The itinerary which will let us know the urbanism and history
of the medieval Vila of Javea starts where the Porta de
la Mar one of the three accesses which its wall had, was
raised.
In 1244 Dénia capitulated in favour of King Jaime
I, and Pere Eiximen Carroç, who directed the conquest
of the navy, carried out the division of this zone. But
the repopulating was slow and little effective until the
Musulman revolts of Al-Azraq in 1279 did not end.
The first documental news that speaks of Javea comes from
King Jaime II fruit of the need of reinforcing the lands
of the south, since the XIV century begins labelled by two
conflicts: the war with Castille from 1396 and the razzias
of the people of Granada with the aid of the Mudejar population
of the kingdom. This King maintained a policy of fortifications
and in his documentation he describes some elements of the
primitive nucleus of the Vila. It was a small enclosure
closed by an adobe wall with loafer towers. One of them
probably that of En Cairat seems to have formed part of
a previous construction an Islamic farmhouse.
The wall went along the streets Sor María Gallard,
Primicies, Major and Roques. In the interior he peaks of
another tower of a church and of houses.
The growth was slow and in 1333 the first bad year a period
of recession started. In 1397 the title of VILA with a Council
and district was granted, but it continued forming part
of the County of Denia.
The XV century began with the recovery and the increase
of the population, with a clear reflection in urbanism.
The primitive enclosure was insufficient and the walls were
demolished to open new roads carrer Nou or to take advantage
of it in the construction of new houses.
The division of the Vila was effected and the new plan of
the walls with the doors of La Mar, of Sant vicent or of
the Ferreria and of Sant Jaume or of the Clot.
The central nucleus was occupied by the local oligarchy
with important constructions. A clear example is the Palace
dels Sapena, Lords of Benitatxell and of Lluca. On its ground
floor the great doorway with a Roman arch has disappeared
– similar to the one which is conserved in Nº
47 Major Street but it maintains the gallery of carpanel
arches as well as the double windows with three lobes, although
the small columns of the mullion have nor been preserved.
It corresponds to the typical constructions of the civil
gothic.
The rest of the Vila was inhabited by the már menor.
The houses were conditioned by the previous division into
long narrow plots. The façade consisted of a door
with a Roman arch with keystones worked in sandstone and
on the upper floor, a thresholds window or a conical arch
of reduced dimensions with a edge of worked sandstone or
a double window. This type of manufacture or some of its
most characteristic elements continued being used until
the first part of the XVII century.
The growth of the population and the instability due to
the assaults of the Berber Corsairs, which had been continuous
from the XV century, made it advisable to enlarge the fortress.
In 1513 the works of the great nave with internal buttresses
of the Church of Sant Bertomeu directed by Domingo de Urtega
began.
Of a gothic Isabelline style, it presents a unique nave
with lateral chapels between the buttresses, following the
Mediterranean model. The dome is of crosspieces and the
decorative elements which it presents are scarce in the
interior, as well as in the exterior, where they concentrate
in the two front pieces. A watch tower with belfry functions
and the old sacristy were raised.
The set is finished with battlements and it has loopholes,
windows for the mortars and two objectives perfectly, to
defend the population and to cover the religious needs of
the people. The Esglesia of L´Oreto was also constructed
in 1515 near the Porta de la Mar, where a small garden is
currently found.
Another need when the pest outbreaks were relatively customary,
was covered by the hospital, of which only the chapel of
Santa Ana is conserved. It seems that Javea was not very
affected as the demographic data which we have demonstrates.
In 1510, there were some 930 inhabitants – the greatest
population of the region- and a century later it reached
1.800 inhabitants. The greatest preoccupation of the monarchy
in the XVI century was the Moor issue, a problem which finished
in the reign of Philip III with the expulsion of the Moors
in 1609, lessening the population of the interior valleys
of the region. The Palace d´Antoni Banyuls member
of the court of which its superior gallery with clear Castilian
influence stands out, belongs to this era.
