WHY THE MILL IS IMPORTANT
Strategic Location 
Close to the Serpis River and surrounded by mountains, THE MILL stands at the boundary between the countryside and the town of Villalonga, marking the transition between the urban and rural landscape. It is the majestic gateway to two highly valuable and scenic routes that lead into the Barranco del Infierno and connect with the Serpis Greenway. It is the landmark that marks and provides access to the stunning natural gorge between the Safor and Cuta mountain ranges, linking the towns of Lorcha and Villalonga—an area rich in history, connected to the old 'English railway' and to the hydraulic use of the river for flour production, papermaking, and electricity generation.
HYDRAULIC INFRASTRUCTURE This place is known as 'La Celulosa', but it was also the former Félix Durá Mill, dating from 1818: a flour mill that formed part of an industrial complex that included a hydroelectric plant, a cardboard factory, and a stone-decoration workshop. With its four millstones, it was the largest mill on the Serpis River. THE MILL stands as testimony to the historical evolution of the local industry, linked to harnessing the river's energy. Its construction embodies the hydraulic infrastructure—perfectly preserved—that powered all the industrial machinery of its time. It is a complete hydraulic harnessing system that begins upstream at the Reprimala Weir, where water from the Serpis River was diverted into a large irrigation canal over a kilometer and a half long, carrying a high flow toward two large vertical shafts or 'cubs', each more than 9 meters tall. The water flowed from the shafts into a unique vaulted chamber 3 meters high called the 'cárcara' through four narrow channels. The water pressure, regulated by a cover called the 'cerraja', drove the horizontal waterwheels (rodeznos) located in the lower chamber (cárcavo). These transferred the motion through the shaft (árbol) up to the millstones on the upper floor, where the grain was ground into flour. The mill’s hydraulic infrastructure also includes the extension added in the early 20th century to install the hydroelectric plant, featuring two turbines fed by water through two underground conduits connected to the irrigation canal.
ARCHITECTURAL VALUE THE MILL, with areas over 200 years old, is a beautiful example of traditional Valencian popular architecture with significant cultural value. The way successive expansions were carried outkeeping the oldest spaces nearly untouched allows us to observe the evolution of construction techniques over time. It rises majestically with master walls made of unpolished stone masonry, brick, and lime mortar, featuring openings with lowered arches. Inside, one finds wooden tie beams supporting rafters that carry small lime-rendered brick vaults (revoltons), along with Spanish-style trusses, large beams, metal trusses, and impressive stone-and-brick vaults built with hydraulic mortar. In THE MILL, spaces typical of a traditional three-storey Valencian house (the ground floor used as the building’s work and storage area, and the upper levels as living space) are uniquely integrated with large open industrial halls, creating a distinctive and beautiful spatial composition.
Restoration Project
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