20 September · Valencia I

If you come to Valencia and only know ‘paella’ as the name of a dish, there’s a part of the story you’re missing out on.

Paella wasn’t created in a kitchen or a city restaurant. It originated in the countryside, by a lake, amongst rice paddies that are still there today.

Every 20 September, this story is celebrated around the world with World Paella Day. The best way to understand it is to visit the very place where it originated: the l’Albufera area, right where Maravella is located today.

What is World Paella Day?

World Paella Day is an international event celebrated every 20 September to recognise that paella is a dish that originated in Valencia and has now become an icon of the region that transcends borders.

It was created to protect and promote the original recipe in the face of the many versions that exist outside Spain, and to remind us that behind this dish lies a specific region, specific ingredients and specific people: the farmers of the Valencian huerta.

What is l’Albufera and why is it so important?

L’Albufera de València is a freshwater lake that has been designated a protected natural park since 1986. It lies about 10 kilometres south of the city of Valencia, between the Mediterranean Sea and the agricultural plains, right in the heart of the Costa de Maravella.

It is one of Spain’s most important wetlands: a place of migratory birds, traditional boats and, above all, rice paddies that almost completely surround the lake.

That rice you see in every field, flooded with water for much of the year, is the main ingredient in paella. It isn’t brought in from elsewhere: it’s grown right there, using water from the lake itself.

To understand l’Albufera is to understand why paella tastes the way it does: it’s a dish that springs directly from this landscape.

Where does paella come from? The origins of Valencian paella

Traditional Valencian paella originated in the rural area around Valencia, in l’Albufera, not in a restaurant or in the city.

Farmers and farm labourers used to cook rice at midday, directly over a wood fire, using whatever they had to hand: produce from their own vegetable gardens and meat from the animals they reared.

This is where the ingredients come from that still define the original recipe today:

Chicken and rabbit — the animal protein reared on the farms themselves.
• Garrofó — a flat white bean, typical of Valencian vegetable gardens, without which a paella is not considered authentic.
• Bajoqueta — a flat, horseshoe-shaped green bean that grows in the same vegetable gardens.
• Tomatoes and olive oil — the basis of the sofrito.
• Saffron — the spice that gives paella its characteristic golden colour.

Over time, this rustic recipe became one of the most famous dishes in the world. But its roots have never strayed from here: they remain in Valencia, in l’Albufera, amongst the very same rice paddies where it first came into being.

That’s why eating paella in any restaurant in the city and eating it by l’Albufera are two completely different experiences. Here, you can taste the dish and see where it comes from; you get the full experience.

Maravella: enjoying paella in the very setting where it originated

Maravella is a contemporary farmhouse situated in Pinedo, on the road to l’Albufera, just a few minutes from the centre of Valencia.

An ‘alquería’ is a traditional Valencian farmhouse, typical of the ‘huerta’ (vegetable-growing region), surrounded by farmland. Maravella retains that spirit: it is set amongst gardens and vegetable plots, with a traditional ‘barraca’ taking centre stage. Barracas are the triangular, thatched-roof huts used for centuries by farmers in l’Albufera, and they are one of the area’s most recognisable symbols.

Its cuisine centres on local, seasonal produce: many of the vegetables served are grown in Maravella’s own vegetable garden, and the rice is prepared in the traditional Valencian way.

Eating paella here on the day the whole world celebrates it takes on a different meaning: you’re sitting right at the dish’s true birthplace, a far cry from its more touristy versions.

As evening falls, Maravella’s terrace becomes one of the most special spots from which to watch the sunset over the huerta, with signature cocktails and a relaxed atmosphere, accompanied by the Mediterranean breeze.

For those visiting Valencia for the first time, it’s a way of getting to know the city from an angle that most tourists never see: that of the huerta and l’Albufera, the true origins of its cuisine.

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