Plaça de la Mare de Déu, Valencia

Plaça de la Mare de Déu is a pedestrian square in Valencia’s historic heart, gathered around the cathedral, the basilica dedicated to the Virgin of the Forsaken, and the regional government palace. Its story reaches back to the Roman forum of Valentia, positioned where the city’s main ancient routes met. The clearest object in the space is the Turia Fountain: a bronze river figure encircled by eight female forms, each representing a major irrigation canal of Valencia’s fertile plain.

Manuel Silvestre Montesinos created it, and it was unveiled in 1976. Look at the fountain’s surrounding figures for their Valencian farming headdresses. The square also hosts the Water Tribunal’s weekly hearings at the cathedral’s Apostles’ Gate, where irrigation disputes are settled. During Fallas, flowers form a huge mantle for the Virgin and Child.