Benicarló: Surprising Maestrazgos

“Everywhere one breathes in fresh air and our species prolongs its life with vigor. The climate varies greatly, even at short distances...

Cabanilles. Siglo xviii

ENICARLÓ A ncient geography and accidents of history and war gave this B land the varied Maestrazgo, the historical name for these And Its Parador territories. There is history, there are the influences of Teruel and Castile. There is anthropology, gastronomy, and there is even the maestrazgo of the tourist. According to the always debatable viewpoint of the historian, the politician and even the traveler: the Maestrazgo is as lovely as it is unpleasant, united and protected by the high plateaus of Teruel and the passes of Morella. Lowland territories lead to clement shores, the very different landscape sown with olive groves and almond trees.

Sant Mateu, a short thirty kilometers from the Parador, rules the area. Its status as capital and commercial, political and cultural center is due to its merits, as will shortly be seen.

These are extreme landscapes filled with inhospitable surroundings and pleasant corners: marine romances fragrant with citrus blossoms and almond trees flowering amid mountains and jagged rocks; clay-based cultures in the caves of painted men and beasts; bastard miracles of Iberians, Romans, Carthaginians and Christian , of renegade Christians; Templar opulence, castles with crumbling stone crosses and shrines set among fig trees, olives and waterwheels. Here are the refuges of false popes excommunicated for pride; of saints deified by portents, pilgrimages and miracles; of Carlist guerrillas furious about inheritances; and the site of more recent wars of virtuous evil-doers and good sinners. Burning Maestrazgos of age-old contrasts. There are the powerful Maestrazgos of flowering thorns and sweet disillusionment; of men offended, kind and forgotten.

For the fugitive who is our reader, the scene is set for almost any desire: from beaches overflowing with invisible bikinis to lands and mountains strewn with castles steeped in history, from elaborate Gothic ornaments to the gardens of shrines. You will find a bit of everything here, in a land that is very much Castellón, with another little bit of Teruel. These lands have always deserved the gaze of the illustrious travelers and lustrous passers-by they appeal to. Early on, this out-of-the-way place became the estates of the knightly order of Montesa. On his travels through the region at the end of the 18th century, the remarkable Cabanilles recounted that: “They are arid mountains, generally uncultivable, and so used for pasturage. The rest are relatively fertile valleys and plains, although they have scant irrigation. Everywhere one breathes in fresh air and our species prolongs its life with vigor. The climate varies greatly, even at short distances: it is cold in the area around Peñagolosa and the mountains of Cervera, , Ares and , and in contrast, the plains of Benicarló, Vinaroz and Alcalá are temperate and delightful. In most of these villages, the wine harvest is good and of good reputation, followed by oil and carob. The land is enriched by fig trees, honey, silk, delicate fruits, wool and cattle.”

BENICARLÓ AND ITS PARADOR 1 the mountain, others climbing up to the wall. The proud and impassive walls of that bygone town planning have survived to the present day.

Over the past 30 years, a series of excavations have gradually uncovered these plots, revealing an interesting series of superimposed environments, shedding light on the late Bronze Age: between the 8th and the 5th centuries bc. It was in the early 4th century that the Iberian culture of Puig de la Nau saw its greatest splendor: amazing and abundant remains have been preserved for the admiration of the curious visitor.

What is more, these archeological finds tell of fertile contacts with Mediterranean peoples such as the Phoenicians, Carthaginians and Greeks. There are even older remains which show clear similarities to the proto- historic inhabitants of the “fields of urns” of the late Bronze age in the eastern coastal area.

