Culture

The villages of the Sierra Mariola have a very wide and diverse architectural, historical and cultural heritage, which ranges from the archaeological sites of La Mola, Cova Beneito and La Sarga, to the Arab legacy of the numerous castles and fortifications and the caves-windows; the medieval buildings such as the Font Bona tower of Banyeres or the medieval quarter of Bocairent, declared a national historic-artistic site. Discover all the cultural variety we have in the Sierra Mariola!

An essential visit in Bocairent is a walk through its Old Town, which has been declared a historic-artistic site. It has a peculiar layout of streets, in the purest Arab style, with ups and downs, stairs, turns, small squares, dead-end streets... A walk through its steep and quiet streets will…

The Bocairent bullring is unique and singular for its originality as it is largely excavated in rock. The mountainous terrain configuration provides it of a peculiar distribution: from the street you can access both to the front door and corrals as to the presidential box. Its current capacity is 3,760…

This museum houses an ethnographic collection structured in three main sections: textiles (with manual looms, machinery and documentation), the countryside and the mountains (an area dedicated to the trades and customs of agriculture, the farmhouses), and the uses and customs of Bocairent. The museum also shows temporary exhibitions and displays…

The Parish Museum of Bocairent is one of the best collections of sacred art in the Valencian Community, with works by Joan de Joanes, Joaquin Sorolla, el Mestre de Borbotó, Ribalta, Segrelles, Mariano Benlliure, Cristòfol Llorenç, Blas Silvestre, among others. It is a real pleasure for art lovers, where you…

The Covetes dels Moros de Bocairent are a group of artificial caves with holes in the shape of windows, located in the middle of a vertical rock wall, some 300 m from the town centre. It has about fifty windows that give access to as many chambers. The windows are…

The only urban washing place that has been preserved in Bocairent and recently rehabilitated. Its location in the middle of the medieval quarter gives it a special appeal.

In this space we can find a permanent exhibition of the works of the painter Antonio Ferri that have been loaned to Bocairent. In this museum the visitor will be able to discover all the records that belong to him, from the plots and monochromatic surfaces of his abstract works,…

Popularly known as “Saint Anthony of the Piglet or down below” (“San Antoni del Porquet o de Baix”), the chapel lies about a kilometre away from the town. You can get there by car after taking a left hand turning 800 metres along the road leading to Ontinyent, after which…

The hermitage of Sant Jaume was built in the 16th century and above the main door we can see a tile altarpiece with the image of the saint. The interior is a single nave in Gothic style with a vaulted exterior of a continuous bench. This chapel is located on…

Formerly an Arab mosque, it dates back to the 13th century and was the first church to be built in the town. On its façade, you can see the belfry with a Gothic arch, built of stone and mortar. It is located in a corner of the street forming a…

This chapel would be the least ancient of all those in the town of Bocairent as it is a late nineteenth and early twentieth century construction and is attached to a stately home. Its surroundings will make us enjoy its impressive natural beauty, with a fountain of crystalline water accompanied…

Located on the outskirts of the medieval quarter of Bocairent, it is an example of the many natural springs that spring up all over the municipality. It also has a public washing place and a pond nearby.

The Moors and Christians festival is an integral part of Bocairent and that is why this museum reviews its key events. It includes a display of clothing, programmes of festivities, music scores, etc, from the nine existing groups and presents a journey through the history of one of the oldest…

This chapel, located in the heart of the Sierra Mariola, is in a style reminiscent of the Romanesque. It has a square floor plan with buttresses on the outside. The interior is of reduced dimensions. On October 9ht, the festival of Sant Tomàs is celebrated with a mass, a good…

This chapel was built after the reconquest by the troops of James I in 1245, who, following custom, built the chapel above the entrance to the town, so that anyone who entered through this entrance would be protected by the Virgin. The portal is known as Porche la Mare de…

Although the exact date of construction is unknown, there is an inscription indicating that it was renovated in 1802. The chapel is part of the second floor of a house because of the steep slope of the ground. The façade of the chapel is topped by a belfry with a…

Under the protection of the Generic Declaration of the Decree of 22 April 1949, and Law 16/1985 on Spanish Historical Heritage. Located near the recreational area of the Mariola fountain, it can be accessed after a relatively easy climb that allows you to admire magnificent views of the natural park.…

This church is built on top of the old Arab castle of Bekiren and was consecrated in 1516. It was originally built in the Gothic style and later adapted to the Baroque tastes of the time. It brings together the main characteristics of Valencian art, from Gothic to the 19th…

Dedicated to the search, conservation and diffusion of vertebrate and human paleontology. At the entrance we can see a mural about human evolution and an audio that welcomes you to this space. Inside you will find recreations of the evolution of man to the present day, dinosaurs to scale and…

The "Convent-Monestir" of Bocairent dates back to the mid 16th century and is an old underground convent of cloistered nuns, which was excavated out of the rock and occupies an area of 48 m2. Two later convents were built on top of it. Inside, there are different rooms such as…

It is located 5 kilometres from Bocairent. The chapel is located in a privileged place where the landscape of pines and cypresses makes the atmosphere you breathe special. It was built in the 18th century, has a rectangular floor plan and is attached to the hermit's house. It is here…

It is located in the northern part of the Medieval Quarter. It was used as a snow deposit, like many others found in the Sierra de Mariola. Through an underground gallery excavated in the rock, the circular enclosure where the ice was stored is accessed. Currently, there are 6 illustrative…

This chapel was built in the 16th century and consists of three buildings: the Hostal, which was a former convent, the chaplain's house and the church in the Gothic style, with the bell tower attached. On its façade, we can find the drawing of a sundial and a stone pantocrator.…

Les Covetes del Colomer are home to the Covetes dels Moros interpretation centre. It is a space for information and dissemination of information about the group of caves-windows at the head of the River Clariano, the area where these structures are most abundant. The space is accessible to everyone and…

The Municipal Archaeological Museum "Vicent Casanova" can be found in a building next to the Parish Church. It was inaugurated in 1970 and inside there is a good collection of representative objects of a long historical period that goes from the Upper Palaeolithic to the Middle Ages. Most of the…

The Vinalopó Castle is a Moorish construction located within the Sierra Mariola Natural Park. This fortress was built in the 12th and 13th centuries near the source of the Vinalopó River. The eastern wall of the tower and some sections of the wall can still be seen. It would serve…