The Renaissance Mercado de los Borgia is one of the biggest events held in Llombai. It features horseback tournaments, battles, re-enactments, period concerts, falconry, historic trades, museums, craftsmen and craftswomen, merchants, taverns, camps, children's corner, fantasy characters and a host of period performers.
The market has a wide-ranging programme packed with cultural, historic, play and gastronomic activities. At the market you'll come across craftspeople and merchants, re-enactments of the battle between the Germanías and the Borgias, mythological beings, historic trades, torture chambers, Renaissance exhibitions, period farms with more than 200 kinds of animals, Medieval and Arab concerts, taverns and bars serving octopus, military encampments, dramatized re-enactments, parades, tournaments and jousting, firework displays and a children's area where youngsters can enjoy games and theatre.
The market was set up to commemorate events that took place in the history of Llombai, when on 7 July 1530, King Carlos I made Francisco de Borgia, great-grandson of Alexander VI, the Borgia Pope, Marquis of Llombai. Since then, nine Marquises of Llombai have had the Borgia surname, starting with Saint Francisco de Borgia through to the ninth Marquis, who was also called Francisco de Borgia, and this is reason why this area is known as the Marquisate of the Borgias, later inherited by the Téllez Gijón family in 1735.
In late January, Llombai goes back to the past, hundreds of years ago, to relive the splendour of the Renaissance and recreate the life and grandeur of the Borgia family, with a multitude of activities connected with their history. Streets and squares specially decorated for the occasion become the setting for the market, which is packed with stalls selling all kinds of crafts, traditional food and drink, craft workshops and demonstrations of ancient crafts and trades.