Requena

The oldest traces of settlement at Requena go back to the Early Iron Age, evidenced by sculpture and pottery found during excavations inside the fortress and the old Plaza de Armas. Bronze Age sites have been identified at several points across the area, and Neanderthal flint-working remains and rock paintings have turned up along nearby ravines. Under Almohad rule the historic quarter took on the urban form typical of Hispano-Muslim cities.

In the 20th century the Civil War brought serious destruction: images, archives, churches, convents and hermitages were burned or demolished in 1936, and the Augustinian convent on Plaza del Portal was torn down. Francoist troops entered Requena on 30 March 1939, ending the conflict in the area. The churches of Santa María and El Salvador had already been declared national historic-artistic monuments in 1931.

More recently, in December 2025, the Spanish Association of Wine Cities awarded Requena the title of Spanish Wine City 2026, recognising the town's long winemaking tradition and its Utiel-Requena Denominación de Origen.

The oldest part of Requena is the walled quarter known as La Villa, built on a raised limestone outcrop that gave it natural defensive strength. It was declared a national historic-artistic ensemble in 1966. The quarter is ringed by walls with defensive towers and several original gateways.

Calle de Santa María retains noble houses with stone arched doorways, original jambs, iron grilles and heraldic shields, built by knights of the royal roll. The Casa de los Pedrón was a noble house with the right of asylum, from which kings Philip III and Philip IV attended ceremonies on the plaza. The underground caves running beneath La Villa and its houses were dug in the Arab period and later served as wartime shelters and grain stores; many still contain old winemaking equipment.

The Church of Santa María is the largest in La Villa, built in Isabelline Gothic style with a single nave and chapels between the buttresses; it was declared a National Monument in 1931. The Church of El Salvador, begun in 1380 and finished in 1533, is also Gothic with three naves and an Isabelline Gothic portal. The Church of San Nicolás, the oldest in the quarter, was originally Gothic but rebuilt in neoclassical style after damage in the 1702 War of Succession, and was declared a protected monument in 2008.

Monbus runs services to Requena from Valencia, Cuenca and nearby Utiel, with buses stopping at a terminal one block from the regional train station. Avanza operates a Madrid–Valencia line with a stop near C/ Desvío Carretera, 46. The old centre is compact and walkable; visiting the surrounding wineries requires your own transport.

Local cooking leans toward meat, shaped by neighbouring Castile-La Mancha: expect gazpacho manchego (a warm bread-thickened soup, nothing like the cold Andalusian version), morteruelo (a meat and breadcrumb pâté), and a wide range of cured sausages. Requena and Utiel together form the Utiel-Requena Denominación de Origen; the native Bobal red grape accounts for nearly 80% of production and is especially well regarded, while sparkling whites and rosados have built a following since the early 2000s.