Staging for the Tribunal del Comuner del Rollet de Gràcia de l’Horta d’Aldaia

Artwork: Staging for the Tribunal del Comuner del Rollet de Gràcia de l’Horta d’Aldaia

Artist: Toni Mas

Location: Constitution Square (4th August)

Date: 2019

The piece is basically figurative and uses texture, both visual and tactile, and line as basic elements of expression. He achieves poetic, rich and suggestive effects, supported by sober colour, graphics, incision on the surface and collage. The latest works, mainly on paper, initiate a clear commitment by the artist to three-dimensionality. The work clearly evokes the Commoner Tribunal.

The Comuner Tribunal settles disputes on irrigation matters for the Community of irrigators in the horticultural fields of Rollet de Gràcia in Aldaia, also called Comuner Watering Channel. The court has absolute and exclusive jurisdiction over the agricultural area of the Rollet de Gràcia and is exempt from going to the Valencian Water Tribunal in case of conflict, settling matters of water use and exploitation itself, as well as any conflicts and infractions that may arise. Related to the Comuner Tribunal there are other important components of the local heritage that give entity to this tribunal. These are the traditional historical horticultural areas of Aldaia, the Comuner Watering Channel or Rollet de Gràcia (including the hydraulic elements), the Community of Irrigators (common amongst horticulturists) and the 17th Century Water Tank (diverting water from Rollet to the town). Together they constitute a rich collection of historical, architectural and ethnological heritage. They are representative of local history and culture, as well as the preservation of a living Valencian lexicon of irrigation knowledge and practices in the Valencian horticultural areas. The Rollet de Gràcia takes water from the Quart-Benàger-Faitanar del Turia irrigation channel at the so-called Pont Nuevo and irrigates approximately 1,100 bushels of land in the Aldaia district. The Comunero Tribunal has been declared a customary and traditional court by the Spanish Parliament and has also been recognised as an Intangible Asset of Local Relevance to the Valencian Community, granted by the Generalitat Valenciana (Valencian Regional Government).

The origin of the Comunero Irrigation Channel is documented in a privilege granted by King James I on 10 April 1268 to the Muslim farmsteads in Aldaia, giving them permission to take water from the irrigation channel that ran near Alaquàs (currently the Benàger Irrigation Channel), an irrigated area that existed before the Christian conquest.