18th-19th centuries

According to Miguel del Rey, the catalogues of the PGOU of València 2013 and the General Directorate of Heritage of the Valencian Government, the farmhouse of El Hondo is said to be an old property of the Order of Santa Maria de Montesa from the late 18th and early 19th centuries. However, we think it is more likely that it was a private farm established with the permission of said military order. Had it belonged to the order, it would have been sold at auction in the 1830s following the confiscation of ecclesiastical property decreed by the Spanish government. In any case, since that time it has been private property. As for the riurau, there is no specific information on its origin and it would not necessarily have to be contemporary with the farmhouse of El Hondo. It could be a building from the 19th century, dedicated to the raisins business, as is typical of these traditional constructions in the area of La Marina. According to these catalogues, the current owner family keeps a plan from 1886 with the title "Colonia Agrícola". It is now a private property.

The farmhouse with the annexed riurau is located in the dry land part of the Massarrojos municipal district, in an area that currently alternates cultivated fields with pine groves and some buildings at some distance from the country house. According to the description by Miguel de Rey included in the catalogues of the PGOU of València 2013 and the General Directorate of Heritage of the Valencian Government, the riurau is located on an open area with other buildings and consists of a nave with rectangular ground plan. It measures 51 metres by 11 m wide, with large arcades on its sides to allow ventilation of the interior. These arcades are elliptical in shape, 14 on the long sides and 2 on the short sides, with a height of 2.4 m in the centre. The roof is gabled, supported by central pillars and a large wooden joists. It is built of tile and masonry. Around the courtyard there are also smaller dryers and a aljibe (a water cistern).

Ethnological space of local interest, according to the PGOU of València (2013) and the Catalogue of the General Directorate of Heritage of the Valencian Government.

It is the only existing riurau in the region of l’Horta de València.

• Revisió Simplificada del Pla General d’Ordenació Urbana de València (PGOU). Catàleg de béns i espais protegits de Naturalesa Rural (2013). Fitxa: EPA_SNU_17.13, pp. 215-218
• Inventari General del Patrimoni Cultural Valencià. Conselleria de Cultura, Generalitat Valenciana, Secció 2ª. Béns de Rellevància Local. Espai etnològic d’interés local. Fitxa: Riu-rau i Mas del Fondo (Massarrojos)
• http://riurausvius.blogspot.com/

DEL REY, M. (2016): “El Riurau del Fondo en Massarrojos”, Blog: Arquitectura Rural Valenciana.

DEL REY, M. (2016): Riuralogia: Estudi dels Riuraus i d’Arquitectura Rural, núm. 5.

Consell Valencià de Cultura: “Sobre la declaración de BIC del riurau del Mas del Fondo de Massarrojos”, 2010.

Photos: E.Guinot, M.Alemany, Planes PGOU València 2013, Google Earth