The Museu de Belles Arts de Valencia, also known as the Valencia Fine Arts Museum, is the second largest art museum in Spain. Its collection includes some 2,000 works primarily from the 15th to 19th centuries.

The collection concentrates on Spanish art. As one would expect, the artists of the Valencian school are well-represented. Pride of place, however, goes to the 40 works by Joaquin Sorolla. However, the collection also includes works by El Greco (St. John the Baptist), several works by Goya including his portrait of Dona Joaquim Candado and one of two-known self-portraits by Diego Velazquez. There are also works by foreign artists such as Van Dyck and Pinturicchio.

Home for the museum is the impressive St. Pius V Palace. Begun in 1683, this sprawling Barogue building was originally a seminary college. Subsequently, it was used as a military school, a charity center and a military hospital. In 1946, it was selected to be the home of the fine arts museum.

The museum combines some new state-of-the art galleries as well as some older ones. On our visit, the galleries were clean and well-lit.

Outside, the museum overlooks the Turia Gardens. This is a marvelous green space runs through Valencia in what was once the bed of a river that has been diverted so as to avoid flooding. It is possible to walk to the museum from Valencia's ultra-modern City of Arts and Science through the Turia Gardens. However, it is a long walk best for those in good condition.

For more information on visiting, see the Museu de Belles Arts de Valencia's website.

Above: Medieval and Renaissance Spanish religious art housed in a modern gallery.
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Below:  The museum has a large collection of works by native-son Joaquin Sorolla.

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Places to see art - - Valencia, Spain - - Valencia Museum of Fine Arts​