It was in the 6th century bc that Greek ships began to burst upon these shores carrying goods, technology, languages, ideologies, beliefs and other fertile mythologies. Ampurias could boast an enviable trade in manufactured goods such as the unique Attic ware, of which important In any case, the reader should put no stake in empty rhetoric, and forge examples have been found in Puig de la Nau, such as those of the a path into the depths of the present in an area which is so beautifully Penthesilea Painter. uneven, rich with culture, art and landscapes. The Puig of Benicarló We can seek, and find, the first local Iberian settlers along the green and forbidding defiles of ; in the environs of picturesque Benasal; and in the charming surroundings of Morella. The Romans called their T he Parador is located on a convenient and temperate coastal descendants the Ilercavones. Those peoples of the eastern coast, just plain near Vinarós, Benicarló and Peñíscola. The land and sea barely Teruel, inhabited the area at least twenty-five centuries ago. They here are as pleasant as can be, protected by the benevolent Puig de la Nao lived in adobe brick houses roofed only with branches and painted using Mountain, which rises to only 160 meters above sea level. red and ochre earth. They were shepherds, potters and warriors, and buried their dead decorated with protective amulets and bronze beads. The Shrine of the Holy Martyrs (Ermita de los Santos Mártires) They ate the venison they hunted, curing the hides, and kept goats and overlooked these ancient peaks back in the 19th century. Just below lie the sheep. preserved remains of the stones used to build the port of Benicarló. This A Torturous Past unique Iberian settlement is very well preserved, and exceptionally valuable for research into the Iberian culture. Scholars calculate that it and a Happy Future came to hold around three hundred homes inhabited by some 1,500 people.

A ccording to the most distinguished scholars, the entire area came Despite the fact that it has been ransacked for its stone, there still to life as the Iberian settlements La Tossa and Puig de Nau remain a few score houses and buildings, allowing the visitor to get a appeared some time around the 5th - 4th centuries bc. The walls of the rough idea of what the village was like. In any case, Puig de Benicarló will sites were a necessity, traces of which can still be seen by today’s visitors. always enjoy historical recognition as one of the most important Puig de la Nau is the name given to a modest, yet proud, mountain settlements in these and other lands. which rises as best it can to the north, abutting the Aguaoliva Ravine, the natural boundary between Vinaroz and Benicarló. Conspiracies, Magic and Nearby, to the west, there are remains, vestiges, of the earliest Other Shady Dealings inhabitants. The streets of that first settlement were laid out horizontally, some adapted to the contours of O ver the ages, all our Paradors have known curious and even horrific stories. There are any number of examples and witnesses in virtually every Parador, and they have almost all enjoyed, and suffered, the presence of noteworthy guests.

This Parador also occasionally bore witness to some very secret meetings, surprising situations when viewed with modern eyes. But let the curious visitor learn and enjoy – although you may suffer and lament: these very same rooms would be the exceptional witnesses to certain circumstances so crucial that they might perhaps have altered the history of :

