The 17th-century ice house of Cava de Don Miguel

The Cava de Don Miguel is located on the northern crest of the Serra de Mariola at 1,050 metres above sea level. Because the limestone substrate made excavation difficult, builders constructed a massive masonry foundation of 40 metres in width reinforced with eight buttresses to elevate the ice depot. Unlike other ice houses, this structure is not underground, or is only partially so.

Commissioned for the city of Xàtiva during the first half of the 17th century, this structure features an interior space that forms a circle measuring 14.5 metres across and rising 10.2 metres high. The interior is lined with masonry and mortar, while the lower segments preserve the rock with marks from drilling.

Three specific entry points invite us to explore different elevations of the site. The base level provides access to a passage at the bottom of the well. A middle door opens into a small chamber containing a crumbling vaulted ceiling, a chimney, and a bench. The highest door leads to a space defined by a trumpet-shaped vault.

Though it exists as a ruin today, the structure includes remains of a false vault with stone slabs and mortar. Visitors can hike the PR-CV 370 trail to reach the site, where they can see a nearby basin designed to collect water from the melting ice.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons