Manises celebrates 100 years of La Cerámica Valenciana, the oldest working tile factory in the Valencian region
Tile Wars · history · · Tile Wars
Inside the medieval Barri d'Obradors, the heirs of José Gimeno Martínez keep alive a seven-century-old ceramic tradition. A century after its founding, their factory-museum still produces Valencian tile using the same artisan methods that made it famous.
Manises is no ordinary name in Spanish ceramics. To talk about this town near Valencia is to talk about the only place in Spain that has kept ceramic production uninterrupted since the 12th century — a continuity matched by very few European enclaves. Within that artisan ecosystem, one family business has just turned 100: La Cerámica Valenciana , founded by José Gimeno Martínez in 1925 and now run by his grandchildren. It is officially the oldest working ceramic factory in the Valencian Community . In a sector battered by the energy crisis, Asian import pressure and the deep industrial transformation of the Castellón cluster, that fact carries an almost symbolic weight. A 14th-century pottery turned factory-museum The premises sit in the old Barri d'Obradors of Manises, in a refurbished 14th-century pottery on carrer de l'Hort . The layout perfectly reflects the project's dual soul: ground floor, the working factory where every piece is made by hand; upper floor, a permanent exhibition spread across eight rooms with tiles, altarpieces and singular pieces produced over the past century. Despite the introduction of modern technology and the safety systems any contemporary workshop requires, the method remains unchanged: throwing, glazing and hand-painting using techniques inherited from more than 700 years of Valencian tile-making tradition . Who was José Gimeno Martínez The founder's story mirrors that of many late-19th-century Valencian craftsmen who stepped into modernity without abandoning the trade. Born in Manises on 22 August 1889 to a modest family of potters, Gimeno trained as a draughtsman and painter at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Carlos in Valencia , combining study with work in the family workshop, then dedicated to ordinary household earthenware. At just 19 he took over the artistic direction of «La Rosa» , the earthenware factory of Juan Bautista Cabedo — one of the most prestigious in early-20th-century Manises. He also took special commissions for Francisco Lahuerta and signed pieces as singular as the calvary panels at Mount Carmel, in Palestine. The turning point came in 1925 , after a study trip to Paris where he rediscovered the historical value of his town's ceramics. On his return, he took over the family workshop with a clear goal: to recover the traditional Valencian ceramics of the 18th and 19th centuries and restore Manises to its rightful place on the international tile map. Four generations, one spirit After José Gimeno's death in 1967, his sons Manuel and Vicente Gimeno Aguilella kept the workshop running at the same level. Since 1991, his grandchildren — Vicente and María José Gimeno Peris — have led the company, modernising selected aspects while preserving the founder's artisan spirit intact. The centenary has not gone unnoticed. On 10 July 2025 , at the Germanías Auditorium in Manises, La Cerámica Valenciana was honoured as part of the 2025 Fiesta de la Cerámica as a historical benchmark of the sector, recognising a trajectory that blends artisan roots with contemporary design. A museum you can visit (by appointment) Unlike major public museums, La Cerámica Valenciana's exhibition is private and entirely self-funded by the family. It welcomes professionals, collectors, specifiers and any visitor interested in Valencian ceramics, but it requires advance booking to ensure proper attention, as it is staffed by the company's own members. Address: carrer de l'Hort, 1 — Manises (Valencia) Appointments: +34 96 154 59 13 / WhatsApp +34 644 393 790 Factory hours: Monday to Friday, 07:00–14:00 Public hours: weekdays, 09:00–13:00 Online shop: ceramicagimeno.com Getting there is easy: by car, exit 13 (Manises-Paterna) of the V-30, or from the A-3 via the V-11 near the airport. By metro, lines 3, 5 or 9 toward the airport, getting off at Salt de l'Aigua or Manises (a five-minute walk from either station). Why this anniversary matters At a moment when the Spanish ceramic cluster is debating how to compete on cost, decarbonise and differentiate from Asian industrial product, cases like La Cerámica Valenciana are a reminder of something essential: historical authenticity and artisan traceability are assets that no high-volume factory can replicate . The value of a piece hand-painted in a refurbished medieval pottery does not compete with mass production — it complements and dignifies it. A hundred years on, Manises is still the cradle. And the Gimeno family, its guardians. Source: Valencia Bonita — valenciabonita.es All images (main and body) are sourced from the original Valencia Bonita article — valenciabonita.es