The longest-running public baths in Valencia

The Banys de l'Almirall is a 14th-century complex in Valencia's Ciutat Vella district. Built during a period of transition, it was constructed following the style and typology of Islamic architecture. While most of the city's baths were destroyed during the conquest, these baths survived and remained active for nearly six centuries, from the 14th century until the 20th century. They are considered one of the best and almost unique examples of this type of architecture in the city.

The complex was built by the knight and jurist Pere de Vila-rasa, who included a palace and a bakery alongside the baths. The site served as a social hub for the city's less wealthy classes, where men and women gathered at different times to wash and socialize. The layout follows a specific sequence: users enter the cold room to leave their belongings and use the latrines, move to the warm room - the largest and most beautiful chamber with an octagonal dome - and finally enter the hot room.

In the hot room, a furnace below heats the floor via a hypocaust system. The heated floor allows bathers to pour water over it to create steam, following the tradition of the Arab hammam. The building features thick walls and small, star-shaped windows designed to resist humidity and trap heat. After a 19th-century restoration gave the complex a neo-Arab appearance, it was restored again between 1961 and 1963 to remove those additions and return it to its original character.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons