Silk Exchange (Lonja de la Seda)

Chapter 7/11 · València

The Silk Exchange is a masterpiece of civil Gothic architecture and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996. It was built between 1482 and 1533, when València was one of the richest cities in the Mediterranean; the great Trading Hall was raised by Pere Compte and Joan Ivarra between 1483 and 1498.

Inside, eight spiral columns eleven metres tall open out at the top like palm trees and hold up the vaults, more than seventeen metres high. There merchants sealed their deals. Around the hall runs a Latin inscription in gold letters reminding us that the merchant who does not lie or practise usury will reach eternal life.

The central tower had a prison on its upper floor for merchants who did not pay their debts. And look at the gargoyles and figures on the façade: there are more than twenty, some satirical and others very daring. It also has a courtyard of orange trees. The name «Silk Exchange» comes from the silk trade, very important in the city from the late seventeenth century.

We continue through Plaza del Mercado and along Carrer de la Carda and Carrer de Murillo to the Quart Towers.

← Central Market (Mercado Central) · Quart Towers (Torres de Quart) →