In the month of December, the colleagues of Passaport Marina Alta propose us to discover the history of the Windmills of our lands, this is their proposal: Ruta dels Molins.

Discover the region through the Windmills as a traditional structure and its strategic location. 

Through this adventure we will discover the Molins and the towns where they are located. The itinerary of this experience route passes through Pedreguer, Gata de Gorgos, Jesús Pobre, Xàbia, Calp, Llíber and Benissa. 

Marina Alta passport

You can also download and consult the complete info at the following link: 

[Downloadable PDF]

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For this reason, the MACMA team put our rucksacks on our backs and went to explore it, following the directions of the Marina Alta Passport. And this was the result; stage by stage and village by village, we will reveal to you the history and curiosities of the places we have visited on this excursion, which we have enjoyed a lot and now we hope you will too. 

A BIT OF HISTORY. We know where we come from to decide where we are going

From the MACMA, the experience we have proposed for the month of December has to do with the traditional Valencian structures of the Windmills.

Researchers and researchers who have studied the origin of these traditional structures explain that the theoretical principles of these buildings were already known during antiquity. 

The first known documentary reference is in an Arabic source from the 10th century dne and the structure was of Persian origin, which has nothing to do with the Mediterranean Tower Windmills, as the structure was different. 

In fact, until relatively few years ago, these structures of traditional technology had not aroused much interest among researchers and researchers. For this reason the image of the Windmills is not associated too much with the typical image of our territory.

So much so that it was unknown how many traditional structures we had in our lands, until in 1990 an inventory was made of the Windmills of the Marina Alta thanks to the financial support of the Ethnology service of the Ministry of Culture of the Generalitat Valenciana 

Later, in 1993, this work was extended to the rest of the community and several studies were carried out at the county level, providing new research and as a result of this new information and knowledge. 

In Marina Alta we have a significant concentration of these structures identifying 28 Windmills in different towns: 

• Xàbia, 12
• Dénia, 5
• Benissa, 3
• Gata de Gorgos, 3
• Pedreguer, 2
• Teulada, 1
• Calpe, 1
• Llíber, 1.

Of these mills, not all can be visited, in this experience we will discover some of them. All these Windmills correspond to the Mediterranean type that share a series of perfectly identifiable characteristics such as a cylindrical tower built with solid walls, a conical roof made of wood and other perishable materials and a movable horizontal wooden shaft where the antennas are embedded called a tree that allowed you to turn and always position yourself against the wind. 

Even so, each of these structures makes use of various construction techniques as well as the materials used, which gives rise to each Windmill being unique within the same geographical area. 

With pride, Marina Alta is the region that preserves them and has had more of them in the territory, which is why it is vitally important to make known these traditional Valencian structures, their origin and their history. 

And better if we do it dynamically with an experience route.

PROPOSED DAYS. Step by step we are making our way

Do you want to know the Windmills, their structure and the type of construction used? You will learn all this as you delve into the paths and landscapes of great beauty in our territory. The route is designed to be done according to the tastes, preferences and needs of each person. 

Even so, we suggest you do the first section on foot or by bike and the second by car or motorbike, since in this way you will live the experience from the inside, town to town in a comfortable, dynamic and difficult way down at once 

In the municipality of  Pedreguer is where we will begin our experience of the month. And why did we choose to start here? Why is it the most advisable starting point to do the village-by-village route in a circular way. 

This municipality is located at the foot of the Gran mountain and is surrounded by mountains known for the stories they tell through time. The amount of caves, chasms and underground rivers that cross the entire term stands out. Although, on this occasion, the Molinets will be the protagonists.

These structures are located in the middle of the valley that forms the Sella and the mountain of Pedreguer. We recommend doing a section of the  Molinets path   where you can discover the whole history of these. 

Do you know what they were used for? To grind cereal grains and obtain flour (indispensable ingredient in one of our traditional meals: salad cakes). 

There are two Molinets and they share the same characteristics. They are circular in plan, have stone walls and a thickness of more than a meter and a half, although one is higher than the other. They are contemporary and we can give as good the date of construction in 1850 that appears on the lintel of the door of the youngest.

They are divided into 3 floors:

• The lower one was useful for storing the grain and collecting the flour from the flour miller in sacks.
• The little room, located between the lower and upper floors, with a floor of wooden beams, and which was used to store the tools of the mill and to sleep
• The upper room, which was the main work space, where the machinery and grinding wheels were located.

In its origin this was its distribution, but with the passage of time neither the machinery nor the division of spaces inside is preserved. 

Nowadays, visiting them inside is possible since they were rehabilitated, but we have to do the mental exercise of imagining the tasks that were done and the experiences within their walls. 

After this first route and to gain strength for the next one, we recommend (almost obligatory) to enjoy a typical Valencian breakfast, choosing between a traditional coqueta or a complete sandwich accompanied by cocoa, olives with brine and lupins, in one of the bars in the town. To finish well, a "cremaet" cannot be missing. 

