Sant Mateu

People have lived in and around Sant Mateu since long before the Middle Ages. Levantine cave paintings, Bronze Age remains, and an Iberian settlement at Tossal de Carruana all point to continuous occupation of the area. A Roman settlement followed, likely connected to the Via Augusta, and excavations in 1925 turned up Roman-era finds in the town itself. Several historians have identified this spot with the ancient city of Intibili, a theory supported by more recent archaeological discoveries at various points across the old town.

The name Sant Mateu appears in written records for the first time in 1195, in a document issued by Alfonso II of Aragon. After the Christian conquest, King James I handed the town to the Knights Hospitaller, who issued its first founding charter in 1237. In the early 14th century it briefly harboured a small Cathar community, including Guillaume Bélibaste, said to be the last Cathar "perfect."

The defining moment in the town's history came in 1317, when the Order of Montesa was founded in the Kingdom of Valencia and Sant Mateu became its capital. From that position it grew into a major commercial centre, exporting wool from local flocks to the textile workshops of Prato and Florence. That prosperity funded the town's most ambitious buildings, including its great Arciprestal church.

The Generalitat Valenciana has designated the old medieval town of Sant Mateu as a protected cultural heritage site, and several individual buildings carry their own protected status.

The Arciprestal Church is the standout monument — considered a key example of Valencian Gothic architecture. It was largely funded by the wealthy wool merchants who traded with Florence. The building spans several centuries: a Romanesque doorway with carved capitals depicting Old Testament scenes (including the beheading of John the Baptist, a motif associated with the Knights Hospitaller), a Gothic nave, a Gothic side door, an octagonal bell tower, and later chapel additions. Inside, chapels bear the carved coats of arms of the merchant families. The church also holds a parish museum with relics, a chalice associated with Pope Luna, and a processional cross.

The Church of San Pedro, on the Pla de Sant Pere, is thought to be the oldest church in the town, built on the site of the original settlement. Romanesque in origin, it was later modified with a Renaissance façade and Baroque interior additions, though recent restoration has stripped back the later layers and returned it closer to its original form.

The Convent of the Augustinian nuns dates from 1590 and incorporates one of the old town's medieval wall towers into its rear structure. The community has remained there almost without interruption since its founding.

A single tower is all that survives of the former Dominican convent, founded in 1360. Known as the Campanari de les Llàstimes, it dates from around 1737 and escaped demolition partly because it was used as a lookout post during the Carlist Wars.