The Eartquake in Montesa 1748

THE EARTQUAKE IN MONTESA 1748

Montesa's earthquake was astrongearthquakeoccurredonMarch the 23rd1748inthe Valencia region, ontheCoast, and its epicenter wasinthetown ofMontesa. Anearthquakeof the sameintensitywas repeateda fewdayslater,withthesameepicenter, on the 2nd ofApril.

The23rd of March the earthquakeoccurredabout at 6:15am, afterheavyrains. After the earthquake,23 lessviolentswingscontinueduntilApril the 2nd, when another earthquakeof equalstrengthto thepreviousalmostcompletelydestroyedwhat remainedinthe area. The devastating effectsspreadoverthepeoples ofthegovernorates ofXativaandMontesa, according tohistoriansAntonioCavanilles, CarlosSarthouand thecolumnistTeodoroLlorente, whichwe quotebelow:

"It was dawn onMarch the 23rd 1748. Afterheavy rains, beautifulspring smiled...The clergyof theSacred Conventchoirhadprayedthe “minors hours”andsomeofthemwerecelebratingMass. Suddenlyfeltthe earth trembleat his feet, totteringwallsandvaultscollapsewith anhorriblecrash.It wasquarter past six in the morning. Thechurchandallthe castlebuildingsfell down. A prolongedthunderoutofthe ruins anda cloud ofdustarounded them. Two hours later, anothershakecompleted thedestruction. Repetingthenoiseanddustwererolling down from mountainsthestonesfrom the walls..."

TeodoroLlorente

THE DAMAGES AND THE ABANDONMENT OF THE CASTLE

InMontesa the earthquakealmostcompletelydestroyedthemilitaryCastle(and its ruins are still seen today), burying inthe rubblemany ofitsinhabitants, killing 18 people, including monksandknights.

Plano del castillo Clic para ver a mayor tama o

Twenty monks used to live in the castle. Their lives was structured around the monastery and the castle had typical plant of the Cistercian monasteries. Co-existed in the castle, monks dedicated to the spiritual work of the Order and the monks engaged in military activity. The castle was described at the time of the “Reconquista”, as one of the strongest in the Kingdom of Valencia for its solid structure, strong towers and spacious square that stated he could accommodate more than two thousand soldiers

style Thesurvivingbrothersof the OrderofMontesa, abandonedthecastleand movedinJuly1748 toValencia, thePalaceof theTempleChurch, untilKingFerdinandthe 7th, Grand Master oftheOrder, ordered theconstruction of anewconvent. Sinceitsabandonment it wasused as aquarryforconstructionof the villageandits architectonical elements were stolen. Their owners did not know or did not wanted preserve or recovery the Castle of Montesa.Todaythey arehardlyrecognizableunitsand weonly know themthroughancient documents.

Itsruins, abandonedtotheirfate bythe same orderofMontesa, wentto
Stateafterthe confiscation of1835.In 1887Leopoldo
PeterandNash, MarquisofSistalloBenamejísand KnightoftheOrderofMontesaboughtthecastlewhichgaveittohis son, PedroJoaquin. HesoldittoRamon
JorgeDalmauiFalces (member of the Montesa Order) later MarquisofOlivart, until finallyMontesaCity Councilpurchased itin1970.

THE LAST INTERVENTIONS TO RECOVERY THE CASTLE

Theremainsof the Castle-Convent oftheOrder ofMontesawasdeclareda National Monument on 13th ofApril1926,

Montesa City Council, within the economic possibilitiesof a small town, started in 1996 after many years of neglect about interventions in the castle of Montesa a series of small actions, intended to prevent total destruction of the remains of the Convent.Thus, he commissioned architect Salvador Vila Ferrer's first project. His pursued aim was to strengthen and to rebuild some architectonical elements, as well as the cleaning of the place, so it could be opened to visitors. Fruit of effort of various agencies in the years 1997-2000 is led to complete building works and recovered walls original access ramp to the castle.Initiated the current legislature,it wasn’t necessary to specify thatdefining symbol of the town of Montesa (castle) was a priority.

Thus,following the work ofrecovery that began a few years ago, in October 1999 Associación Macizo of Caroig requested, through Leader II program, an economic aid to provide to the castle electricity and water, nonexistent infrastructure at the time but needed to perform any work in the future. The intervention will bring down costs ofany building work performed within the castle,it will facilitate the installation of any machinery which needspower, pointing out some aspects of beauty ofthe monument, with the illumination of some of its parts andthe landscaping of the cloister.

style
In 1997, the Directorate General of the Department of Heritage,commissioned architect Salvador Vila Ferrer a draftconsolidation of those damaged structures, butnothing has been done about it yet.

In 2004 the council awarded the City of Montesa a grant of 15 million ancient pesetas (90,160 euros), to start the reconstruction process of the Chapter of Castillo, a project that has also been commissioned to Vila Ferrerand begin running shortly.

The Castle is, without doubt, the most important tourist attraction of Montesa, and although it is in ruins is partially restored and strengthened and it remains one of the most impressive ruins of the Valencian Community.

Bibliography

Town hall of Montesa: María Alcaraz (Agente de desarrrollo local)
“Relación estractada de los testimonios remitidos por las Justicias a los Gobernadores de las capitales de sus partidos y de esta a su Excelencia”. Mr.Esteban Felix Carrasco.
“Documenta nº 1. Edit: Montesa, Associació Cultural d´Amics del Castell fra Miquel d´Arandiga i Parroquia de l´Assumpció de Montesa. Ed:1992 (facsímil crónica del terremoto de 1748)
Documenta nº 3Edit: Montesa, Associació Cultural d´Amics del Castell fra Miquel d´Arandiga i Parroquia de l´Assumpció de Montesa. Ed:1996