Cultural, sporting and festive activities in Viver take place in different venues, influenced to some extent by the seasons and the weather.
CULTURE COMES TO LIFE IN THE ‘EL CONVENTO’
This iconic building is considered a site of local importance. It was built alongside the church of San Francisco de Paula more than four centuries ago. It was occupied by the Order of Minims from 1603 until its confiscation in 1821, when it was donated by the government to the Viver Town Council. The church continued to be used for worship and the convent building was used for various purposes, such as a school, prison, local agricultural chamber and Civil Guard barracks, suffering considerable deterioration. From 2002 to 2018, it underwent restoration and rehabilitation. It was inaugurated during the patron saint festivities of San Miguel in 2019, becoming a regional cultural centre in the heart of the village, a meeting point that brings life and generates social fabric. It has a range of versatile spaces: the basement houses the CIBAL (Levante Battle Interpretation Centre), a museum heritage registration space; tourist information offices, a cloister, two exhibition rooms or rooms for conferences, events, courses and lectures on the ground floor; on the first floor, a library with space for adults, children and young people, rooms for the EPA (Permanent Adult Education), offering both formal education and basic education and various training courses, book presentations and a reading club; a rural technology centre, guidance and advice on digital and job skills and administrative procedures from the CDR (Rural Development Centre), as well as co-working facilities.
Spaces that accommodate a wide variety of activities and artistic expressions (theatre, concerts, workshops, conferences, painting, photography, sculpture, literature, folklore), facilitating performances by local groups such as the Grupo de Pulso y Púa, Grupo de Jotas de El Almendro, the Vivarium Choir, concerts by the Santa Cecilia Musical Union, exhibitions by local artists and photographers, so that the population perceives the space as their own. These performances are interspersed with others at the regional, autonomous community and national levels, as well as the participation of Viver in innovative artistic, cultural and sociological projects such as AVAN, organised by the PEU (University Extension Programme) of the UJI (Jaume I University of Castelló), which aims to bring contemporary culture and art to inland villages, and the ‘Viver para Leer’ (Viver for Reading) conference, part of the ‘Leer es un derecho’ (Reading is a Right) programme organised by the Ministry of Education, the Directorate General for Books, the Institute of Human Rights and Viver Town Council. Thus, thanks to its beauty and good acoustics, the cloister has become a lively and vibrant witness to culture and art in Viver.
In addition, the Casa de la Cultura offers a hall with 270 seats for larger events, film screenings and other types of performances.
The municipality also has spaces for celebrations and enjoyment by the population, such as ‘Los bajos’ and ‘La antigua almazara de Ragudo’.
In addition, the Floresta is a perfect natural setting with extraordinary scenic beauty that invites visitors to attend the events held there in spring and summer.
SPORT COMES ALIVE IN THE MULTIFUNCTIONAL SPACE
The multifunctional building was inaugurated in 2010 to accommodate, as its name suggests, a variety of functions, including sports and recreational activities such as mobile discos, open-air dances, concerts and the celebration of the Three Kings' Day at Christmas.
Currently, both the building and the surrounding areas are a hub for sporting activities.
Since April 2025, it has had a gym with machines on the ground floor and a room for organised activities on the upper floor.
Outside, there is a five-a-side football pitch, a calisthenics park, and space for games of petanque and birlas.
Bracing the facilities and continuing towards the forest are the tennis courts, paddle tennis courts and pump track.
The other sports area is located on the football field, where there is also a basketball court, a swimming pool and a pelota court.
The Peñas Rubias is where motocross practice and races take place.
There are also trails and circuits for enjoying trail running.
Gloria Rabanaque, 2025
