Museo de Bellas Artes (Museum of Fine Arts)
This historic building was originally the San Pío V College founded in 1683 by the Valencian Archbishop Juan Tomás de Rocaberti and designed by the architect Juan Bautista Pérez Castiel, the master builder of the Cathedral. Following the sale of church lands, the building was used by the Military Academy for Cadets and as a warehouse for military goods until 1940 when it became the Museum. The artistic journey starts with the Primitivos Valencianos (Valencian Primitives) exhibition, which covers the 14th to the 16th centuries and includes works by Alcanyis, Nicolau, Jacomart and Reixac, among others. The Valencian School is well represented by Joanes, the Ribaltas, Espinosa, Vicente López, Sorolla and Pinazo. There are also paintings by Pinturicchio, Andrea del Sarto, Van Dyck, Murillo, Velázquez, El Greco and Goya. The museum has an interesting collection of contemporary art, a sculpture pavilion, and an archaeology section.
