Jardines de la Glorieta, Valencia

Next to the arch of Puerto de la Mar is the oldest public park in Valencia, founded in 1812. The appearance of this garden, paradoxically, was facilitated by the War of the Spanish War of Independence and the occupation of Valencia by Napoleon's army. The initiator of the creation of the park was the Napoleonic General Louis Gabriel Suchet, the commandant of the city, a great lover of plant exotics. In 1812, he bought several dilapidated buildings between the monastery of San Domingo and the customs building (now the Palace of Justice), ordered the site to be cleared and planted with various trees and shrubs. However, the general did not have to enjoy walking through the botanical garden, as in the middle of the following year the city became Spanish again, but the matter was continued by the captain-Governor of Valencia, Francisco Javier Elio. In the wake of the victorious euphoria, the governor decided to install a statue of King Ferdinand VII, a former symbol of national liberation, on the square cleared by the French, but later decided to spend the money on improving the city. The architect Manuel Serrano was commissioned to bring the park to mind, who presented the layout by the beginning of 1817. Over the next two years, orange trees, willow, ash and other plants were planted in the garden, hedges were created, stone benches and several sculptures were installed. It should be noted that Elio's efforts have also revived the Royal Nursery, which was severely damaged during the war, and is now known as the Royal Gardens, where we will also definitely visit.

Elio's successor, Captain Jose O'Donell, also did not remain indifferent to this green piece of land. In 1826, he began a large-scale reconstruction, which resulted in a wooden fence on stone columns decorated with flower vases, a gate with stone lions, and a wooden music pavilion-veranda. Such structures can be seen in any public park in Spain, they are called Glorita, this explains the name of the park - the townspeople began to call it "Park at Glorieta".

The Fountain of Triton (Fuente del Triton) was created by Giacomo Antonio Ponzanelli and installed in 1833. The sculptor was inspired by a similar theme performed by the famous Italian master Bernini.

In 1844, the mayor of the city, Marqués de Campo, ordered lighting in the park and personally lit the first gas lamp in Valencia. From that moment on, the Glorieta Garden became a place of walks for the city's nobility, and various cultural events began to be held here. In the same year, due to the expansion of the sidewalks, the fountain was dismantled and returned to its place in 1860.

In 1846, a café in the Parisian style was opened in the park. In 1852, a ficus tree was planted, which is now a symbol of the park. In 1915, a monument to the Valencian artist Antonio Muñoz Degrain (1840-1924) by the sculptor Francisco Marco Diaz-Pintado was unveiled in front of him.

In 1883, an agricultural exhibition was held on the park grounds. In 1900, another restaurant began operating in the garden, and a year later, an open‑air theatre was opened with the opera “The Barber of Seville”. In 1915, a monument to the artist Francisco Domingo Marques (1842-1920), made by Mariano Benliure, was erected in the garden back in 1885.

"From the mothers of Valencia to the pediatrician Raymond Gimez Ferrer." The monument was created in 1920 by Francisco Paredes Garcia, a professor at the Valencia School of Fine Arts.

The park adopted its final configuration in 1925, due to the increase in traffic flow. A section was separated from the garden, which became a roundabout; now the Porta de la Mar gate stands on it, and the fence and paths along the perimeter were turned into a roadway. The garden suffered significant damage as a result of the Great Flood of 1957, when the depth of the mudflows in the area reached 2.75 metres. 15 million pesetas were spent on restoration. And more recently, an unusual headless bronze figure appeared in the garden, made by local sculptor and lawyer Carlos Verdu Sancho in 2012. The monument is called la Capa Espacola (Spanish cape) and is dedicated to a traditional element of the classic men's wardrobe. The sculpture was presented as a gift to Valencia by a local public association, the Valencian Union of the Knights of the Spanish Cloak (Asociación Valenciana de Caballeros de la Capa Española). This organization brings together lovers and guardians of classic Spanish traditions.