{"id":3228,"date":"2026-08-12T14:13:03","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T12:13:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/?p=3228"},"modified":"2026-08-12T14:13:04","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T12:13:04","slug":"history-of-gandia-through-the-centuries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/history-of-gandia-through-the-centuries\/","title":{"rendered":"The fascinating history of Gandia: a journey through the centuries"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The history of Gandia runs from the <strong>Upper Palaeolithic<\/strong> of the <strong>Cova del Parpall\u00f3<\/strong> to today&#8217;s capital of the Safor, by way of the Moorish castle of Bair\u00e9n, the medieval town of Jaume I, the Borgia court and the orange-shipping port. The article orders it by period and links, in each one, the places where it can still be visited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Few towns of its size concentrate so much visitable history; each section points to the blog guide that expands on the corresponding monument or figure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_86 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Contenidos<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a7e58293e0c0\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #e41725;color:#e41725\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #e41725;color:#e41725\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a7e58293e0c0\"  aria-label=\"Alternar\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/history-of-gandia-through-the-centuries\/#The_first_inhabitants_from_the_Parpallo_to_the_MAGa\" >The first inhabitants: from the Parpall\u00f3 to the MAGa<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/history-of-gandia-through-the-centuries\/#Bairen_Moorish_Gandia\" >Bair\u00e9n, Moorish Gandia<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/history-of-gandia-through-the-centuries\/#Jaume_I_and_the_birth_of_the_town\" >Jaume I and the birth of the town<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/history-of-gandia-through-the-centuries\/#The_Royal_Duchy_and_the_court_of_Alfons_el_Vell\" >The Royal Duchy and the court of Alfons el Vell<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/history-of-gandia-through-the-centuries\/#The_golden_age_of_Valencian_letters\" >The golden age of Valencian letters<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/history-of-gandia-through-the-centuries\/#The_Borgias_from_Rome_to_Gandia\" >The Borgias, from Rome to Gandia<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/history-of-gandia-through-the-centuries\/#Francis_Borgia_and_the_first_Jesuit_university\" >Francis Borgia and the first Jesuit university<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/history-of-gandia-through-the-centuries\/#Sugar_the_Moriscos_and_the_crisis_of_1609\" >Sugar, the Moriscos and the crisis of 1609<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/history-of-gandia-through-the-centuries\/#From_silk_to_oranges_the_port_and_the_tren_dels_Anglesos\" >From silk to oranges: the port and the tren dels Anglesos<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/history-of-gandia-through-the-centuries\/#The_20th_century_war_tourism_and_a_bigger_city\" >The 20th century: war, tourism and a bigger city<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/history-of-gandia-through-the-centuries\/#How_to_visit_each_period_today\" >How to visit each period today<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_first_inhabitants_from_the_Parpallo_to_the_MAGa\"><\/span>The first inhabitants: from the Parpall\u00f3 to the MAGa<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The oldest human remains in the area were found in the <strong>Cova del Parpall\u00f3<\/strong>, which held one of the world&#8217;s largest collections of Palaeolithic portable art: more than <strong>5,000 engraved and painted stone plaquettes<\/strong>. The <strong>Cova de les Meravelles<\/strong> and the <strong>Cova del Bolomor<\/strong> complete the region&#8217;s prehistoric chapter. A good part of the finds is on display at the <a href=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/gandia-archaeological-museum-maga\/\"><strong>Archaeological Museum of Gandia (MAGa)<\/strong><\/a>, housed in the former Hospital de Sant Marc; the interior of the Parpall\u00f3 can only be visited on guided trips with prior booking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Bairen_Moorish_Gandia\"><\/span>Bair\u00e9n, Moorish Gandia<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the Andalusi period the territory was organised around the <strong>Castell de Bair\u00e9n<\/strong> and a network of farmsteads on the Serpis plain, among them <strong>Beniopa<\/strong>, <strong>Benipeixcar<\/strong> and <strong>Benirredr\u00e0<\/strong>. In <strong>1097<\/strong> its slopes hosted the Battle of Bair\u00e9n, where <strong>Rodrigo D\u00edaz de Vivar, El Cid<\/strong>, and <strong>Peter I of Aragon<\/strong> defeated the Almoravids; the chronicle <em>Historia Roderici<\/em> contains the first written mention of the castle. The guide to <a href=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/bairen-castle-gandia-history-visits-views\/\"><strong>Bair\u00e9n Castle<\/strong><\/a> details the walk up to the archaeological park and the remains preserved there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Jaume_I_and_the_birth_of_the_town\"><\/span>Jaume I and the birth of the town<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Christian conquest concluded between <strong>1239 and 1240<\/strong>, when the Muslim governor handed the castle over to <strong>Jaume I<\/strong> under a negotiated surrender. The place name appears in writing in <strong>1249<\/strong> in the <em>Llibre del Repartiment<\/em>, under the spellings <em>Candia<\/em> or <em>Candie<\/em>, and the population gathered in a new walled town on the plain, the seed of today&#8217;s Centre Hist\u00f2ric. The post on <a href=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/jaume-i-gandia-bairen-medieval-town\/\"><strong>Jaume I and Gandia<\/strong><\/a> expands on the move from the castle to the town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Royal_Duchy_and_the_court_of_Alfons_el_Vell\"><\/span>The Royal Duchy and the court of Alfons el Vell<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In <strong>1323<\/strong> James II granted the lordship of Gandia to the infante <strong>Pere d&#8217;Arag\u00f3<\/strong>, and in <strong>1399<\/strong> Martin I the Humane raised it to a Royal Duchy for <strong>Alfons el Vell<\/strong>, who lived in the town. His rule drove the beginnings of the Palau Ducal, the founding of the Hospital de Sant Marc and the start of the Gothic church of Santa Mar\u00eda in <strong>1372<\/strong>; the <a href=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/corpus-christi-gandia-dances-since-1391\/\"><strong>Corpus Christi of Gandia<\/strong><\/a> has been documented since <strong>1391<\/strong>. The post on the <a href=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/el-ducado-de-gandia-un-legado-historico-de-la-casa-de-borja\/\"><strong>Duchy of Gandia<\/strong><\/a> follows the title&#8217;s full trajectory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_golden_age_of_Valencian_letters\"><\/span>The golden age of Valencian letters<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During the 15th century the ducal court drew the great names of literature in Valencian. <a href=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/ausias-march-poet-gandia-beniarjo\/\"><strong>Ausi\u00e0s March<\/strong><\/a> (1397-1459), lord of Beniarj\u00f3, <a href=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/joanot-martorell-y-el-tirant-lo-blanch\/\"><strong>Joanot Martorell<\/strong><\/a>, author of <em>Tirant lo Blanch<\/em>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/joan-rois-de-corella\/\"><strong>Joan Ro\u00eds de Corella<\/strong><\/a> (1435-1497) form the roll of authors that ties the Valencian golden age to Gandia and the Safor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Borgias_from_Rome_to_Gandia\"><\/span>The Borgias, from Rome to Gandia<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On <strong>20 December 1485<\/strong> Cardinal Rodrigo de Borja, the future Pope <a href=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/pope-alexander-vi-borgia\/\"><strong>Alexander VI<\/strong><\/a>, bought the duchy from Ferdinand the Catholic for his son <strong>Pedro Luis<\/strong>, the first Borgia duke. After Pedro Luis died in <strong>1488<\/strong>, the title passed to his brother <strong>Juan<\/strong>, married to <a href=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/maria-enriquez-luna-regent-duchess-gandia\/\"><strong>Mar\u00eda Enr\u00edquez de Luna<\/strong><\/a>, regent of the duchy and driving force behind the <a href=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/collegiate-church-santa-maria-gandia\/\"><strong>Collegiate Church of Santa Mar\u00eda<\/strong><\/a>, raised to collegiate rank in <strong>1499<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Francis_Borgia_and_the_first_Jesuit_university\"><\/span>Francis Borgia and the first Jesuit university<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In <strong>1510<\/strong> the future <a href=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/who-was-saint-francis-borgia\/\"><strong>Saint Francis Borgia<\/strong><\/a> was born in the <a href=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/ducal-palace-borgia-gandia-history-visit\/\"><strong>Palau Ducal dels Borja<\/strong><\/a>: