Palace of the Generalitat Valenciana

Since 1931 it has been designated a Bien de Interés Cultural[1] made from local materials such as stone from Godella and Rocafort, tiles from Manises and Paterna, marble from Serra del Buixcarró, and wood carved from native forests.

It was in charge of the management and administration of general taxes paid to the Crown by the three branches of the Parliament or Cort: ecclesiastical, military, and civil.

The precarious economic situation of the Crown of Aragon, of which the Kingdom of Valencia was a part, at the beginning of the 15th century would lead to the consolidation of taxation by the Cortes of Montsó.in CA The Generalitats were created to collect and manage the taxes and the members were called deputies.

Today this emblem is that of the Valencian Cortes, and for the Generalitat, the heraldry of King Peter the Ceremonious is used, which consists of a four-barred shield inclined to the right, accompanied by a crowned silver helmet, an azure mantle, a curvilinear cross pattée and, at the top, a winged dragon.

The chosen place was favorable because it is quite central, very close to the old Casa de la Ciutat and the Cathedral, headquarters of temporal and spiritual power, respectively.

Next to the meeting room was a chapel with a square plan and covered with a vault of nine keys, similar to that of the Lonja, whose only window overlooked a narrow alley.

At the end of 1513 another building was put up for sale located between the Palace of the Generalitat and the alley that separated the Casa de la Ciutat.

The masonry works will be carried out by Joan Navarro, also making the decoration of the coffered ceilings of the two rooms, carving was directed by the Oriolano carpenter Genís Llinares.

At the end of 1540, Genís Llinares was commissioned to create the roof of this large hall, with a corridor or perimeter gallery that evokes the Throne Room of the Palace of the Catholic Monarchs in the Aljafería of Zaragoza.

The prominent presence of columns in the shape of a chandelier betrays the influence of Diego de Sagredo'sin ES treatise, published in 1526, as well as the sculptural tradition of the early Castilian Renaissance.

The members of the Llinares family and Gregori are credited with the rich carved decoration and the wooden panels with scenes that are distributed throughout the ceiling.

Joan Vergara was in charge of the work to build a porch and a flat roof with a parapet over the Sala Nova, which would be dismantled a few years later.

In 1572 the Deputies hired the master Hernando de Santiago who had recently arrived in the city and was aware of the new models that were being introduced in the tile factories of Seville.

A perimeter iron balcony was also added over the cornice under the attic, made by Joan Armaholea and Josep Monseu, as well as another much more elaborate one, executed by Baptista Cerdà, for the "Sala Nova" on the corner of Carrer dels Cavallers.

In 1655 a sacristy for the chapel was built, taking advantage of part of the kitchen of the Clerk's Office, as well as a large gate and new doors for the Sala Nova made by the carpenter Joan Cassanya from drawings by Llorenç Pareja and Gregori German.

In 1830 the architect hired by the Court, Franco Calatayud, reports that a part of the building is in a dilapidated state and the danger of collapse is imminent.

A large tower was erected together with the body of the central building, which overlooks the Plaça de la Verge, designed by the master Montano and executed with great difficulty, since the works were suspended for various reasons and were changed from the original plans.

The top of the tower, in Herrerian style, is crowned by a cornice and stone balustrade completed with balls decorating the railing and pinnacles in the corners.

All this worked with the meticulous Mudejar cut, but also including characteristic Renaissance motifs such as acanthus leaves, busts, strawberries, thistles and denticles.

In the ceiling of the Sala Daurada Menuda, there is a change in the geometric distribution, since the coffers are made up of symmetrical octagons that give the appearance of triangular and square figures, adorned with plant scrolls, denticles, hanging florets and a wide variety of medallions with human heads and dragons.

It stands out for the polychrome decoration of its ceiling by the master cabinetmaker Antoni Peris Alterol, and for the crushed stone doorway attributed to Pere Comte, which serves as access from the Gothic courtyard.

The room stands on the beamed bay of the lobby and overlooks Carrer dels Cavallers through its four windows divided by thin columns.

This was originally decorated with the emblem of the Generalitat (Saint George, the Virgin Mary and the Guardian Angel), plus figures of prophets and seraphim, and it is an example of the early Renaissance in Valencia.

It is made up of three bodies: the central part is occupied by the Virgin enthroned with the child, flanked on the left by Saint George slaying the dragon, and on the right by the Guardian Angel, who wields the symbols of the Crown.

Genís Llinares prepared twenty-one coffers with the same structure as those in the Sala Daurada, but without polychrome in gold.The gallery that serves as a support for the ceiling goes around the entire room.

The plinth is made of tiles from Manises and Paterna (1568–1576), following the guidelines set by the ceramics of Seville and Talavera, with ornamental motifs of white, blue, yellow and soft ochres.

Joan Sarinyena painted six deputies on the wall of the Carrer de Bailía, two from each estate, assisted by the institution's officers, on a four-barred tapestry with the coats of arms of the Generalitat.

Each one seated with the clothes proper to his station under a Virgin Mary with the child supported by angels from which falls the phylactery (Speech_scroll) that calls the ecclesiastical branch of the court on a four-barred background.

On the wall of the gardens of the Generalitat, the Italian Francesco Pozzo painted the numerous representatives of the military establishment, placed in four rows to increase their depth.

The phylactery with the civic branch of the royal cities and towns of the Kingdom was painted by Vicent Mestre, with the corresponding symbol of the Guardian Angel, and the thirteen representatives of the royal towns of the kingdom, namely: Xàtiva, Orihuela, Alicante, Morella, Alzira, Castellón, Villarreal, Ontinyent, Alcoy, Onda, Carcaixent, Callosa and Guardamar.

a bas relief carved stone with three sections including a man on a horse attacking a dragon, a woman with child seated, and a guardian angel figure behind a diamond-shaped shield
Emblems of the three estates of the Generalitat Valenciana: military, church, and civic or cities.
Detailed drawing of a two level building with two towers on either side each of two floors with a loggia between the towers. There is a metal balcony across the second level. The right corner ground floor has an ornate door.
Facade of the Casa de la Ciudad published in "El Mundo Literario" (1865)
View of the Sala Dorada used as a meeting room for the Generalitat
The purpose of the building has always been for meetings of the community leadership.
A view of a courtyard inside a building with gray stone arches to right and left and a staircase ascending from right to left across the back wall with potted plants under the stairs. Above the stairs are windows and doors of gothic design.
A view of the main interior courtyard of the Palace of the Generalitat Valenciana.
A courtyard of classic renaissance design in blue with white columns and roundels and windows on the second level
The Patio of Ambassador Vich at the Museu de Belles Arts de València
a view into then corner of a room done in carved wood with an arcade of columns and a ceiling of squares with roundels inside
The gallery of the Sala Nova
view of a building in black and white taken in 1911 with trees at the base of a rectilinear tower rising up five levels above the street
Palau de la Generalitat Valenciana in 1911 before the second tower was built
a painted grouping of men in 16th century dress with ruffled collars and names of cities in the Kingdom of Valencia floating near each man
The representatives of the civic estate as Royal Cities and towns
view down a room with windows to the left ending in a small chapel
A view down the Sala de Reis toward the chapel of the palace.
view of a five level tower built of smooth gray and white stone with renaissance style windows and a balcony across the top level
View of the new tower and formal entrance to the government offices.
view of the ceiling made of carved wood in squares with smaller squares set inside each as a diamond
The ceiling of the Sala Daurada
a renaissance wood ceiling gilded formed of octagons with a pendant in the center
The ceiling of the Sala Daurada Menuda