When King Felipe el Quinto (Phillip V) assumed the Spanish throne in the 1700s, not everyone was on board with the idea. Felipe was a French Bourbon, and his grandfather was Louis XIV. As Xátiva was a town of Popes and cathedrals, the residents felt more inclined to take orders from the Vatican, and basically ignored this new Frenchman claiming to be their king. I don't need to get into how Felipe had the claim to the throne, but it helped start the War of Spanish Succession. During the war, Felipe had a victory nearby and ordered Xátiva to be burned. As you can imagine, the residents were a little sour about that. To this day, any portrait or painting of King Felipe is hung upside down as a bit of a humorous jab.
In the top left corner it says Don Felipe Quinto, Rey de España
This next picture is a model of what the city looks like. I took a panoramic shot of it (in Spanish they don't say take photo, they say that one makes a photo) and I don't really know how blog friendly it will be. But you can see the city at the base of the hill and what appears to a castle type fort at the top, which was the best part of the trip.
Stay tuned.
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