The Alquería del Pi or Alquería de Baix is located in the middle of the orchard of the municipality of Vinalesa, a few dozen metres from the outlet of the Carraixet ravine. It can be reached by the road from Vinalesa or from Bonrepòs i Mirambell by the road Borde Esquerra del Carraixet.
It is in an advanced state of ruin, much of the roof has already collapsed and all accesses are boarded up. The main façade is secured with metal props to prevent its collapse.
16th century, renovated in the 19th century
As in the case of many other farmhouses in l'Horta de València, it is not easy to find details about their specific history because they have been privately owned buildings with an agricultural and residential use, which have periodically changed hands and which do not usually appear in the more official written sources. Moreover, some of them have kept their name for a long time, even to the most recent present, but others have changed their appellation according to the name, nickname or surname of the owning family. For this reason, only a slow and careful research in the archives sometimes makes it possible to find traces of them in the past. According to M. del Rey (PAT de l'Horta-Preliminary version 2008, PGOU de València 2013 and PAT de l'Horta-2018), based on his architectural interpretation, the current farmhouse was built at the end of the 16th or beginning of the 17th century, which would be reformed in the 18th and 19th centuries with the extension of new bodies around a central courtyard with agricultural functions. So far no documentary reference has been found regarding the time of its erection and ownership over the centuries, but it has clearly been in the hands of members of the aristocratic or bourgeois upper classes, combining its function as a large farm with an ornate residential space of noble character. In recent years it was in the hands of a foundation of the Justice Department.
The farmhouse is still located today in a totally agricultural and exploited environment, as it would have been for centuries, and stands out as the only construction in hundreds of masters around it. According to M. del Rey (PAT de l'Horta-Preliminary version 2008, PGOU de València 2013 and PAT de l'Horta-2018) the farmhouse consists of a main body with the front façade facing east and a residential use, and a courtyard behind it that vertebrates the other buildings with agricultural and animal functions. The main body is made of tile and masonry, two storeys high, with a floor plan of approximately 16 x 6 metres, and 'is built by two crosses of equal dimensions, with load lines parallel to the façade and defined by walls on the ground floor'. The main doorway has a large ashlar arch, which Del Rey considers to be the oldest current element in the complex, since the windows were probably modified in the 18th century to make them more regular and symmetrical. The roof is gabled and tiled but is now largely fallen down. Its exterior was plastered and traces of paint remain. The carpentry of the openings is made of wood. Inside, a few years ago, the various rooms of the farming family were still identifiable and the upper floor was used as a large open platform for drying and storing the crops.
Ethnological space of local interest, according to the PGOU of València (2013), the PAT de l'Horta (2018) and the Catalogue of the General Directorate of Heritage of the Generalitat Valenciana.
- Plan de Acción Territorial de Protección de la Huerta de Valencia. Versión Preliminar (2008). Memoria de Ordenación. Anexo. Fichas de Elementos Arquitectónicos. Índice de Fichas, (dir. Arancha Muñoz), Generalitat Valenciana, Element EPA_04.04, p. 240.
- Revisió Simplificada del Pla General d’Ordenació Urbana de València (PGOU). Catàleg de béns i espais protegits de Naturalesa Rural (2013). Fitxa: EPA_SNU_17.01, pp. 161-164.
- Inventari General del Patrimoni Cultural Valencià. Conselleria de Cultura, Generalitat Valenciana. Secció 2ª: Béns de Rellevància local. Espai etnològic d’interés local. Fitxa: Alqueria del Pi
- Pla d’Acció Territorial d’Ordenació i Dinamització de l’Horta de València (PAT de l’Horta). Generalitat Valenciana, 2018. Catàleg annex. Element Patrimonial:. EPA_04.01: Alquería del Pi (Cases de Bàrcena), pp. 203-205
- Centre d’estudis de l’Horta Nord
- Alquerías históricas de Valencia peligran por la falta de rehabilitación (EL PAIS. 28 junio 2009)
DEL REY AYNAT, M. et alii (2002): Alqueries. Paisatge i arquitectura en l’horta, València, Consell Valencià de Cultura, pp. 159 i 161.
DEL REY AYNAT, M. (2010): Arquitectura Rural Valenciana, Barcelona: Galerada (1ª edició: València: Direcció General de Patrimoni Artístic, 1996), p. 23.
DEL REY AYNAT, M. (1990): “La casa rural de origen moderno en el territorio valenciano”, dins: Cea Gutiérrez, A.; Fernández Montes, M., Sánchez Gómez, L. A (edits.): Arquitectura popular en España, Madrid, CSIC, pp. 525-539.
DEL REY AYNAT, M. (2000): “L’arquitectura de la casa rural valenciana al voltant del segle XV”, dins Actes del I congrés d’Estudis de l’Horta Nord, València, Centre d’Estudis Comarcals de l’Horta-nord, pp. 403-412.
ALMELA I VIVES, F. (1932): Alquerías de la huerta valenciana, València, Sociedad Valenciana de Fomento del Turismo,
ALMELA I VIVES, F. (1960): La vivienda rural valenciana, València, La Semana Gráfica.
CASAS TORRES, J. M. (1943): La vivienda y los núcleos de población rurales de la huerta de Valencia, Madrid, Instituto Juan Sebastián Elcano, 1944, 328 pp.
GUINOT RODRÍGUEZ, E. (2002): “L’alqueria valenciana en la Història”, dins: DEL REY, M. et alii: Alqueries. Paisatge i arquitectura en l’horta, València, Consell Valencià de Cultura, pp. 33-41.
ALGARRA PARDO, V.; BERROCAL RUIZ, P. (2016): “Uno no, muchos centros históricos en Valencia. Llocs, núcleos agrupados y alquerías en la ciudad”, dins: Algarra, V.; Cárcel García, C. (edits.): València, quan la ciutat aplega a l’horta: homenatge a Eduard Pérez Lluch, València: Ajuntament de València, pp. 103-118.
ALGARRA PARDO, V. (2002): “La materia de què es construeix l’alqueria: materials i tècniques de construcció”, dins: DEL REY, M. et alii: Alqueries. Paisatge i arquitectura enl’horta, València, Consell Valencià de Cultura, pp. 43-47.
BERROCAL RUIZ, P.; ALGARRA PARDO, V. (2002): “Els espais d’ús i habitació en el mónrural”, dins: DEL REY, M. et alii: Alqueries. Paisatge i arquitectura en l’horta, València, Consell Valencià de Cultura, pp. 49-55.
ARAZO, M. A.; JARQUE, F. (1995): Arquitectura popular de la Huerta de Valencia, València, Ajuntament de València.
PÉREZ DE LOS COBOS, F. (2000): Alquerías, masías y heredades valencianas, València, F.Doménech.
Photos: E.Guinot, Planes PGOU València 2013, Google Earth, Google Street View