BENICARLÓ AND ITS PARADOR 2 For example, at this hotel an urgent meeting was held by members of monarchs and the faithful with generous fortunes. In the 13th century, the pro-Franco uprising. Those soldiers, led by Milan del Bosch, even took the Temple would come to be a pioneering, yet not so pious, multinational their tanks to the streets, terrifying civilians and civilized residents. In the corporation. The order had more than twenty thousand full members and end, the rebellion would be contained rapidly, stamped out by King Juan an annual income of more than fifty million francs. They acted as patrons Carlos I himself. and bankers to monarchs and pontiffs. As a result, they became a parallel church and state within the church and state. They would come to hold These rooms have also witnessed the serious decisions recorded by thirty-six castles, and had complete control over the strategic salt market Manuel Azaña, President of the Republic, in the form of a testament here of Peñíscola and Burriana. in Benicarló. This document, the result of the so-called Benicarló Evening, is still an essential historical and political element of modern Spain. Envy and jealousy would put an end to such power. In the 16th century, the order was summarily dissolved by fearful monarchs’ requests and Benicarló, today the land of happy beaches, where the wise traveler prayers to the Roman pontiff. Those wicked tongues accused the friars of may lodge in the comfort of the Parador, offers unique remains of an heresy and practicing strange agnostic, secretive rites. However, the Iberian settlement, despite the fact that the majority of its stones were problem was not to be fully resolved. King Jaime II, in agreement with the cleverly used to shore up the port not so long ago. Still standing to some pope, proposed the formation of a new order, the Order of Montesa, which degree are twenty-some dwellings of the three hundred once present in the was granted many of these lands, and numerous others, together with the village. Fishhooks, safety pins, hand mills for grinding flour, fragments of lives and property of their faithful. The Maestrazgo would become a looms… the city’s Museum of Pre-History and History holds one of the magnificent estate, respected and honored by kings and pontiffs. Felipe II most valuable collections on the Iberian culture in the entire peninsula. would come to hold the noble office of Grand Master. From that time, the monarchs delegated the governing of Montesa to general deputies. The When the Roman legions reached these shores, they encountered royal delegates had their court in , and like viceroys, “They indomitable warriors. Two hundred or more years before Christ, Indíbil were given a royal welcome, bells ringing.” and Mandonio fought for and against Carthaginians and Romans. In the end, these untamed rebels would be killed. The Via Augusta crossed the Sant Mateu boasts quite remarkable evidence of those prolonged and Maestrazgo, perhaps along the coast. The impenetrable secondary roads happy times. The archpriest’s church is a unique Gothic work. The City became highways only two centuries ago. A milestone dating from the rule Hall has a Mudejar flavor, while the house of the Buriel family is Gothic of Trajan has been preserved in , along with the remarkable with any number of Renaissance details. There is the plateresque palace of arch of Cabanes in the Plana Alta region, and numerous other valuable the Marquises of , the hermitage of Virgen de los Ángeles, and “little nothings”, all left scattered throughout one site or another over the Palomar Tower. There is even a valuable Gothic chalice, a gift from Pope seven centuries of Roman occupation. Pedro de Luna himself, the pope who set alight the spectacle and fervor of these lands, sown with incense and miracles in the late 14th and early What with one thing or another, the Maestrazgo was Moorish for close 15th centuries. to a thousand years, and still today has not renounced its Muslim knowledge. The Moors brought culture and splendor, legends, genes, The pursuit of beliefs and powers created a papal schism in the West, citadels and refinements luxurious for the time. Above all they invented, with a unique effect throughout these lands and a holy see in Peñíscola right here, irrigation where there had only been deserts. The waterwheel Castle. Pedro de Luna was the infallible Benedict XIII, feeding these souls was the miraculous gardening device that so amazed the famous with renewed hope and fervor. Early on, he partnered with Vincent Ferrer, Cabanilles: “The thankless and virtually sterile land is transformed into perpetual and magnificent saint of these and many other paths. Visitors gardens producing whatever their owners desire without any more water will hear that Morella was the setting for a miracle: the resurrection of a than there is. Using horse power, they extract water from quite deep baby whose mother had served it to the saint as a roasted delicacy. He wells.” 16th-century chroniclers report that in Benicarló there were “more unmasked the usurping Devil on more than one occasion and ordered holy than four hundred waterwheels on wells, with even more in Vinaros.” They water to flow boundlessly from the fountain of Traiguera. The traveler were still operating until scarcely a half century ago. would do well to drink from it. The Cid: Brilliant Nuisance

E l Cid was a brilliant nuisance and redeemer around the turn of the first millennium, a rampant lion flying above the lands of Burriana and Morella, as researched by Menéndez Pidal and sung in romances: “Lands of Borrina, he has conquered them all.” After many venial travels and adventures, there arrived from Aragon a stubborn man of crosses and conquest. Jaime I would be the conquering king of Burriana, the rest falling shortly afterwards, in the later years of the 13th century. But the miracle was not his alone, or so they say. He is said to have had the assistance and money of the , rich crusader knights, together with powerful bishops armed with bulls and the money from their purses and those of others.

It did not take long for the visionary knights, monks and warriors to obtain great economic and political power, protected by popes and BENICARLÓ AND ITS PARADOR 3 In any coastal village, seafood, fish stews and grilled or fried fish abound: Monkfish All y Pebre; Rice Dishes, frequently in a broth; red mullet, sole, gilthead bream, sea bass, cuttlefish, octopus, squid and snails, all prepared in a variety of ways; or the local delicacy of this justly named “Coast of Prawns”. Date mussels are a dish almost exclusive to these beaches.

