LLÚRIA

LORDS AND LADIES OF THE EARTH

The Middle Ages of our territory is full of historical figures who have helped to forge our roots and identity as a people. This is the case of Admiral Roger de Llúria and the brief but intense family saga represented here by the figure of his second wife Saurina de Entenza, whose 700th anniversary we are celebrating on the 1st of September 1325. Both characters managed a large territory located in the Alicante area during the end of the 13th century and the first half of the 14th century, key dates in the creation of the old kingdom of Valencia, forging what is today our Valencian Community. 

We are in the second half of the 13th century. The ancient Kingdom of Valencia had already been shaped and the military conquest of the sarq al-Ándalus was in its final stages. The Pact of Almizra in 1244 with Castile and the capture of Biar in 1245 opened up the possibility of a period of some peace. However, the Andalusian rebels entrenched in the mountains of Alicante, led by the wazir Muhammad ibn Hudayl, better known as al-AzraqThey kept the conflict alive until they were defeated and exiled. With the definitive defeat of the Andalusian rebel in 1276, the Crown of Aragon handed over all this land to different nobles such as the Llúria family, who created large estates with which to exploit its rich resources. The aim of this exhibition is to highlight the legacy that has been left to us from their passage through history.