L’ALMODÍ MUSEUM

The Almodí Museum is the perfect place to let yourself be transported through the history of Xàtiva, from the earliest Paleolithic remains to the time when it belonged to the lands of Al-Andalus.
It is located in the valuable building of the same name, a former wheat market built in the middle of the 16th century, in which the original Gothic façade and an exceptional Renaissance courtyard with Ionic colums stand out. It also occupies the adjacent building, the former Peso Real, which was later refurbished to house the Aduana de Mercaderías, and later the Banco de España. L’Almodí is today a modern exhibition space focused on archaeology, with reproductions of the first remains found in Cova Negra, Iberian, Roman, Visigothic and Muslim pieces. The most important piece in the collection is the Islamic basin from the 11th century.
AN 11TH CENTURY BASIN
Carved in the 11th century in pink marble from the nearby Buixcarró mountain range, this Islamic basin is undoubtedly the museum’s most outstanding piece and the one that started its archaeological collection. Until the end of the 18th century it was used as a watering place for animals. It has beautiful reliefs executed by at least two sculptors, one more schematic and the other one thicker and more robust. It depicts scenes from ivories and textiles from the period, depicting atavistic themes such as motherhood, the tree of life and war, as well as other themes. An excepional work of Muslim art eon the international scene, it has been loaned to the most important exhibitions in recent years.
ISLAMIC SPLENDOUR
Undoubtedly, the period of Xàtiva with the greatest representation in the museum is the Islamic period. During the period of Muslim, the city experienced a period of splendour; the network of irrigation channels that irrigated the city’s market garden was created, Ibn Hazam wrote the Andalusian teatise of love par excellence, the Collar de la Coloma, and a paper industry was built that is considered the first in Europe. In addition to the famous 11th century basin, the Almodí has arches from the public baths, the double arch of the Pinohermoso palace and numerous representative pieces of pottery.