What to See in Gandía - Top Sights and Attractions

Grand 14th-century ducal palace. The Ducal Palace of Gandia was, from the 14th century, the residence of the Royal Dukes of Gandía, and from 1485, the Borja family. It was the birthplace of Saint Francis Borja.

The oldest part of the building dates from the 15th century in Valencian Gothic style, but was restored and turned into a sanctuary by the Society of Jesus. It is attached to the wall that surrounds the city and has two gates, a Gothic one and one from the Renaissance.

Its remarkable interior has some interesting spaces, like the Golden Gallery, made in Baroque style, and the Crown Hall.

Initially the Palace was designed as a civil Gothic style urban castle and was ultimately transformed into a comfortable fortified palace. The main entrance to the Palacio Ducal is a robust door with a rounded arch, which together with the hallways are the oldest elements of the Gothic palace. You enter from this area and there is an imposing central parade ground with an impressive exterior staircase by which you ascend to the halls, among which the Baroque style Salón de Coronas and Galeria Dorada are notable.^[1]

Museum in Gandia, Spain. The Archaeological Museum of Gandia is a center where is shown the archaeological heritage of La Safor and Gandia area, but especially, the materials of the Parpalló cave.

In 1972, with the collaboration of the Diputación de Valencia, was officially inaugurated the Museum, now known by the acronym Maga, and is located in the old building of the Sant Marc Hospital, in the South-East end of the medieval walls of Gandia, on the left bank of the river Serpis.

The Museum was closed to the public during the period from 1987 to 2003. In this period have been conducted research, documentation and restoration of the Museum's collections. It has a permanent exhibition on the regional prehistory, from the first inhabitants of the Paleolithic to the Iron Age.

It houses parts of some of the main archaeological sites of Europe, such as the Cueva de Bolomor, the Parpalló cave and the Maravillas cave.^[2]

Catholic church in Gandia, Spain. The Collegiate Basilica of Santa Maria of Gandia, also known as "La Seu", is the principal church of the city of Gandia,. Construction commenced in the 14th century.

The Collegiate Church of Santa María is a Valencian Gothic construction, located in the centre Gandia. Construction began in the 14th century and finalised two centuries later. Thanks to Pope Alexander VI, the temple was raised to the category of Collegiate. In the year 1931 was declared National Historic Monument.

The church consists only of one central nave with lateral chapels adjacent to the walls. Its austere architectural style was once supplemented with rich interior decorations of altarpieces, paintings and sculptures, which disappeared during the Spanish Civil War.

The Seo of Gandia is in itself a small architectural jewel, where the Puerta Sur or the Puerta de Santa María and the Puerta de los Apóstoles are noteworthy, one of the first works of Damián Forment, precursor of the Spanish Renaissance.^[4]

Church in Canals, Valencia, Spain. The Oratory of the Borgias or Church of the Tower is located in the municipality of Canals, Spain. It is a church built in early Valencian Gothic style, probably in the 13th century.

It is located in front of the Borgias Tower and has been reformed on several occasions. In the oratory is conserved a medieval table about the Last Judgment, attributed to the Master of Borbotó. In the oratory was kept a shield with the arms of the House of Borgia which was lost after the intervention of 1878. Originally, it was part of the palace complex of the Borgias at their ancestral power base in the Señorío de Torre de Canals.

The original invocation of the oratory was the True Cross. The building consists of a single nave's rectangular, flat head, walls of stone and mortar, covered gabled sustained by two diaphragm arches supported by pillars. The roof was partially of wood. The original major altar was lost during the Spanish Civil War. It is believed that at one of the tables of the major altar, it was represented the True Cross, a gift of the Pope Callixtus III, according to the historical tradition.^[5]