Old Town Walk

The historic core grew up in the 11th century around the hisn Untinyân, a Moorish fortress at the top of La Vila. Conquered by James I around 1245, Ontinyent became a royal town, and thanks to the Clariano river and its textile industry, by the late 16th century it was the fourth most populous town in the Kingdom of Valencia. This walk takes you through its most hidden and charming corners.

The route

1. Palau de la Vila, home to the Tourist Office and the Gegants i Cabets Museum, on the Plaça del Castell or de Sant Roc, the site of the medieval market.
2. The Carreró de la Paella, a dead-end alley off Carrer Major de la Vila.
3. The church of Santa Maria, via Carrer Cordellat, with the tallest bell tower in the Valencian Community. Carrer Mirador offers panoramic views; this was the site of the Torre de l'Atxa (13th century), where a torch was lit to warn of attacks.
4. The Plaça de Sant Pere, with a small park, benches and a fountain, and views of the river, the Santa Maria bridge and the factory chimneys.
5. The Pont Vell (Old Bridge, 1500), for centuries the only way in and out of La Vila, via the Plaça de Baix and the Festival Museum.
6. The Llotgeta del Mostassaf in the Plaça Major, via Carrer Maians, lined with palaces and stately homes.
7. The old town hall, with a sundial on its façade.
8. The Palace of the Counts of Torrefiel, today's town hall, and the MAOVA museum, up Carrer Regall.
9. The Portal de Sant Roc, the first gate opened by the Christians in the 13th century.

Games along the way

The route includes riddles for families. For example: what does the statue in the Plaça de Sant Pere have on its head? (Saint Peter of Verona, co-patron of the town since the plague of 1660, is shown with a knife in his head), or which of the three figures on the Llotgeta holds the scales? (Justice, the one in the middle).