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.
La Vall d’Alcalà
Nevera de Dalt
The peak of the snow trade was during the 18th century. There are two ice houses: the lower ice house (Nevera de Baix), in good condition and easy to access, and the upper ice house (Nevera de Dalt).
Ice houses are reservoirs where the snow turned into ice is kept and preserved. With the first snowfalls, the snow was accumulated and poured with buckets through the windows inside the building. From the inside, the workers shovelled it with their feet and, with picks, distributed it in alternating layers with straw. When it was full, the doors and windows were closed to maintain the cold temperature. The ice, transported at night with horses, was sold in regional markets and, above all, it was supplied to the coastal ports, such as Dénia.
Upper Ice House (Nevera de Dalt)
This ice house has a circular plan excavated in the calcareous substrate and on a north-facing slope. The aboveground walls are made of local limestone masonry and lime mortar.
The wall surrounding the tank is 80 centimetres thick and barely over a metre high. On top is where the development of the cover begins. The interior is circular: it has eight metres in diameter and a height of nine and a half metres to the level of the doors. The storage capacity is 475 m³.
Except for the part closest to the surface, the tank has walls dug into the rock, where some cracks and irregularities can be seen. In the background, one can see an accumulation of soil and stones.
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La Vall d’Alcalà
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