Valencia is wonderful, but sometimes you want to get out of the city. Luckily, there are tons of easy day trips and rewarding weekend excursions within striking distance. Our list had grown quite long, and for many years, Morella had been lingering at the top, growing more and more frustrated as we chose to go instead to Altea, Calpe, Buñol, or Abarracín. Finally, though, Morella’s turn arrived. I don’t know why we waited so long.
Occupying a hill in the very north of the Comunidad Valenciana, Morella is one of those towns that it’s hard to believe still exists. I mean, you can picture it very easily existing in the Middle Ages, when donkeys grunted up the alleys and the townspeople were sharpening their falchions for the next battle between the Christians and Moors. But in the 21st century? Morella feels more like a film set than an actual place people live.
The “Medieval Fantasy” vibe is only accentuated by Morella’s crowning jewel. Towering over the houses and streets, the Castle of Morella is visible for miles as you approach town. The fortification has been occupied since the 3rd century BC, rebuilt by numerous civilizations over the years. With towers and turrets, dotting its ancient walls, the very sight of this castle transports you back in time.
We arrived in Morella around noon, and since we couldn’t check in to our hotel until after lunch, we got exploring right away. By “exploring”, of course I mean we marched straight to the first bakery we could find, and sampled Flaons de Morella. This half-moon shaped pastry is the local specialty, filled with cured cheese, almonds or even honey. We devoured our Flaons while sitting in the sun, and were now ready to start our weekend in Morella properly.
One of our favorite ways to explore a new town, is to get lost intentionally. But in Morella, this turned out to be difficult: the town wraps around the castle, which is usually in view, so you pretty much always know where you are. Still, we encountered something amazing around every curve, including the Basílica Arxiprestal Santa María la Major, which we decided to visit before lunch.
It’s always strikes us as odd, when these rather small towns are home to such huge and impressive places of worship. We’ve seen it a lot in Spain; sleepy little villages with massive cathedrals that could easily fit the entire populace. Usually, they’re in places of historical importance, such as here or in Peñíscola, so a grand church served as a “statement”. Probably, the construction of these places employed everyone in town for multiple generations.
Its sheer size is the first thing you notice when entering the Basílica, but what really caught our attention was the helical staircase to the choir, built in the 15th century. Adorned with detailed scenes from the bible, this is considered to be among the most beautiful staircases in all of Spain. We were transfixed. The security guard eventually had to ask us to leave, since he was ready to close up for siesta.
After eating, checking into our hotel, and indulging of a siesta of our own, we left to check out the castle. This is an ancient site, and looks like it; if you’re expecting a well-upheld medieval castle with chambers and dungeons to explore, you’ll be disappointed. Instead, think “scattered ruins and rocks”. Still, we loved being up here, and with the panorama over the surrounding landscape, we could understand why the Romans, Visigoths and Moors fought so bitterly for control of Morella.
Cultural agenda complete, we descended into town and stopped at a few different bars for drinks and tapas, before turning in for an early bedtime. Stay tuned for our next next post, which will be about an amazing hike we embarked upon the following morning.
From our Travel Blog.
