Our heritage
of our past and a part of our present.
The stones here speak, because they are a part
of our past and a part of our present.
Xaló
Casa Palau de la Duquessa Almodóvar
Josepa Doménica Català de Valeriola (1764-1814), better known as La Duquessa d'Almodóvar (the Duchess of Almodóvar), was an aristocrat with a long list of titles to her credit. As far as La Marina Alta was concerned, she was the Baroness of Xaló and Llíber and the Lady of Gata de Gorgos. Considered the richest woman in Valencia, she was an enlightened woman, with an enterprising, relentless character. She worked actively promoting literacy projects to improve education for the general population. When she died, she gave part of her estate to finance the construction of schools to alleviate illiteracy within the poorest communities.
The palace was not built in the 18th century, but much earlier, as indicated by the inscription on the wall at the top of the palace, where it highlights the date of construction in 1598.
Currently, La Casa Palau (the palace house), is made up of two large houses on the street called Carrer Major, at numbers 7 and 9, which still retain the stately facade style that showed which were the houses of the wealthiest people in the town.
La Casa Palau also had a tower, which has now disappeared and which, according to the Server Giner family, would have been located above the current bar in the street known as Carrer Església. The existence of the tower has been verified because there is a certificate preserved in the provincial archive of Valencia dated 30th October, 1709, in which the rector of the church of Xaló is given in deposit a bell from the tower of the palace then called La Vila, on the condition that whenever the Count needed it, the bell would be returned to the palace. (1)
(1) Vall de Pop (2018) Casa Palau Duquesa de Almodovar. Va de sentits. Extracted from: https://www.vadesentits.com/casa-palau
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Xaló
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