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The crida
On the last Sunday of February the Fallas are opened in front of the towers
The most famous ceremony at the Serranos Towers is the crida, the opening of the Fallas. On the last Sunday of February the Fallera Mayor, the first lady of the Fallas festivities, declares the Fallas open from a platform erected in front of the building. It is followed by the anthem of the Valencian Community and Marcha Real.
The gate
One of twelve gates in the city wall, built between 1392 and 1398
The Serranos Towers are one of the twelve gates of the ancient Christian Wall of Valencia, built in Valencian Gothic style between 1392 and 1398 by the architect Pere Balaguer. For a long time their main purpose was to defend the city in the event of a siege or attack.
The stairs
A stone staircase was added in 1397 to welcome ambassadors and kings
The walls are solid stone, covered with a cladding of limestone, mainly from Alginet, to give the building a more distinguished appearance. In 1397, with the works nearly finished, an enormous, monumental stone staircase was built to improve access to the main floor. The gate was used for welcoming ceremonies for ambassadors and kings, as the main entrance to the city.
The prison
In 1865 the city wall was pulled down, but the towers survived as a prison
After one of the main prisons of Valencia burnt down in 1586, the towers became a prison for knights and the nobility, until the prisoners were moved in 1887. That use saved them. The city wall was pulled down in 1865, and only the Serranos Towers, the Quart Towers and some ruins survived.
The Civil War
In the Spanish Civil War the towers sheltered art from the Prado Museum
During the Spanish Civil War, works of art from the Prado Museum were stored in the building. In December 1936 a 90-centimeter layer of reinforced concrete was laid on the first floor, covered by a layer of rice husk to cushion the impact and a layer of soil, in case of a bombing raid.
Day 1, evening
It comes after Plaza de la Virgen.
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The words are a retelling of the Wikipedia article Torres de Serranos, and are shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. They are checked against those articles, and a fact that is not in them is left out.