Many dishes from the mountains have the robustness of the Knights Templar. Tombet is a wonderful potato stew with lamb, chicken or rabbit, garnished with white snails and almonds. The humble and restorative Shepherd's Soup contains bread, oil, garlic and the intense aroma of thyme. "Blood with onion" is a must-try for new palates. Broad Beans A Tumbos is a surprising dish that requires a skilled hand with the ribs, pork and blood sausage.

Diners will easily discover many other stews, Marinated Rabbit, Stewed Kidney Beans, Grilled Sausages, Salt Meats, Salt-Cured Ham, and Cheeses from the sheep of Sant Mateu. If it is autumn, one The heterodox pope established a headquarters for missionaries and a can feast on thrushes, hunted with a fascinating yet wicked ingenuity for court at Sant Mateu, and held the rank of Grand Master of Montesa. All the pleasure of palates. the towns, farmsteads and castles of the Maestrazgo belonged to the pope. At last, the light of truth was lit. Pedro de Luna ended his days in An infinite variety of desserts are the result of skilled mixtures of Peñíscola Castle, having been declared the anti-pope and exiled for heresy grapes, figs, honey and almonds. Sant Mateu is virtually the exclusive and witchcraft. However, he was never deprived of the fervor of his flock, home to wine with its own wonderful flavors. However, it is not so and one severe historian has even granted him the consolation of the abundant as when a distinguished English traveler passed through more benefit of the doubt: “There will be no one capable of discovering an error than a century ago now: "Benicarló is famous for its wines. They are mixed in his arguments, or any indignity in his conscience.” with other weaker ones to make Burgundy and sent to England."

With the passing of time and the arrival of modern democracy, the Order of Montesa fell victim to dispossession, the sale of church lands known as the Desamortización: the brilliant and all-powerful domain was reduced to a mere honorary status. Alfonso XIII would still come to be Grand Master and administrator of the order in perpetuity, but the Republic brought an end to the epic existence of these guardian knights.

These mountains were still to be a modern theater for a half century of guerrilla and Carlist exploits. General Cabrera was the much-feared Tiger of the Maestrazgo, lieutenant general of Aragón, and Murcia, headquartered in the town of Cantavieja. And although they belong to the past, old-timers still remember the frustrated maqui guerrillas who roamed these bloodthirsty, yet lovely and fertile corners of Spain. Exquisite, Simple and Abundant Tables

T he hungry reader must expect to find here a variety of dining options, from the costly to simple and abundant stews, from the excellent fish and seafood of Peñíscola, Benicarló, Vinarós, and other When the Moors locations to succulent meats, fruits and vegetable inland. were foolishly expelled, “L’Olla” (the Pot) is an obligatory and frugal ritual, the result of a mandatory eating habits and Christian manners skillful blending of lamb, beef and bacon with rice and vegetables. Carn were blatantly disseminated. In many parts of the peninsula, eating bacon d’olla and Putxero are wonderful variations on the same theme. became an unequivocal statement of loyalty for Christianized residents: pork became part of the diet of even those with the most modest means. There Of Paellas there are many, perfect for any pocketbook: with pork ribs was a proliferation of many dishes based on marinades, or made up of pork and a little chicken and rabbit; or with vegetables, fish and seafood and a sausage, ribs, Chorizo Sausage, or Bacon, first lightly fried and then few other tidbits, all thrown together in respectful company. preserved in olive oil, or even pork fat.

At any time of day, and in between meals, there are Olives: in a salad In the Maestrazgo it is still common to find "Shepherd's Stew". or alone; green, brown or black, marinated, or in the reverent company of Anything goes with this dish, provided solely that a clay casserole is used, other dishes. and that it includes a few bits of lamb, herbs –whatever can be found– and of course, is slowly cooked over firewood from the mountains.

