Almodí, Valencia

Almodí is a Gothic Valencian building with a history tied to Valencia’s grain supply. It was built over a Muslim alcázar as a place to store and sell wheat in the early 14th century. The structure expanded during the 15th and 16th centuries, and a roof was added to its former open courtyard in the early 17th century.

Inside, mural paintings evoke the arrival of wheat into the city and portray saints associated with the guilds involved in the grain trade. After serving as the city’s paleontological museum from 1908 to 1991, the building became an exhibition venue in 1996. Its historical status was recognised in 1969, when it received designation as a Historic-Artistic Monument. The paintings and the building’s continuing civic use give this former storehouse its distinctive character.