The footprints of the Holy Grail in Valencia
Until it reached the Cathedral, the Holy Grail travelled or left traces in some places of the city that you can visit today.
1. Jardines del Real Gardens. This is where the Royal Palace was located, the residence of King Alfonso the Magnanimous, who brought the Holy Grail to Valencia for the first time and kept it there for a while.
2. Museum of Fine Arts of Valencia This is the second art gallery in Spain after the Prado Museum in Madrid. There you can contemplate three works in which the Holy Chalice of the Cathedral is reproduced: two copies of Joan de Joanes' Eucharistic Saviour from the 16th century and the Holy Supper by another Valencian painter, Joan Ribalta. The museum also holds two drawings that are not on public display for conservation reasons: The Last Supper by Joan de Joanes, and the Institution of the Eucharist, by Francisco Ribalta.
3. The Church and Palace of the Temple. This is where one of the ancient gateways to the city was located, through which the Grail passed in the direction of Valencia Cathedral in 1437.
4. The El Patriarca Museum. Look at the scenes in relief on the façade dedicated to the Holy Grail and contemplate inside the museum the painting "The Last Supper" by Francisco Ribalta. Take the opportunity to see the paintings by Caravaggio, El Greco, Van Der Weyden, Benlliure, Ribalta and Pinazo that are also on display in the museum, as well as the original manuscript of Sir Thomas More's posthumous work.
5. San Martín Obispo and San Antonio Abad Church, with a fresco by José Vergara dedicated to the Last Supper, where you can see a reproduction of the Holy Chalice in Valencia Cathedral.
6. Corpus Christi Museum. It houses the triumphal chariots or hors d'oeuvres that participate in the celebration of Corpus Christi. These chariots, which were popularly known as rocks, have given name to this unique Corpus Christi Museum better known as the House of Rocks. One of them is dedicated to the Holy Grail. It was paraded for the first time in the procession in 2001.
7. Calle Avellanas, 3. Sabina Suey's house, where the Holy Grail was hidden during some days of the Spanish Civil War.
8. Cathedral of Valencia. Contemplate the 16th century oil on panel by Juan de Juanes "Last Supper" on the first floor of the Cathedral Museum and take the opportunity to see other works by one of the most important painters of the Spanish Renaissance. Meet other of the relics that were owned by Alfonso the Magnanimous, as the thorns of the crown of Christ and two pieces of the cross. Also discover the original sculptures of the Apostles' Gate in the Cathedral, reliquaries, facsimiles, wood carvings from the 15th century and works by other Valencian masters, such as Vicente Masip. Visit the treasures of the Valencian Cathedral and finish your route, as it could not be otherwise, in the Chapel of the Holy Grail.
You can find out more about the Holy Grail and the artistic heritage of some of the city's temples, such as the Church of San Nicolás or the Church of San Juan del Hospital, on the guided tour Ruta del Grial y arte religioso (Grail and Religious Art Route) which leaves every Friday at 10:00 am from the tourist office at Calle de la Paz, 48.
