Recinte Arqueològic de l'Almoina

The Archaeological Center l'Almoina is located in the historic center of Valencia on Plaza de la Almoina and opened in 2007. The site is of special historical significance, because it was here in 138 B.C. that the Roman city of Valentia Edetanorum was founded. The excavations, which took place from 1985 to 2005, uncovered the foundations of this ancient city, which stretched out at the intersection of the main streets, the Cardo and the Decumanus Maximus. Today you can see the remains of the Roman forum, a large public square surrounded by porticoes that formed the center of religious, political, and commercial life. Prominent structures include the Curia, the seat of the city council, as well as the basilica, which was used for trade and the administration of justice. Another highlight is the Nymphaeum, a monumental public fountain originally dedicated to the water gods, whose elaborate facade helped beautify the city.

Besides the imperial buildings, the museum offers a glimpse into the earliest phase of the city's founding. Here you can see a ritual well in which offerings such as ceramic vessels and animal bones were deposited to bless the foundation. The preserved baths are considered the oldest on the Iberian Peninsula and bear witness to early urban development. The history of the site, however, reaches far beyond Roman times. In late antiquity and the early Middle Ages, the area became an episcopal center, where the baptistery and the so-called prison cell of Saint Vincent were built. Later, the Christian era left its mark on the site when the Almoina, a charitable institution for the needy, was founded in 1303 and gave the square its present name. The museum brings together these different layers of history, from the Roman streets and the circus to the Visigothic church and the medieval structures, and lets you experience Valencia's multilayered past.