Page:A Handbook for Travellers in Spain - Vol 1.djvu/234

134 its name implies, in a region of cistus. Iniesta (broom) indicates on its slope a similar botanical position; indeed these desolate districts are covered with rich aromatic underwood, in which the bee and feræ naturæ delight and multiply. The parroquia at Iniesta is fine; the portico and Doric façade of the Casa del Ayuntamiento is good. Pop. 3500. 7 m. E. is a sanctuary of the Virgin of Consolation, in a sweet spot, much visited by pilgrims every September 21st.

Minglanilla: Posada del Sol.. Pop. about 2193. The salt-mine lies N.E. from the village, in the bottom of a deep dell in the hills, and is rather a quarry of salt than a mine, for the mineral is a pure deposit: it may be compared on a smaller scale to the salt-mines at Wieliczka, near Cracow, or at Metzkaya Zastchita, near Orenburg, in Russia. It seems to be inexhaustible; the working affords occupation to the neighbourhood. A permission to visit the place is readily granted. The walk in and out will take an hour, or at least 20 minutes each way: you must calculate on 2$1⁄2$ or 3 hours for the whole excursion. It is worth while to pay for some torches, as, when lighted up, the subterranean galleries sparkle like Aladdin’s cavern of jewels, and by placing them in different spots the extent of the shaft is best perceived: you descend by a staircase some 300 feet, leading to the most interesting parts of the mine. The works are now carried on in a regular and scientific manner; large halls have been formed which resemble lofty crypts, with roofs rising in pointed arches; the sides are cut into massive square piers, between which open arches lead into other aisles: the effect is that of a darkened cathedral. Many vast halls are being formed in the solid salt by knocking away the floors of the galleries above, and thus throwing the two stories into one; the usual level is about 300 feet from the surface, but there are galleries much below that, although not worked now. The mine has been excavated since the time of the Romans, whose shafts were narrow, and by no means so economical or well ventilated as the present system of hollowing out spacious openings. The salt is as hard as rock, insomuch that a beam inserted horizontally into their walls to the depth of 6 inches would support almost any weight. It is cut with pickaxes and with difficulty: when in block it seems almost black in colour, and only appears white where water, having perforated through the roof, forms stalactites. It is exceedingly pure: very small quantities of prussiate of copper are occasionally found in it. The salt lies in one enormous block, and not in scattered strata as at Hallein. The mine is usually worked during 3 months, December, January, and February; the miners during the rest of the year find a livelihood by agricultural employment; they are paid by piece-work, about one cuarto the arroba. The average annual quantity is about 50,000 fanegas, but it merely goes to supply the demands of the neighbourhood, from the want of roads and means of transport. There is a large storehouse near Minglanilla.

On quitting the village the road crosses over the wild Contreras ridges amid most picturesque rocks and mountains into a wooded game country, and so on to

24 m. Utiel (Pop. 8067), which is entered by a fine avenue of trees. The road then to

7 m. Requena. Posada tolerable. Pop. 13,419. This ancient city occupies an almost impregnable position. and is situated near the river Oleana. Obs. the tower of the Ch. of San Salvador.

Soon after leaving Requena, the road enters the rocky mountainous district called las Cabrillas, which separates the province of Valencia from Castile.

24 m. Chiva. Pop. 4226. This city, placed in the centre of a fertile district, is built at the foot of a hill crowned by an old castle.

15 m. Mistala. Pop. 1203. The road now enters the Huerta of Valencia.

2 m. Valencia (see Rte. 123).