With its distinctive deep blue dome and walls draped with Baroque adornments, few would walk past the Museu de Belles arts de Valencia without pause. This 1683 compound exudes an air of scholarly importance, having originally been created to serve as the San Pio Seminary College. Now, the building has retained its role of educating the masses but in an area that sparks discussion as much as it teaches.

A lesson at the Museu begins with travelling back in time to a point between the 14th and 16th centuries when the Primitivos Valencianos reigned. Art was restricted to just the canvas and paint. It moves onto introduce Valencia’s own, graduated from the Valencian School of fine art. You meet Joaquin Sorolla through the strokes of his brush in “Grupa Valenciana”. Jose de Ribera is revived through Saint Sebastian as he lies prone, the surface of his body set against the darkened room a perfect illustration of the chiaroscuro technique. Each corridor and gallery teaches you of a different artist, Van Dyck, Murillo and Velazquez. Even the courtyard brings back a relic of the past, recreating a shot of the Renaissance in pastel blue. Though 400 years into the future, the Museu continues to impart knowledge to all who walk through its doors.