It is located in Carrer Guadiana n. 23. This street is accessed from the roundabout at the entrance to Castellar-Oliveral after passing the bridge over the new Túria riverbed, turning left onto the asphalted road at the side of the motorway on the Túria River.
19th-20th centuries
In his catalogue of alqueries (farmhouses) in l’Horta (the irrigated land) of València, J.A. Garcia Esparza attributes 200 years of age to it, while the 2018 Territorial Action Plan for the Protection of l’Horta of València does not indicate anything about its origins and history. As in the case of many other popular constructions in l’Horta of València, it is not at all easy to give an individual chronology and history of its own. Due to their simple constructive structure, they usually date back to the second half of the 19th century or the beginning of the 20th century, even with possible important modifications at some point due to the need to rebuild them as the materials had aged or because they were affected by the floods of the Túria River in 1949 and 1957. These barraques (huts) do not usually appear in the documents of previous centuries in an identifiable form by names or place names, while at an oral level they were usually known in their surroundings by the name or nickname of the people who owned or lived there. For this reason, the name of the barraca (hut) may have been modified as a result of the change of residence of the people who owned or lived there.
According to the 2018 Territorial Action Plan for the Protection of l’Horta (the irrigated land) of València, the Llop barraca (hut) is included in the area of protection of the Brosquil alqueria (farmhouse) and the barraca at 20 Guadiana Street, but it does not give specific data on its physical characteristics. J. A. Garcia Esparza, in his catalogue of barraques (huts) in l’Horta of València, states that it is built in the traditional fashion, with manure and reeds. It is slightly larger than the average, with a frontage of 6,36 m (20ft 10.3 in) and a depth of 12,33 m (40ft 5.4 in), with a floor plan of around 78 m2 (839.5850ft²). The most visible change is the corrugated fibre cement roof. It is currently (November 2019) in an advanced state of deterioration, with loss of the coating of the wall compost.
GARCIA ESPARZA, J. A. (2012), Barracas del litoral Mediterráneo: catálogo de Valencia y su entorno, Castelló, Universitat Jaume I, pp. 162-163.
DEL REY. M. (2010), Arquitectura Rural Valenciana, Barcelona, Galerada (1ª edició: València, Direcció General de Patrimoni Artístic, 1996)
GARCIA ESPARZA, J. A. (2008), “La barraca Valenciana, procesos de transformación”, Revista valenciana d'etnologia, 3, pp. 145-159.
CRUZ OROZCO, J. (2003), “Las viviendas de cubierta vegetal en el territorio valenciano: el caso de la barraca”, Revista El Pajar: Cuaderno de Etnografía Canaria, 14, pp. 111-116.
RUIZ RUBIO, J. V. (1999), Construint una barraca valenciana, València, Ajuntament d’Alboraia-Col·legi d’Aparelladors i Arquitectes Tècnics de València-Col·legi d’Arquitectes de la Comunitat Valenciana.
SANCHIS GUARNER, M. (1957), Les barraques valencianes, Barcelona, Ed. Barcino. (reedició: València, Institució Alfons el Magnànim, 1999).
ALMELA VIVES, F. (1960), La vivienda rural valenciana, Valencia, La Semana Gráfica.
CASAS TORRES, J. M. (1944), La vivienda y los núcleos rurales de la huerta de Valencia, València, Diputació Provincial de València.
Photos: E. Guinot
