The region of La Safor preserves many vestiges of the presence of Islam. The seven centuries of Muslim civilization in the Iberian Peninsula took it out of the darkness of the European Middle Ages and incorporated it into a splendid and advanced civilization in many respects. The lands of La Safor were no exception. The heritage of that time includes landscapes of orchards, weirs, ditches and other irrigation infrastructures, terraced landscapes and numerous place names. And also an architectural heritage of baths, farmhouses, watchtowers and walls. But above all, we are impressed by the imposing castles at the highest points of various municipalities of La Safor. Through them we will know the Andalusian legacy in these lands
There is a Valencian family that knew how to successfully combine earthly and religious power: Borja, or Borgia, the surname they adopted when they moved to Italy. This legendary family had its residence in Gandia for centuries, and its influence can be seen throughout the region in the form of great architectural landmarks, both civil and religious. In addition to San Francisco de Borja, a saint of the best known, this family managed to get two of its representatives to reach the very seat of San Pedro: they are the popes Calixto III and Alejandro VI. This tour of palaces and churches tells us about the splendor experienced in the region centuries ago and about the influence that members of the Borja family had in Europe
In addition to the architectural vestiges of past times that are preserved and can be visited in de La Safor, this region treasures many other traces, related to ethnology, archeology, industry or customs. They are the ones that can be known through a visit to a museum. The museum offer of La Safor is wide and varied, and thanks to the work of many professionals, rich and very well presented. As is logical, the two largest cities in the region, Gandia and Oliva, concentrate most of the offer museum, but not all: there are also small municipalities such as Ador or Potries that have suggestive proposals. We highlight, for its originality, the Vicente Parra Museum, an actor from Oliva who participated in some thirty films and more than twenty plays in the second half of the 20th century
The region of La Safor has a great variety of landscapes, which we can contemplate and visit to enjoy a varied offer, which perfectly combines sea and mountains. In the interior we can know of geographical accidents such as ravines, marshes, mountains, mountains and rivers. This proposal is complemented by an extraordinary coastline, where we can find cozy beaches, structured by a dune cord that joins several municipalities of La Safor that overlook the sea. The region has a structured offer of routes of different categories: mountain, marsh, rivers, ravines … In addition to numerous caves, some of them suitable for visits by conventional public and others for caving
Throughout the Safor geography we find vestiges of past times, which allow us to reconstruct part of the customs, which have evolved over the centuries. Customs that were shaped by defensive, supply, day-to-day or recreational needs. They may not be great monuments, but they undoubtedly help us understand the past, and all together on the same route allow us to travel a good part of the territory of the region. Can you imagine having to go to wash clothes by hand every day in the town’s washing machine, or being so fed up with pirate raids that you build a tall watchtower? Or go to the ratchet to bet for a bonus? Or store snow for the winter without having electricity or a refrigerator or water for the summer in common cisterns? With this route you will discover little gems that will help you imagine a rich past