Valencia, Spain's third-largest city, has come a long way since it was dubbed the "world capital of anti-tourism" 40 years ago. The old quarter has been tarted up, Santiago Calatrava's space-age fantasy, the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, has been virtually completed, the America's Cup sailed into town in 2007 and it hosted a Formula One grand prix a year later. From being a slightly forlorn and forgotten sister in the Spanish family, it became a hot destination.
The demolition continues
With so much newfound pride in their city, it was easy to imagine that Valencians would never again commit the architectural crimes of the past, that the knee-jerk cementing of the coastline and construction of characterless apartment blocks was a thing of painful memory.
We were wrong.
If you are in the Valencia area this year, be sure to visit the old fishermen's quarter, El Cabanyal. This working-class jewel of Art Nouveau-style — officially a "protected historical zone" — may not exist in its present form for much longer. If the city hall planners get their way, bulldozers will continue punching a large hole through the middle of it to extend a modern avenue from the city centre to the sea. Residents have protested vociferously and the highest court in the country — the Tribunal Constitucional — has ordered a stop to the demolition, but Valencia's mayor, Rita Barber, has insisted she'll go ahead.
In existence since the 13th century, El Cabanyal has become the common term for what are, in fact, three neighbourhoods stretching north from the port — El Canyamelar, El Cabanyal and Cap de Frana — owes its name to the rows of thatched fishermen's cabins, also known as barracas, that used to line the beachfront. The remains of some can be seen today, with their characteristic steep — formerly thatched — roofs.
A major fire in the late 1700s and the growing affluence of the inhabitants as the port was expanded meant that most barracas were replaced around the turn of the century by elegant two- and three-storey townhouses. The Moors first brought a ceramic industry to the Valencia area more than 1,000 years ago: Drawing on an ancient local tradition of covering façades with brightly coloured tiles, residents finished off their new homes in the styles in fashion at the time.
Art nouveau may be the dominant flavour but you'll find anything from baroque to eclecticism and even a few examples of something approaching art deco. A Mediterranean sensibility to light and colour and a certain degree of keeping up with the Joneses means the area is unique, leading visitors to describe it as "an open-air museum".
Vibrant patterns
Concentrating on maritime shades of blue, green and white, the tiles are often spaced to create a zigzag or checkerboard pattern and the effect is vibrant and harmonious. You may find the face of a sea deity staring out at you from above a doorway or a mosaic depiction of pesca dels bous — a kind of dragnet fishing that involved pulling laden boats back to the beach using oxen, a scene local artist Joaqun Sorolla depicted in some of his impressionist paintings.
This is a barrio for taking a slow stroll through, criss-crossing from one street to another, and getting to know what is still a working community with a strong sense of identity. Although El Cabanyal has officially been part of the city for centuries, the people around here still talk about "going to Valencia" if they are travelling to the city centre.
Street-smart
Start near the port end and wander along Carrer de la Reina. This is the main artery running north to south; all the streets are on a grid system, with the houses oriented east to west to benefit from the cooling easterly winds off the sea in the summer. As you meander along, you'll eventually cross Avinguda Mediterrnia, leading from the sea to the indoor market. This is where El Cabanyal proper begins — and the area most affected by the city's plans. It is also where you'll find some of the most enchanting houses.
Find Carrer Barraca and the streets parallel to it and let your eyes wander. On Carrer Progrs, look out for No 262, with its turquoise-and-white-tiled façade, amphora designs above the windows in mosaic and griffin-head drains running off the terrace roof. Opposite, No 279, finished in green and white, is more sedate but no less spectacular. Around the corner, on Carrer Padre Lus Navarro, the narrow fronting of No 309 has been covered in modernist tiles with delicate vegetable motifs in green and ochre.
Many of these houses run through from one street to the next. Get chatting with the locals and you may be invited inside for a peek. Large pitch-pine doors open up into living rooms tiled with more intricate designs, with elegantly carved window frames and arched ceilings. You can even stay in one of them: the B&B Cabanyal is on Carrer Josep Benlliure. Recently renovated, it is run by a friendly young couple more than happy to tell you all you want to know about the local area and its traditions. They can also put you in touch with a group which provides guided walks through the streets. It's also excellent value, starting at just £20 (Dh107) per person per night, including breakfast.
Good places to eat in the Cabanyal, particularly for fish, are not difficult to find. The Casa Montaa is a former bodega that has become one of the best-known restaurants and tapas bars in the city. El Cabanyal, right in the planner's line of fire, is known to be frequented by the very people who now want to tear it down. Meanwhile, Casa Guillermo is famous as the home of the local "anchovy king".
Noisy but nice
But my favourite is the Bodega La Pascuala, a street away from the beach. Noisy, busy and a bit grimy, it's an authentic neighbourhood bar offering cheap, working-man-size sandwiches.
Thankfully, Valencia is today far from being the suicide-inducing city it was known as but it's difficult to not reflect that the place you're sitting in may soon be a pile of rubble. The future of El Cabanyal looks uncertain but while it's standing, visitors have a chance to explore this unpolished gem on the Mediterranean before it is destroyed for ever.
