Max Abroad : The Best of Spain

For hundreds of years, the Spanish town of Burjassot built buried stone silos on a hill overlooking the town and the rounded stone entrances can still be seen in the Patio de los Silos where fortunate visitors can sometimes even enter the ancient stone pits.

Taking an original approach to a grain shortage in the surrounding Kingdom of Valencia during the 16th century, the local government installed three large silos beneath a limestone hill. The idea was that Sicilian grain could be imported and stored in the cool, dry subterranean chambers. The scheme proved a success and the next year, additional silos were added, and as demand continued to grow over the centuries, so did the number of silos. 

During the Spanish Civil War some of the unused silos were even used as hiding places and tunnels were built between them to connect the separate chambers.

In the end, a total of 47 silos were built, although today only 41 remain. A plaza was built above the hill where visitors can amble among the bulbous stone caps of the silos and during the yearly Medieval Market Festival, some of them are opened and people are allowed to go inside. Tours of the silos can also be requested of the local government.