Xativa, Spain

Xativa is a town in the east of Spain, located in the Valencia region, picturesquely perched on the right bank of the Albaida River. Xativa stands at the crossroads of Valencia-Murcia and Valencia-Albacete.
The city of Xativa is built on the area of ​​a fertile beautiful plain on the southern slopes of Monte Bernisa, on a hill with two peaks, each of which is crowned with the Xativa Castle. With its numerous fountains, roads and spacious in the shade of elms and cypresses, the city of Xativa is characterized by impeccable cleanliness and attractive appearance.
Its church, dating from 1414 but restored a century later in the Renaissance style, was the main cathedral among many churches and monasteries. The town hall in Xativa and the church of Xativa Castle, as well as several houses dating back to the Moorish period, are partly built of Romanesque masonry.
Xativa is a city known for its local trade in cereals, fruit, wine, olive oil and rice, as well as its Olympic club Xativa. In Roman times, Xativa was famous for its silk fabrics, mentioned by the Latin heels Ovid and Catullus. The city is also known as a European center for paper production, and in the twelfth century the Arabs supplied technology for paper production.
The birthplace of Pope Calixtus III and Pope Alexander VI (of the famous Borgia family, father of Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia), as well as the artist Jose Ribera, Xativa has its not-so-bright moments.
The city underwent a major upheaval during the reign of Philip V of Spain, who, after winning the battle of Almanza during the War of the Spanish Succession, ordered Xativa to be burned and its name changed to San Felipe. Today, portraits of the monarch hang upside down in the local Almudin Museum to express his insult.
The list of historical heritage of Xativa includes the Mozarabic church of Sant Feliu with impressive Renaissance paintings, Plaza del Seo and its sheltered Cathedral (Collegiate), as well as the most interesting landmark Museo de Almudin, housed in an old barn.