CAVA GRAN DE AGRES

The Cava Gran, has a singular significance because of the iconic character that its spectacular arcade has acquired, one of the most identifiable symbols of the Sierra de Mariola Natural Park.. La Cava Gran de Agres, is one of the most outstanding buildings that served to the ice industryThe last four hundred years have seen a large number of these constructions for the storage and deposit of snow. The province of Alicante contains an outstanding concentration of these constructions, most of them in the highest areas of the Sierra de Mariola.

In 2008 it was acquired by the Provincial Council. in order to ensure its conservation and restoration. The technical and economic effort developed in the following years, with the interventions carried out in the snow pit and its surroundings, in addition to the new spatial experience, which offers the possibility of descending to the bottom of it, allow from 2016 to make this new cultural facility available to society, rehabilitated as a "cultural centre".site museum"The visit to the ice museum is a great opportunity to enjoy its architecture and the landscape to which it belongs, and to learn about the history of the ice industry, all of which is a further incentive to visit it.

In order to store and maintain the snow for the production and commercialisation of ice, used for various purposes (therapeutic, culinary, preservatives, etc.), during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, numerous deposits were built in Spain, called snow pits or snow pits.
La cava Gran is one of them.

The description of the property taken from the title deed reads:

"Rustic. Covered and cobbled well called la "Nevera Grande", with the right to collect snow (to fill it) in an extension of land of about one hundred days, equivalent to forty-nine hectares eighty-six areas and fifty-six centiares, located in the Sierra de Mariola, term of the town of Agres, partida de la Cova Grande. It borders on all sides with lands of the inheritance from which it comes".

About a hundred years ago, with the revolution in the ice industry brought about by the artificial production of cold, the snow deposits fell into disuse and were gradually abandoned. The Cava Gran ceased to be used and its owner agreed to dismantle its roof in order to recycle certain building materials.

We know that bricks, tiles, ashlars and wooden structural elements from the cellar were reused in repairs to the Franciscan convent, in the roof of the Sanctuary of Agres and in a local house (Vicedo Martínez and Ramírez Gosálvez, 2004).

After the dismantling of the tiled roof, the magnificent arched structure that supported it was exposed, as was the Cava Gran gradually acquired the other name by which it is known, Cava Arquejada. This fact, the dismantling of the roof, also favoured the installation of plant species on the constructive remains of the icehouse, including an invasive colonisation of ivy, highly destructive for the construction materials, and the presence of a specimen of yew rooted at the bottom of the icehouse basin, near the shady side.

Photography has provided us with invaluable information in recent times, since, through a snapshot possibly taken in the 1920s, we can know exactly how the Cava Gran of Agres was covered. This image, which is currently the oldest surviving image of the Cava Gran, is the property of the Pascual Revert family, whom we thank for their permission to reproduce it.

La Cava Gran is a protected cultural asset. It is listed as an Asset of Local Relevance by the Fifth Additional Provision of Law 5/2007, of 9 February, of the Generalitat Valenciana. It was built for the storage and conservation of snow, configured as a covered well, partially excavated in the rock and embedded in a slope of the peaks of the Sierra de Mariola with a south-easterly slope.

The tank vessel has an inverted truncated cone-shaped volume, with a circular section on the inside and a hexagonal façade on the upper part. The roof structure is a pointed ribbed vault, formed by six ashlar half-arches. It is crowned by a pinnacle weighing more than three tonnes.

Acquired by the Provincial Council of Alicante in December 2008 for the sum of €152,000, since 2010 different works have been carried out to enhance its value, until the restoration and musealisation works, designed and directed by the Architecture Department of the Provincial Council, were completed, and it was inaugurated to the public on 10 March 2016.

The most important works until its opening consisted of:

- Temporary stabilisation of the pinnacle in order to be able to work safely inside the shaft (2011).

- The archaeological excavation to clear the bottom of the pit, which led to the recovery of 100m3 of construction materials and the discovery of the snowpack thaw drainage (2011).

- Phytosanitary treatment for selective control of invasive plants, with total protection of the yew tree at the bottom of the well (2012-2014).

And between 2014-2016:

- The assembly of the auxiliary structure for the restoration work.

- The replacement of ashlar masonry elements in corners, jambs, thresholds and lintels.

- The reconstruction of the masonry of the walls.

- Consolidation of the half-arches by filling the joints between segments.

- Permanent stabilisation of the pinnacle by means of brick buttresses.

- The opening of the access gallery and reconstruction of its vault.

- The cleaning and recovery of the original paving of the upper platform.

- The construction of the staircase leading to the bottom of the fridge well.

With this new cultural resource made available to the public, not only is one of the most outstanding snowfields in our province recovered, together with the knowledge and understanding of its architectural remains by those who come to observe it, but also the importance of the ancient ice industry in our history.