- The Demetrio Ribes Chair of the University of Valencia has produced this exhibition that covers the history of the watchtowers distributed along the coast of the Valencian Community
- The exhibition, presented by the Conselleria de Medio Ambiente, Agua e infraestructuras, opens its doors at 5 pm on April 4 and can be enjoyed until April 22, from 10 am to 2 pm and from 4 pm to 8 pm
València, 10 April 2024.- The Clock Building hosts from today until April 22 the exhibition ‘De temor i seda. Les talaies de la costa’. The exhibition has been produced by the Demetrio Ribes Chair, a center of the University of Valencia that has been promoting research and dissemination of the history of transport and its infrastructures, public works and engineering in the Valencian Community for two decades.
The exhibition, presented by the Conselleria de Medio Ambiente, Agua e infraestructuras (Department of Environment, Water and Infrastructure) in collaboration with the Port Authority of València, delves into the history of the watchtowers that are distributed along the nearly 500 km of coastline of the Valencian Community. These watchtowers formed a coordinated system of territorial control since the mid-sixteenth century. As the title of the exhibition suggests, their construction was prompted by the fear of pirates and corsairs; the solution was funding by the Generalitat through a silk tax. At the time, the procedure was considered exemplary in the Hispanic kingdoms. It is a heritage linked to the sea, to surveillance and safety in navigation, and to that of the inhabitants near the coast.
This heritage forms a cultural landscape of great value and with relevant heritage elements. The project provides results and materials with an attractive orientation as a cultural, leisure and tourist resource. The study that supports the exhibition is based on scientific rigor, while its presentation to society is made in a didactic way, with a graphic and audiovisual approach. The information is presented in Valencian, Spanish and English. The exhibition is multidisciplinary in nature and will travel to different locations in the Valencian Community. In the capital, the Clock Building has been chosen for its proximity to the old defensive infrastructure that was part of the system, the Baluarte del Grao. The exhibition opens its doors at 5 pm on April 4 and can be enjoyed until April 22, from 10 am to 2 pm and from 4 to 8 pm.