We continue the route-experience and head to the municipality of  Gata de Gorgos , a town that is framed between the Serrillars, the Garganta and the Castellar, with the south face of the Montgó in the background. 

This municipality is widely recognized for local handicrafts with their own identity. In order to know the history you need to know that in 1914 the train arrived, which led to an increase in the trade of local handicrafts.

Currently, it specializes in craft tents, wicker furniture and guitars. In fact, the most typical photo of this town is the main avenue displaying the products more than proud of its local culture. We encourage you to stop by and support local shops. 

Although on this occasion we will visit the  19th century Molins del Tossal which are located in a tossal at the entrance to the town. 

They date from 1839, as indicated by the inscription on one of them, and they are two flour mills built with stones from the same tossal, lime mortar and pumice stones. They were used by the residents of this town to grind grain and obtain flour, but at the beginning of the 20th century the two buildings were abandoned as a result of the commercialization of raisins.

We can do the  Molins del Tossal circular route with a two-kilometer route where we will find informative panels installed around them to inform about their operation and characteristics. 

At the end of this section of the experience route we will head to  Jesús Pobre . There we suggest you eat the traditional buns fried with herbs in some of the town's bars and accompany them with a borra of melva to then continue the route with energy. We can't forget to taste some local wine that they recommend, since Jesús Pobre is one of the oldest places known for wine production in the entire Valencian territory.

This municipality, constituted as an EATIM, is located at the foot of the south face of the Montgó, at the westernmost end of the Gorgos plain and guarded by the tossal dels Molins.

Jesús Pobre is a town marked by an agricultural tradition based mainly on two crops: vines and wheat. At the end, we will be able to visit rivers where the raisins are still dried from the grapes. This element and the blanching of the grapes makes this small town stand out for the many activities that take place there.

In fact, the town promoted the report because the scalding process had been declared BIC Immaterial del Poble Valencià, a concession they obtained with the support and affiliations of numerous entities. 

For all this, it is interesting to go through the  Gran Riurau del Senyor de Benissadeví , emblem of the municipality, before continuing with the Molins experience route. 

The Tres Molins de Jesús Pobre are located on the tossal of the Molins and we will reach them using some paths and enjoying nature. 

They were built approximately between the years 1650-1708 and we can frame them within a great first period of construction of mills in the Marina Alta, from the 14th century to the 18th century. 

They are three mills with a cylindrical body and the construction is of masonry blocked with lime mortar, the walls are up to 1.5 meters thick, sitting directly on the mother rock and without plowing the outer face. They have a current height that oscillates between 6.5 and 7 m, depending on the side and the unevenness of the land. 

One of them (the one located further to the northeast) has the singularity of having a ring in the lower part of the construction as a skirting board, wider than the rest of the cylinder, where you can see the cuts made in the rock of the mountain.

So far, as you can see, the use of various construction techniques as well as the materials used, allow us to mark a series of characteristics for each of the milling areas we have mentioned; singularities, but which are not always maintained within the same geographical area.

We continue our route-experience by setting our compass towards  Xàbia , which is the easternmost town in the Marina Alta region, on the southern slope of Montgó. 

It is a municipality surrounded by sea and mountains and is framed by the foothills of the Plains of Cap de Sant Antoni, to the north; the Montgó to the northwest; the valley of the Gorgos river that crosses the term from west to east; and to the south the mountains of Granadella and Cap de la Nau.

From the Bronze Age, passing through the Roman period, we find numerous remarkable sites such as the Necropolis of the Mountain, continuing with the Andalusian period and the Christian conquest. From prehistory to the Christian feudal conquest, various periods have followed each other over the centuries that have left a relevant historical and cultural legacy to this day. 

The Molins de Vent de la Plana were built in the 18th century, except for one that is from the 14th century. There are a total of 12 Windmills located near Cap de Sant Antoni and they have the following characteristics:

• Inside there are two floors; the ground floor that served as a warehouse and an upper floor that housed robust mechanisms of oak wood that moved the stone wheels and supported the vanes attached to a horizontal axis.
• They are cylindrical, about seven meters high and a diameter of more than six meters.
• They don't keep the blades.

Its function was to grind wheat using the wind energy that moved the blades. The restoration and recovery of at least those that are municipal property is planned. 

We recommend you to follow this  route , as it passes through different points of interest and wonderful landscapes that make the experience like rosemary honey. 

At the end of this adventure we advise you to have dinner in a bar in the Port of Xàbia and try some of the typical dishes such as octopus, madroc, fresh chopped cuttlefish or any variety recommended by the locals.

In addition, from there you can get another perspective of the Molins de la Plana and take a walk before bed. Where we recommend spending the night for the next day to continue with the route-experience reaching the second section where we recommend you do it by car or motorbike. 

