Ontinyent

Ontinyent
Ontinyent is 360m above sea level, in the southwest of the valley surrounded by mountains, in the province of Valencia. This area forms the Val d’albaida, of which Ontinyent is the capital. At the moment 32,000 people live in the 126m2 municipality.
Ontinyent is a medieval town built around the cliff like banks of the river Clariano. It has two distinct areas, the old (formerly walled) town and the modern industrial suburbs where the old town ‘La Vila’ still retains much of its old world charm, with narrow winding streets lined with ancient houses and the church of Santa Maria which was erected over the older Moorish mosque, and there are numerous examples of the ancient heritage.
The new section of town boasts every modern amenity and because of the abundance of clean fast flowing water, the town is affluent and sophisticated without the crowds and fast food outlets found in tourist areas of Spain.
There are still some remains of the ancient ramparts which surrounded the town in the 13th century, at a time when Moors and Christians battled for mastery of the region and the gothic church of Santa Maria, which also dates from the 13th century, witnessed the arrival of Jaime I of Aragon who entered to hear mass after his forces had regained control of the town from the Arab invaders in 1244, the imposing tower of the church is the highest in Valencia at 71 metres. The towns history however goes back much further as there have been archaeological finds dating from Roman times and a Roman cemetery was found just 2 kilometres south of the old town, remains from the Visigothic occupation have also been found. Ontinyent was granted the title of ‘City’ in 1904.

Ontinyent grew around the textile industry, which has been its main source of income since the Middle Ages, the industry developed due to the abundance of water which propelled the numerous water mills still found in the area. Other industries in Ontinyent include furniture, earthenware, paper, brandy and wine, there has been a rapid increase in population over the last 50 years and almost half of it is employed in the various textiles industries.
There is excellent communication with Valencia (airport), 45 minutes along the A7 interior motorway. Alicante (airport), 60 minutes along the new A36, and Gandia on the coast, 30minutes along the new CV60. There are numerous attractions, still mainly free from mass tourism, and most of the towns around have a Mercadona or Carrefour supermarket.
In Ontinyent there are at least five decent local schools, several English/Spanish academies, a substantial hospital, four local medical centres, many pharmacies and every other necessity of daily life. If specialised help of any kind is required, the large coastal cities of Valencia and Alicante will be able to accommodate.
There are around 6,000 country houses of all types, in the immediate vicinity or within 10minutes drive of the town centre. The countryside is a short walk from the centre and this makes living here simple and stress free.
Like many towns and cities throughout Spain, Ontinyent and its people take great pride in its celebration of Moors and Christians. Towards the end of August the festivities take place, lasting a just over a week. The “morenet” as it is popularly known, is brought from the chapel of Santa Ana to the church of San Carlos, in the most significant and authentic ceremonies, La Baixa or the lowering.
Many parades are held throughout the week with the whole town in party spirit, a definate tourist attraction. One of the final events of the celebrations is the ceremony of the Ambassadors which signifies the dramatisation of the history of the town with a mock battle at the foot of the castle, a symbol of Ontinyent.

The gastronomy of Ontinyent offers principle products of the Mediterranean diet. The most distinguished dishes from the municipality are intimately linked to religious celebrations. The local sausages are famous, specially the morcillas de cebolla (onion black pudding) which are made in a traditional manner. Many traditional products date back to Arabic times.