect civilians.
A 1930s town trail
The town council has placed 13 panels (the Itinerari pels Espais de Memòria Democràtica) around the town centre, forming a circular route starting at the corner of Carrer de la Magdalena and Monges Carmelites and ending in the Plaça Major. They explain life in Ontinyent during the Second Republic, the war and the early years of the dictatorship, at sites such as the Regall, the old Avinguda de la Revolució, the Poble Nou, the International Military Hospital and the Plaça de la República. Each panel can be read on its own.