The first town on the itinerary prepared for the second day is  Calpe , a town that closes the Marina Alta at the southernmost point and stands out for having a strong seafaring tradition. It is characterized by the Roman era over the rest of the municipalities of the Marina Alta, with reference to this timeline we find natural salt pans that were exploited by the Romans, as well as an important site, the Banys de la Reina, where we can see a Roman villa from the end of the 2nd century that preserves the impressive mosaics that formed part of the main circular courtyard of the house. 

Exactly, at the westernmost end of the Banys de la Reina archaeological zone we also find the  Molí del Morelló which dates from the 19th century and is built with worked stone and finished with abundant lime mortar that forms a thick wall.

It is a windmill with characteristics specific to the type of mills found in the Marina Alta region. 

At the end of this route, we suggest you go into the Historic Center and walk its streets in search of a good restaurant where you can enjoy a local icon, arros del señoret. Why does it get that name? Well, because, according to the story, all the seafood and fish that was made was peeled so that the gentleman wouldn't have to get his hands dirty. We suggest you also order another of Calpe's gastronomic emblems, the white prawn.

Now, with full bellies and well-fed to continue on our way, we leave this town behind and set our compass looking in another direction. 

It is the turn of the municipality of  Llíber , which is located in the southern interior of the Marina Alta region, at the beginning of the middle course of the Gorgos river, in the current Vall de Pop. This town is surrounded by the Sierra de Bèrnia and the Castell de la Solana mountain range, then we can enjoy places such as the Aixa spring, the Marnes and the Cau or the Red Rock.

The town has a strong agricultural tradition and there are two distinct parts: in the south-west area of ​​the town, in Marnes and El Cau, wheat production was concentrated (with more than 20 threshing floors) and livestock with many corrals in the most mountainous area; in the part of the plain, in the north-eastern half, the vineyard for the production of wine, as well as the riuraus for making raisins, have survived very well to this day.

It is possible that the origin of the town of Llíber is a Roman town and to get to know its history well we recommend you do the  Va de sentits route , an experience where you can discover many points of historical and cultural interest with all five senses. We recommend ending it at the point where the route to the Molí del Collao begins, which will be our next discovery.

So, continuing with our route-experience of the Windmills in the Marina Alta we arrive at the  Collao Mill which is part of a set of three mills in total, the Llíber mill and the other two in Treme de Benissa, these last privately owned, but we can see them, one of them still has a stone engraving in 1850.

These structures were built as a result of the population increase in the Marina Alta to transform the cereal, especially between the 17th and 18th centuries. 

Some of its architectural features are: 

• Circular plan and slightly truncated profile,
• It measures about eight and a half meters tall.
• Its structure is composed; of a ground floor, which was used as a warehouse and where there were ducts that brought the wheat down from the upper chamber where the machinery and the grinding wheels (now missing); from an upper part where you can see part of the original opening through which the masts of the blades came out.
• It has a circular terraced staircase that preserves part of the original stone steps and those that have disappeared have been replaced by others made of concrete blocks.

To finish this route, we advise you to make a stop and visit a butcher's shop in the town where you can buy home-made sausages such as sausage, llonganissa or sobrassada.

Finally, we can visit the municipality of  Benissa , located in the southern corner of the region, practically the southernmost, it has the most extensive municipal area in all of Marina Alta. It has 4 km of coastline located between Penyal d'Ifac and Portet de Moraira, made up of coves and cliffs. In the center there are also rural areas with rainfed crops and in the interior the large mountains such as Bèrnia and the Serra del Ferrer.

A curiosity? Well, Benissa is considered, together with Murla and Ondara, a mixed Christian town, with ravals or mulberry houses for the Muslim population separated from the Christian one. 

We suggest visiting its streets and trying in any bar in the area the onion and anchovy clofolls, which is a humble dish very characteristic of the area. It consists of grilled onions, the different layers of the roasted onion are removed and served with an anchovy inside and a good drizzle of olive oil. Simple and delicious. 

With all this, we conclude this Route of the Windmills in the Marina Alta and we recommend that you do it at the weekend to be able to visit other places of cultural interest such as the Land Market in Riurau de Jesús Pobre on Sundays or the feast of Santa Llúcia in Xàbia. Consult the  MACMA Guide to choose the plans that interest you the most. 

**This experience is designed to be done over two days, either consecutively or on two different days. The MACMA team proposes routes, spaces and buildings to visit, but each person can adapt the experience to their abilities, physical resistance and interests. If you want more information or things to visit in each town, you can go to the Descobrim la Marina Alta website  and adapt the experience to your tastes with your backpack. To be able to enjoy live Valencian ball games, it is most convenient to visit the municipalities at the weekend.

AND MORE. On the table and in bed at the first cry. 

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