Valencia. Torres de Serranos
The gates of Serranos or the Serrano towers (Torres de Serranos on the map) was one of the 12 passages in the city wall, built between 1356 and 1370 by order of king Pedro IV of Aragon (Pietro IV d'aragón Zeremonioso). The largest portals (portals grants) entered the four cardinal directions of the world: the Sea (la del Mar) in the East, San Vicente (la de San Vicente) in the South, the portal of quart (la de Quart) in the West and the gate Of Serranos (las de Serranos) in the North. The Northern gate got its name from the urban area of Serranos, which stood on the Aragon road. Thus, from the capital of the Kingdom, it was possible to get to the city through the Northern gate, so they were considered the main entrance to the city of Valencia. The Serranos towers began to be built on April 6, 1392, under the direction of Maestro Pere Balaguer. The polygonal shape of the towers was inspired by the shape of the Genoese fortresses.
The structure was built of strong stone, as it was supposed to perform a defensive function, and the exterior was lined with limestone slabs. The gate wall was decorated with a Gothic pattern of pointed figures, as well as coats of arms of noble families of Valencia.
In 1397, the work was almost finished, but the architect decided to improve access to the upper tier of the structure, where the reception hall was located, as a result of which the main staircase was added to the inner side of the gate. The Serranos gate became the main entrance to the city, and the towers ' owners received foreign ambassadors and official delegations.
After the city fire of 1586, the towers were turned into a transfer prison for nobles, where they waited to be transferred to the monastery of St. Augustine, which became a place of detention. By the middle of the 19th century, the walls had lost their defensive significance and hindered the development of the city, so they began to be demolished in 1865. The Serrano gate and the Quarte gate are all that remains of the medieval fortifications of Valencia.
During the Civil war, the towers became a repository for artifacts taken from the Pardo Museum in Madrid. In December 1936, the basements of the tower were rebuilt as a warehouse with ninety-centimeter reinforced concrete walls, equipped with a system to maintain the necessary temperature and humidity. The roof of the storage facility was covered with a meter-high layer of rice husk, which was covered with a meter-high layer of soil. This design was supposed to dampen the explosions of aerial bombs. The first floor was also filled with a meter-deep layer of soil, the Platforms of the upper tier were lined with sandbags.
Today, the towers of the Serranos gate are open to the public, with a wonderful view of the city and the valley of the drained river Turia from the upper platform.
