Silk Exchange of Valencia
Pere Compte; Joan Ivarra · Valencia, Spain · 1548
The Silk Exchange of Valencia is a major example of late Gothic civic architecture. Built in several campaigns from the late fifteenth to the sixteenth century, the complex expressed the city's commercial authority through stone construction, ceremonial rooms and a tower. Pere Compte and Joan Ivarra were central to its design. The main trading hall is especially distinctive for its twisting columns, which rise into a delicate pattern of vaults. The adjoining courtyard and institutional rooms reveal how commerce and municipal power shared the building. The recorded year refers to completion of the wider complex, not only the main hall. Visiting: Standard monument admission is ticketed, with free days and concessions.