Torres de Serranos

Its name is probably due to its location in the northwest of the old city centre, making it the entry point for the royal road (camí ral) connecting Valencia with the comarca or district of Els Serrans (along the road going northwest towards the mountains around Teruel and eventually leading to Saragossa) as well as the entry point for the royal road to Barcelona, or because the majority of settlers near there in the time of James I of Aragon were from the area around Teruel, whose inhabitants were often called serrans (mountain people) by the Valencians.

Commissioned by the Valencian government, the Serrans Towers were built by the architect Pere Balaguer, who was inspired by other Gothic gates with polygonal towers, such as the Porta de Sant Miquel in Morella and the Royal Gate (Porta Reial) of the Poblet Monastery, showing Genoese influences.

However, they are covered with a cladding of limestone, mainly from Alginet, a town near Valencia, in order to give the building a more luxurious, distinguished appearance.

During the Spanish Civil War, works of art from the Prado Museum were stored in the building, which made a number of modifications necessary; in December 1936, a 90-centimeter layer of reinforced concrete was laid on the first floor in order to protect the pieces of art, stored on the lower floor, in case the towers were damaged or destroyed in a bombing raid.

This project was directed by José Lino Vaamonde, the architect of the Artistic Treasures Board (Junta Central de Salvamento del Tesoro Artístico).