In the area known as El Maestrat, in the north of Castellón, lies a relatively undiscovered beauty spot.
Where the river Bergates runs along the bottom as it meanders down to the Ebro, above lies the perfectly preserved medieval Morella.
Enter through any one of the six gateways hewn into the 2.5km wall to discover a maze of twisting streets spread out in the shape of a Spanish fan.
Explore the ancient alleyways and climb to the ruined castle which had a famous builder, but do remember to leave the kids at home! Why? Well, read on…!
a healthy walk up to the castle!
Dramatic and dizzy heights
You´ll need a head for heights! Almost everywhere in Morella is a steep climb, so it´s either up or down you´ll need to go – no heels! But it´s worth it to chance upon this lovely place, with it´s sturdy wall and high dramatic position.
The same strategic position led to Morella being heavily fought over throughout history – an important position between the open coastal plains of Valencia and the long Ebro river. Part of the area known as El Maestrat – the name given by the Knights Templar and the Knights of Montesa – you can pretend to be a knight yourself as you climb to the ruined castle at the summit - constructed by a famous builder at the time – El Cid.
walled and protected, through one of the entrances...
A stomach churning legend
You may have heard about the legend…St Vincent Ferrer once visited in the 15th century and did what Saints like to do – performed a miracle here. Allegedly, a young housewife heard of the visit and flew into a bit of a panic when she realised that she had no meat to serve the eminent Saint. So, thinking quickly, she decided to make a stew, using her son as the meat. No sooner had she chopped him up and brought him to the boil that the Saint knocked on the door and – horrified to find what had happened – waved his wand -or whatever a Saint would wave and handily put him back together.
All of him, that is, except his little finger, his kindly mother has already eaten that when she tasted the meal for seasoning…so do leave the kids at home, especially if you plan any house visits…!
You´ll find the plaque telling this little story in all of it´s gory detail on the wall of the house in question – on Calle de la Virgen.
Something to munch on?
Morella has much nicer snacks these days, and is famous for it´s Flaons. These are semi circular pastries filled with cottage cheese and ground almonds and have been around since 1252 – not containing any body parts though!
You´ll also find Mantecadas made here, a kind of spongy muffin, but flatter and characterised by the origame style paper case that they are baked in – known as a caixete. When the pastry is eaten it leaves a cross shape in the paper case.
Choose to eat in one of the charming local restaurants, and expect to find lots of game dishes on the menu,including local partridge depending on the season, marinated and cooked in red wine with garlic. A good selection of local cheese and cured meat – or leg of lamb cooked with wild mushrooms.
A walk around the streets of Morella
Local sights
Walk it all off with a stroll around the medival streets, getting pleasurably lost along the cobbled alleyways and winding maze of steps. Admire the elegant old houses with their Gothic style and be sure to visit the Basilica of Santa María la Mayor. There´s a particularly well carved and fine staircase inside.
There are a couple of small museums located in the stone walls surrounding Morella, telling of it´s history including Roman, Iberian, Arab and of course, Christian. Morella is one of the oldest but continuously inhabited places in Spain today.
The remainder of El Maestrat, the region, is made up of other places to visit such as:
- Forcall – which has an elegant porticoed square
- Mirambel – another walled village and also restored beautifully
- Cantavieja – a larger town
Or travel on to Peñiscola which Vernon has written about here, or just take time out and explore along the Costa del Azahar, the Orange Blossom Coast – where you will be lulled by the scent of the flower that it is named for.
Here is a list of holiday rental properties in the Castellon area where you can choose to base yourself for exploring this undiscovered area.
Party time at Sexenni - procession first
Party time
Of course, as we´re in Spain, there has to be a fiesta!
Morella celebrates a special one, called El Sexenni – only every six years though as the name suggests.
It´s held as the commemoration of the town´s recovery from The Plague way back in the times of the 17th century - and is held over 9 whole days of partying in August. A solemn promise was made to pray with novenas for 9 days every six years, but a little partying has crept in too and this is a major tourist event. The previous year is spent getting the town ready with reams of coloured paper decorations and lots of Folk Art. Every person there will participate and the whole 9 days are filled with a riot of colour and solemn processsions followed by dances and partying. The local children dress in traditional costumes and perform special dances – it´s like nowhere else.
Kids getting ready to dance - not sure about the saw!
As luck would have it, next year – 2012 – is the next time the party hats are out – so why not make it a New Year resolution to visit Morella?!
Flickr credits go to: paco.esteban/mmarftrejo/bernatff/Carles Bellver
