At the beginning of the 70s… Port Saplaya was born

Port Saplaya was born in the early 70s as a collaborative project between a group of businessmen and the owners of the sandy areas near the Alboraia beach. This population is known worldwide for its typical product, tiger nut milk. To grow tigernuts it is necessary to mix soil and sand. Most of the owners of the fields by the sea, joined the project.

At that time the beach was difficult to access and for this reason, despite being 4 kilometers from València, it was not used for bathing.

The project, inspired by various developments on the Côte d'Azur in France and the Riviera in Italy, mainly Port Grimaud in the Gulf of Saint Tropez, consisted of building a port or dock surrounded by individual homes in which each neighbor could have their boat docked. at the door of your house.

In the 1970s, seaside developments consisted of huge apartment blocks. Port Saplaya with its port was unique in its kind.

Port Saplaya (in Valencian Port Sa Platja, that is to say, its beach port), had therefore from its beginning an inland port with access to the sea. The small port is made up of quays surrounded by semi-detached houses painted in warm colors, so that the dock allows boats to reach the doors of the houses, as in a “little Venice”.

The urbanism of Port Saplayaa is quite peculiar, since it consists mainly of one or two lines of buildings that, from the beach, completely surround the port, which is located in the geographical center of the town and can only be accessed by pedestrians.

The urbanization is articulated by two squares, the Plaza Major in the south and the Plaza de la Senyoria in the north, open on one side and porticoed on the other three, located at each end of the town. The promenades, in turn, are separated into two (north and south) by the mouth of the port, which accesses the interior of Port Saplaya.

The entire town is pedestrianized, surrounded by a single road on which road traffic is allowed, through which the garages are accessed, all of which are underground. The plan reminds us of a medieval city or an Arab medina, narrow, irregular alleys, small squares, corners with shaded benches, atzucats in the purest North African style ... the complex is conceived for the tranquility and well-being of its inhabitants and visitors, without ever loseing sight of the Mediterranean.

The color of the facades is striking: ocher, sienese, cauldron red, garnet ... all earth colors, which evoke the Mediterranean. They were carefully chosen, paired with care by the interior designer Agnès Borel, who was also in charge of the choice and placement of all kinds of details that make up the enclave's charm. Most of the iron balconies of the individual houses are old, we find a small fountain in one corner, a tile plate in another, benches and a stone well, gargoyles rain gutters, decorative details of baked clay ...

All the floors of the arcades of the squares are made of fired clay. In the same way, plants and flowers add freshness to the environment, constituting an evocative, peaceful and calm set, protected, although open to the sea, which is its reason for being.