The President’s Retreat
From November 1936 to the autumn of 1937, Valencia served as the capital of the Spanish Second Republic, then at war with forces led by General Franco in a conflict which would see its eventual defeat in 1939. At the time, President of the Republic Manuel Azaña appropriated a private house in foothills north of Valencia for his residence, far from the fighting. in 2013 I was given a rare opportunity to visit La Pobleta, as the house is known. Closed for generations, it felt as though the hapless Azaña had only left minutes before…