BENICARLÓ AND ITS PARADOR 4 If you would like to delve into more culinary creations, look for even strategies and stratagems the Maestrazgo would come together, making a more unique stews, all expert and surprising. For example, try Snails prosperous center for commerce, craft and cattle. They came to enjoy great with Almonds in Benasal; or Marinated Partridge or any of the prestige in the markets of Europe, and some even further afield: local wool stews from Forcall. In Morella, there is the local Lamb, Roasted and would be woven, finished and famed in Florentine looms. Stuffed with Truffles and Cognac; and Cheese Curd Patissets. There was even a saying: "Without the wool of Sant Mateu, the looms of In any event, the surest road is to allow the Parador's employees to the Medicis would have fallen silent." Vicious rumors have it that the guide you. You will not be disappointed. speculation of these shop backrooms was funded by Jews, despite the fact they were to generate prosperity throughout a great portion of the Iberian SECRET RECIPES Peninsula. It is also known that for a long time kings, princes, bishops and a series of aristocrats and others begged, before the time of taxes, money Virtually throughout the region, many small birds are hunted and from the Jewish coffers to satisfy the many small debts they had incurred captured, with the consent or tolerance of the authorities. One example is in order to maintain the ways, fashions and customs of a supposedly the thrush, which populates the area in great numbers. courtly, or at least noble, lifestyle. This is recalled on a tombstone in a street of the Jewish quarter alongside the Palace of Borrull. During the THRUSH WITH TRUFFLES late Middle Ages, the kingdom’s Cortes (parliament) was summoned four times, on one occasion receiving the illustrious visit of Saint Francisco Easy to prepare, with surprising results: Once the thrushes are plucked, Ferrer to preach his truth in the face of the perverse ignorance of the saute them in olive oil. Add thyme, rosemary and stock. Bake for about locals. Some of the most recalcitrant would burn forever at the purifying five minutes. Collect the drippings. Rub the plate with sauce and add the stake. truffles. The Archpriest’s Church is worth more than just a look. It has the ARTICHOKE CUSTARD look and feel of a cathedral of Romanesque origin and influences. It boasts a noteworthy façade with a series of progressively smaller arches. One of Cook the artichokes well. Crush them. Caramelize the custard molds. the capitals portrays the lifeless head of John the Beat the eggs and mix with 100 grams sugar and boiled milk. Cook the Baptist on a tray. Its mixture in a bain marie for around half an hour. Melt the butter with a interior must have little flour and serve the custard partnered with tangerine sauce and any borne witness as caramelized fruit. Clemente VIII, successor to Curious Eyes the so- called

V irtually all of these landscapes offer the unexpected sensation of numerous ancient spots with age-old scents, colors and customs: histories and traditions permeate the land as much or more than the roots of its olive and almond trees. They are perhaps the eternal and indestructible shoots of unforgotten pasts.

But let us pay the proper homage due to Sant Mateu, the capital, possessor of the not always welcome honor of being the historic capital of Pope Pedro de Luna, the Maestrazgo. From times long past, it was the target of envious and resigned the powers and benefits of the papacy in the mid-15th century. covetous neighbors and was frequently invaded by both land and sea. This brought a definitive end to the schism of the western church. Right The settlement, later a town, has long been crowned by Our Lady of here on this spot a grand tower was erected, a warrior’s tower of unheard- Montesa, built in the 14th century. It displayed magnificent polychrome of dimensions: more than 30 meters high and with a similar work, today erased from memory by forgetful fortune. The location is the circumference. The octagonal layout symbolized spiritual regeneration, miraculous and miracle-making crossroads where the fertile webs of the designed to fall somewhere between a square and a circle. The surprising Roman roads of Cesaraugusta and Augusta came together, only to part town and residents must have known of, and perhaps shared the heterodox again. The benefits, many economic, and many others cultural, were rituals and rites of the Cathers, who came in search of a welcome and reciprocal for both invaders and the invaded, in the shadow of mutual, refuge, fleeing from the Albigensian Crusade which crossed the Pyrenees in although tense, tolerance. the 13th century.

