Xàtiva

Human presence in the Xàtiva area goes back to the Middle Palaeolithic, as finds from the Cova Negra demonstrate. By the early medieval period it was the centre of a small Muslim state dependent on Valencia, stretching from the Júcar river in the north to Biar in the south. After the Christian reconquest, the Moorish population was expelled from the walled town into rural areas and the suburb of San Juan, while the Jewish community kept its quarter inside the walls near the Porta de Santa Tecla.

The castle and walls were substantially reinforced and extended between 1287 and 1369, reaching roughly the form they have today; two aqueducts were built at the same time to improve the water supply. By the late medieval period the city had around 8,000 inhabitants and administered a territory covering what are now 37 municipalities. The city took a severe economic blow between 1810 and 1830 when its linen and silk textile industry almost entirely collapsed, putting around 1,300 people out of work.

A railway station opened on 20 December 1854. The city's connection to the story of El Cid makes it part of the Camino del Cid route.

The old town was declared a protected historic-artistic ensemble in 1982 and holds the great majority of the city's monuments. Its architecture is predominantly Islamic in origin or Gothic in style. The castle, declared a National Monument in 1931, served for centuries as the strongest fortress in the Kingdom of Valencia and as a state prison of the Crown of Aragon.

The Collegiate Church — also known as the Basílica or Seo — is a three-nave cathedral-style building begun in 1596 on the site of the former mosque, though financial difficulties meant construction dragged on for centuries. Several other churches follow the same pattern of Christian building over earlier mosques: San Pedro, the Saints Juanes (c.1535), and others. The church of San Félix is notably older and includes a porch built with Roman columns and dressed stone from various sources.

Among the civil buildings, the Almudín is a Gothic structure of 1530–1548 with an elegant courtyard of Ionic columns; it served as the city's grain market until 1919 and now houses the city museum. The former convent of San Agustín, with its classicist cloister, is today the local seat of the UNED distance university, while the convent of Santo Domingo is currently being rehabilitated as a cultural centre.

The historic centre is compact enough to cover entirely on foot. For those who prefer not to walk, there is a tourist train in front of the railway station. The city is best known for its rice dishes, particularly arrós al forn — rice baked in a clay pot with blood sausage and vegetables.

Another local speciality is arnadí, a pumpkin pie made with almonds, pine nuts and cinnamon. Xàtiva produces two artisanal beers: La Socarrada, flavoured with fresh rosemary and rosemary honey, and Er Boquerón, brewed with Mediterranean seawater. Both are available in local restaurants and shops.