Palacio Siglo XIX
The Airbnb was an apartment in a building called Palacio Siglo XIX (Nineteenth Century Palace), located in El Carmen, one of the oldest barrios of Valencia. The images below are views of the entrance to the building taken from the street entrance on Carrer Quart.
Our apartment was on the first floor (the second floor to most Americans). Spaniards, like most Europeans, call the ground floor the zero floor, and the floor above that the first floor. The logic of having a zero floor is apparently understood only by Europeans.
The apartment
The price for the Airbnb was a bit more than we usually pay, but we thought that for a short stay it would be fine. When we walked into the place it felt like we had gone into a time warp and come out in some mansion from the past. I think the best way I can describe what the place looked like is to do a virtual walk through. The front entrance to the building led to an open area with a stairway leading to the elevator and upper floors. Our door was on the first floor, and it led to the entry room shown in the introduction image and also below. The entry door is the brown door in the middle of the image, the dining room is on the right, and a sitting room/office is on the left.
Walking straight through the entry room from the front door, you enter what I’ve called the light shaft room shown below. This is a small room with only the glassed enclosure that goes to a skylight at the top of the building. From here you can see the entry room and front door. Behind the camera are doors to the living room and a hall that leads to the master bedroom suite with private bath, two other bedrooms, and two bathrooms.
I took the image below from the inside of the glassed enclosure with the camera aimed up at the skylight on the roof so you can see the upper floors of the building. It looks like all floors have this light shaft but, obviously, no door entry to it. I have pondered for some time about what the space could possibly be used for, and the only thing I can think of is that, back in the day, that they must have had servants, and this space once had stairs inside the glass enclosure so servants could have access to all floors. If anyone has any other ideas of what purpose the light shaft room might have been, I would appreciate your ideas.
From the light shaft room you enter the living room below. Note the chandler hanging from the ceiling. Chandlers like this are in most all rooms of the house. I think they just replaced the original candle chandlers with electric lights when they brought electricity and plumbing into the building sometime in the late1880s. Also notice the ornate scroll work on the ceiling and doors; almost all of the rooms have this.
Below is the master bedroom. The alcove to the left leads to the private master bath and dressing area. The yellow door on the right leads to the dining room.
The image on the lower left below is a blowup of the carving in the top corner of the bedroom archway. Interesting, but she was looking down at my side of the bed, which I found a bit discomforting. On the lower right is one of two double doors in the room that lead to the outside patio. Note the 4.16 meter (13.6 ft.) ceiling height. The ceiling in our Falset house is 2.68 meters (8.8ft.).
Below is the dining room. The image is underexposed; it is a light, airy room with two double doors that, like in the master bedroom doors, lead to the patio. It has the usual ornate ceiling, carvings, and hanging chandelier. This was our meeting as well as our eating room, so it was always messy.
You can see the kitchen below is a mix of old chandlers and sink and modern dish and clothes washers. There is also a modern refrigerator and electric stove on the other side of the room. The double doors lead out to the patio.
From kitchen, or master bedroom you can walk outside to the patio below that runs the length of the apartment, or about 18 meters (60ft).
Reflections on age and taste
That’s the story of Palacio Siglo XIX. I’m sure the place was built before indoor electricity and plumbing were common, and was updated several times over the years. For example, there was exposed wiring with porcelain insulators in one of the rooms. Also, the drain in one of the showers had a clear plastic cover over the drain that we didn’t find until it caused a minor flood into the hall. The bathroom also had a very distinct sewer oder after we removed the cover, so we kept it on when we weren’t using it. We suspect the plumbing was installed before water traps were used in drains to stop the sewer smell.
Buildings in Spain started to have electrical wiring and indoor plumbing in the 1880s, and Palacio Siglo XIX is a product of its time, elegant and luxurious back in its day. and garish and overstated if measured by modern tastes. But, nonetheless an interesting history lesson in changing technology and taste. They didn’t have today’s electrical and plumbing technology back then, but they certainly had people with crafting skills to do the chandlers and decor on the ceilings, walls, and doors that are very rare today.
References
Valencia Palacio map: https://www.google.es/maps/search/Valencia+Palacios/@39.4777503,-0.3849433,1146m/data=!3m1!1e3entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDYyMy4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D
Valencian seat of government built in 1421: https://www.spain.info/en/places-of-interest/palace-generalitat/
Indoor plumbing: https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=ab11c6a0-f4f6-4309-9f7b-057ce2e9f923
Clawfoot bathtubs: https://classybath.com/blog/History_Of_Clawbaths.html
Kitchen sinks: https://ancientsurfaces.org/2017/12/18/cracking-the-riddle-of-ancient- stone-sinks-and-their-origins/