fourth Duke of Gandia, Viceroy of Catalonia and third Superior General of the Society of Jesus, canonised in <strong>1671<\/strong>. He strengthened the town walls and promoted a college that the bull of Paul III of <strong>4 November 1547<\/strong> turned into the <a href=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/old-university-gandia-francis-borgia-legacy\/\"><strong>University of Gandia<\/strong><\/a>, opened in <strong>1548<\/strong> and the first in the world run by the Jesuits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Sugar_the_Moriscos_and_the_crisis_of_1609\"><\/span>Sugar, the Moriscos and the crisis of 1609<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 15th and 16th centuries were also the age of sugar cane, pressed in the <em>trapigs<\/em> of farming estates such as the <strong>Torre dels Pares<\/strong>, rebuilt by the Jesuits in the 16th century. The expulsion of the Moriscos decreed by <strong>Philip III<\/strong> in <strong>1609<\/strong> left the duchy without the workforce behind the sugar economy and opened a long period of crisis, seigneurial bankruptcy and depopulation; the dukes eventually moved their residence to Madrid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"From_silk_to_oranges_the_port_and_the_tren_dels_Anglesos\"><\/span>From silk to oranges: the port and the tren dels Anglesos<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Recovery came in the 18th century, under the reign of <strong>Charles III<\/strong>: in <strong>1772<\/strong> the Town Hall&#8217;s neoclassical fa\u00e7ade was built. In the 19th century, after the silk crisis, oranges took over and demanded infrastructure: work on the port began in <strong>1886<\/strong> and the Alcoy-Gandia railway, the popular <strong>tren dels Anglesos<\/strong>, was officially opened on <strong>24 January 1893<\/strong>, operated by a British company. The post on <a href=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/el-grau-gandia-port-english-railway-seafaring-history\/\"><strong>El Grau de Gandia<\/strong><\/a> tells the seafaring life of the harbour district, and the old railway corridor can be followed today along the <a href=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/serpis-greenway-hiking-cycling-route\/\"><strong>Serpis Greenway<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_20th_century_war_tourism_and_a_bigger_city\"><\/span>The 20th century: war, tourism and a bigger city<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During the Spanish Civil War the port and the town centre suffered bombing raids, and the population took shelter in air-raid refuges such as the one under <strong>Plaza del Prado<\/strong>, now partly turned into a museum space. From the <strong>1960s<\/strong> came sun-and-beach tourism and the rapid urbanisation of the <strong>Playa de Gandia<\/strong>; in <strong>1965<\/strong>, <strong>Beniopa<\/strong> and <strong>Benipeixcar<\/strong> were annexed to the municipality and are neighbourhoods of Gandia today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_visit_each_period_today\"><\/span>How to visit each period today<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To organise a visit to the Centre Hist\u00f2ric, the <a href=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/borgia-urban-route-gandia\/\"><strong>\u00abTerritorio Borgia\u00bb urban route<\/strong><\/a> is very useful, and the <a href=\"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/la-visit-gandia-10-espacios-culturales-con-una-sola-tarjeta\/\"><strong>La Visit Gandia<\/strong><\/a> card groups admission to the main cultural sites. Opening times, fees and guided visits change with the season; check them on the official <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitgandia.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Visit Gandia<\/strong><\/a> website before planning your day.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The history of Gandia runs from the Upper Palaeolithic of the Cova del Parpall\u00f3 to today&#8217;s capital of the Safor, by way of the Moorish castle of Bair\u00e9n, the medieval town of Jaume I, the Borgia court and the orange-shipping port.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1926,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"borgia26_language":"en","borgia26_translation_group":"historia-de-gandia","footnotes":""},"categories":[11,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-historia","category-informacion-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3228"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3228\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3237,"href":"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3228\/revisions\/3237"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotelborgia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}