Hello friends. Recently I visited a very charming town or rather it would be more accurate to call it a village. Its name is Guadalest. This village is also included in the list of the most beautiful villages in Spain that I mentioned earlier when talking about Chinchón.
The origins of this village go back to a castle built by the Moors in the tenth century. Later during the Reconquista, the castle came under Christian control. It was at that time that it received its current name, San José, meaning the Castle of Saint Joseph. The history of Guadalest is also closely connected to a very noble family, the Arduña family. They migrated here from the Basque Country and became known as loyal nobles who supported the local administration. The entrance to the castle is accessed directly through the house of the Arduña family. Inside this house, elements of the family’s daily life, historical objects and works of art have been preserved.
Another interesting fact is that around 200 people live in the village, yet there are eight museums for these 200 residents. This makes Guadalest one of the places with the highest number of museums per capita in the world. All these historical details are of course fascinating, but what impressed me the most was the medieval atmosphere combined with views of the mountains, the sea mentioned earlier and even its own lagoon. This lagoon is a reservoir on the river that also bears the name Guadalest. Its turquoise waters bring to mind tropical islands. It turns out that such a water color can also be seen in the mountains of Spain.
The entrance to the castle itself is also quite interesting. Rather than a conventional gate, it is a tunnel carved directly into the rock. Above this entrance there used to be a room for the gatekeepers. Once inside, to the left of the Arduña family house, there is a rather modest place of worship that is definitely worth visiting. This is the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. The current building was constructed in the middle of the sixteenth century and was renovated in 1962. What makes it especially interesting is the very modern way the figures inside are depicted. This applies both to John the Baptist in the baptism scene and to the depiction of the Virgin Mary. Traditional religious figures are presented here in a genuinely unusual manner.
In addition to the Arduña family museum, there are several other museums. A typical fifteenth century house and a torture museum are also located here. The remaining museums are dedicated to a very unusual form of art, micro miniature art. A left handed Spanish artist named Manuel Ussa lived here and was one of the pioneers of this art, creating extremely small scale artistic works. They are difficult to see and photographing them is probably even more difficult. I am not sure how successful I was, but it is certainly a very interesting and unusual form of art. This is the first time I have encountered it in such concentration. If you are interested in different forms of art, you should definitely visit at least one museum, especially the museum dedicated to Manuel Ussa.
Among the artifacts in the Arduña family house, several items caught my attention. One of them is a double sided painting depicting Christ, which is very unusual. Another is a glass sarcophagus representing the body of the Virgin Mary. As for everyday life, dowry chests, items sent at the time of marriage and various pieces of furniture are on display. For its time, the lifestyle appears quite wealthy. There is even a toilet connected to the main bedroom, which shows that noble families already had some awareness of personal hygiene in that period.
We naturally ended our walk at the highest point, on the viewing terrace inside the castle. Overall the castle is fairly well preserved, although the marks of time are clearly visible. Damage was caused by an earthquake, by destruction during the War of the Spanish Succession and by the collapse of one of the walls in 1848. After that event, the garrison stationed here was evacuated.
Another interesting feature is the presence of a cemetery. It belongs to the noble residents of Guadalest and appears to be maintained with great respect, which is certainly noteworthy. In general, Guadalest is a place that deserves your attention, especially if you are spending your holiday in this region. By setting aside a few hours, you can immerse yourself in an atmosphere that, while not completely untouched, still strongly preserves its medieval character.
