400th Anniversary Celebrations

PRESS RELEASE

Javea outlines the schedule of activities to celebrate its 400th anniversary as an independent Municipality

There will be concerts, an official ceremony, tours and the publication of a book about the boundaries conflict that led to the independence from Denia

Javea. Tuesday, 3rd April 2012.

The Javea Town Hall announced the programme of activities it is preparing to mark the 400th anniversary of the granting of the "Royal Villa" title to Javea. A privilege granted by King Philip III on 2 July 1612 that permitted Javea's independence from Denia, which had also been declared a city by the monarch a few months earlier.
The Councillor for Culture, Empar Bolufer, has given details of the celebrations that the Town Hall is preparing thanks to the input of individuals noted for their interest in local history and culture such as Pepa Guardiola and Antoni Espinós.

The commemorative programme will open with a special concert featuring the piece “El color de las mareas” (or the colour of the tides), composed by Jose Miguel Fayos Jorda and inspired by Joaquin Sorolla's paintings of Javea. The concert is scheduled for Saturday June 30th in the San Bartolomé church and will be performed by the Javea Conservatory Orchestra, directed by Jose Rafael Pascual Vilaplana.

The Town Hall will also hold an official ceremony on Monday, 2 July, the exact date of the event. The official event will be in the form of an extraordinary plenary session to be followed by a concert of the San Bartolomé bells by the Campaners Guild.

The second set of activities will be in autumn, when the 9 d'October cultural activities will be dedicated to the 400th anniversary of the municipality. There will be a conference dedicated to the historical cartography of Valencia and the presentation of a book on the "Visuras de la Vall de Xàbia", a translation by Miquel Almenara centred on the ancient records relating to the old boundaries conflict that triggered the separation of the municipalities of Javea and Denia. According to explanations by the historian Antoni Espinós, this process caused a series of conflicts between the two municipalities (some of which, such as the ownership of the Benitzaina chapel, remain unresolved), as it was necessary to examine the boundaries in situ to settle the issue. These "visuras" or inspections, found in the records kept on file in Denia, will be the subject of the facsimile edition to be published this year.

The local archaeologist, Ximo Bolufer, has pointed out that this book is a rich and interesting document because it reflects the former toponomy (or place names) in ancient Valenciano and paints a portrait of the land, boundaries and architectural elements such as water mills that existed in the Vall de Xàbia in the seventeenth century.
To complement the release of this publication, Bolufer will lead a guided tour to explore these landscapes from a historical perspective, give talks in the schools on this chapter of local history and organise an exhibition at the Soler Blasco museum. The programme of events will close with another guided tour by the architect and researcher Pep Ivars, this time within the town, to recall the town of Javea in the modern period (XVI and XVII centuries).

The 400th anniversary commemorative logo was also presented and it features a drawing of the ancient walled town and its gates.


PRESS RELEASE

The Javea Town Hall invites the public to join in the quadricentennial celebration of the Municipal Charter of the Town

There will be a concert on Sunday and an official ceremony on Monday celebrating the anniversary

Javea. Wednesday, 27th June 2012.

The City Council of Javea is preparing for the quadricentennial celebration of the granting of the municipal charter and title of "Villa" (or Market Town), an important landmark in the Town's history, which is to be held on Monday 2 July. The Councillor for Culture, Empar Bolufer, has revealed that the programme of celebrations is to begin on Sunday 1st July with a special concert by the Conservatory Orchestra of Xàbia at 10.00pm in the church of San Bartolomé, where a number special works dedicated to Javea will be performed, such as "Xabea", "Ex Xabeam" and the previously unreleased "El Color de las Mareas" (or "Colour of the Tides"). Composed by Jose Miguel Fayos Jordan, this work tries to reflect both the geographical and cultural peculiarities of Javea, as well as its landscape, according to explanations by the composer. Fayos explained that the movements of the piece reflect the awakening of the bay, the wealth of the seabed and the light evoked in Sorolla's paintings. The performance by more than 90 musicians that have studied at the Professional Conservatory of Music of Javea, will be directed by famed conductor Jose Rafael Pascual Vilaplana and recorded as a musical memory of the Quadricentennial of Javea. The Conservatory would like to underscore that this concert is the contribution of a very large and significant group of people in Javea, its musicians, to both the anniversary celebration and the local cultural memory.

Meanwhile, the official ceremony of the celebration will be held on Monday, 2 July, the exact date of the anniversary. Mayor José Chulvi explained that the event is scheduled to begin at 8.30pm at the Town Hall Square, with the participation of all the mayors of the democratic era, the spokespersons from all the political parties and other authorities such as Conseller José Ciscar from Generalitat Valenciana.

The mayor has also extended the invitation to all the citizens of Javea and of the comarca to join in this celebration, which is a source of pride and joy for the town.
The official ceremony will close with a special concert of bells by the Guild of Campaners from the steeple of San Bartolomé church. This concert will relive the special rings used in the seventeenth century to warn the townsfolk of danger or celebration. These will include full-circle swings, rings of clamour, for the dead souls, as well as those to warn of the closure of the city gates, among others.

The second part of the quadricentennial celebrations will take place in the autumn and will be centred around the annual celebrations of October 9th - el Día de la Comunidad Valenciana - a week that history buffs should mark in their diaries. On Wednesday 3rd October there will be a conference on ancient Valencian cartography, whilst on Friday 5th October, Miquel Almenera will present his book entitled "La Visura de la Vall de Xàbia. "Un recorregut per les terres de Xàbia al segle. XVII” (or "A Tour of the Landscape of Javea in the 17th Century"). This is a publication that is based on the old boundaries documentation that triggered the division of the two municipalities of Javea and Denia, a process that was driven by property disputes (some of which still exist today, such as the shrine of Benitzaina) and required the mediation of an impartial observer. These inspections have been collected into a facsimile book which will be published this year, a rich and curious document that reflects the former toponomy (or place names) in ancient Valenciano and paints a portrait of the land, boundaries and architectural elements such as water mills that existed in the Vall de Xàbia the seventeenth century.
To complement this publication, municipal archaeologist Joaquím Bolufer will be leading a guided tour on Sunday 7th October, travelling through these landscapes from a historical perspective.

The programme of events will close on Saturday 20th October with another guided tour through the Old Town to remember the town of Javea in the Modern Period (16th and 17th centuries) with architect and researcher Pep Ivars.

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