Already in the high Middle Ages some Mozarab peoples roamed these There is still much to see and consider: the layout of the city revolves lands, parishioners of a temple dedicated to Saint Mateu. Sant Mateu, around an interesting 16th-century central arcaded square. The only known as Benifarquet, still preserves and respects a few notable remains entrances are at the corners, which was necessary for direct access to the of what was a Citadel at the time, near the present-day Church of San tower, allowing the residents to take refuge digging themselves in. In the Pedro. During about the same period as Jaime I's conquest (early 13th middle of the square there was a market and a hospital for travelers who century), it was handed over to the Hospitalar Order, the town recovering came from Catalonia to the north. its original Mozarab name. On Cort Street were Les Presosns, a reproduction of a group of Sant Mateu came under the power of the Order of Montesa. Its domain dungeons which lodged permanent “guests” between the 14th and extended far and wide: from Amposta to the north to Castile in the south, 5 to the east and the west to the interior of Morella. Thus, with complex BENICARLÓ AND ITS PARADOR 15th centuries. Of the so-called Devil’s Dungeon, legend has it that such While this is much, there is even more: nearby rises the Hermitage of was the torture inflicted here that the accused would even come to see San Cristóbal, built during the 14th century. It is accompanied by olive Satan personified at the point of begging for death rather than succumb to trees so ancient that some have been there for more than two thousand any more torment. The Inquisition was persistent in applying tortures such years. Sant Mateu has yet more blessings: the water, which flows from as spike-covered chairs, the rack, Chinese water torture, or the breaking of many generous fountains, some built by ingenious Roman engineers, and bones with a club. The gloomy site, restored to make it as true to life as numerous holy shrines so necessary for reflection and mystical orations. possible, is today the Museum of Medieval Prisons. The best visits are those along a random route, and travelers will find a variety of lovely handicrafts and arts, pagan traditions and pious legends, If possible, the traveler should visit nearby spots such as the Sanctuary gastronomy and numerous pleasurable escapes. of Mare de Deu dels Angels, female patron saint of the town. The sanctuary is a 16th-century creation with esoteric influences, and had There is little art to be found, although there are some examples of previously often been the site of pagan rituals. There is a legend that the Mozarabic and Romanesque work, and many more excellent first statue of the Virgin, a black one, mysteriously disappeared in the Gothic civil and religious structures. The Knights Templar left their mark early 20th century. It would be replaced by another statue sculpted from on the Morella area, Aragón on the church of Tronchón, the Mudejars whitish stone. Later a miracle came to pass: the flames of a terrible fire in Ares del Maestre, the Renaissance in Iglesuela, Mirambel and during the Civil War leveled the entire temple, with the exception of the Benasal. The baroque period has left many excellent examples, especially new image of La Mare de Deu, which remained, undaunted. This in Catí, Lucena and Morella. The last is unquestionably interesting, an miraculous occurrence is matched by another unusual find: eminent absolute must-see. The Maestrazgo is a paradise of castles, fortresses geologists insist that below the foundations of the holy site there flow established by the Order of Montesa above all: Benasal, Ares del miraculous and surprisingly curative waters. Maestre, Cervera, Cantavieja, among others.

In short, the visitor’s curiosity will without a doubt reap bountiful In any event, please do not hesitate to ask the Parador staff. They will rewards. Among them is a look through the windows of this marvelous be happy to provide you with more specific information about any places sanctuary, from which you can see up to fifteen villages in three provinces: and routes you might have an interest in visiting. Teruel, Castellón and Tarragona.

Parador de Benicarló

Avda. Papa Luna, 5. 12580 Benicarló (Castellón/Castelló) Tel.: 964 47 01 00 - Fax: 964 47 09 34 e-mail: [email protected] Reservation Center Requena, 3. 28013 Madrid (España) Tel.: 902 547 979 - Fax: 902 525 432 www.parador.es / e-mail: [email protected] wap.parador.es/wap/

Text: Miguel García Sánchez Design: Fernando Aznar

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