The city will host the first international and European headquarters of the Hispanic Society, with more than 200 works by Joaquín Sorolla in the heart of the city.
The light that Sorolla transformed into art is definitively returning to its source. From 2026 onwards, Valencia will host the first international and only European headquarters of the Hispanic Society Museum & Library in the Palacio de las Comunicaciones, in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento. This new Sorolla Museum will bring together 220 works by the Valencian painter from the historic New York institution.
This new space will consolidate Valencia’s position as home to the world’s second largest collection dedicated to Joaquín Sorolla, second only to the Sorolla Museum in Madrid. The loan will include oil paintings, gouaches, drawings, sculptures, photographs and personal correspondence, offering an intimate and unusual portrait of the life, work and influence of the master of light. Among the highlights will be Sol de la tarde (1903), an iconic scene of Mediterranean life that sums up like few others the way Sorolla captured the light and movement of his homeland.
A cultural icon in Valencia's most emblematic square
The new Sorolla Museum will be located in the Communications Palace, the former post office building that dominates the Town Hall Square, one of the most recognisable landmarks for any visitor. The building is being refurbished for use as a museum and exhibition space, with a renovation that will transform its nearly 10,000 m² into a large centre for contemporary art and culture.
In addition to the rooms dedicated to the Hispanic Society’s Sorolla Collection, the project will incorporate a multisensory room dedicated to Las Fallas, a 360º immersive experience that will allow visitors to ‘feel’ a mascletà, the Offering, the gunpowder, the fire and the music throughout the year, right in front of the Town Hall balcony from which the city’s most international festivals are experienced.
The museum will also feature a space for temporary exhibitions, a shop linked to the collections, and the Huntington Café, named in honour of the founder of the Hispanic Society, designed as a meeting point between the city’s cultural life and this new major artistic hub in the Mediterranean.
A project that reinforces Valencia as an essential cultural destination
This project represents settling a debt with Valencia’s most international artist and placing the city in the big leagues of art and cultural tourism. Sorolla returns home, to the square where the city’s heart beats, accompanied by one of the most prestigious institutions in the world.
Initial estimates suggest that the new Sorolla Museum could attract around 200,000 visitors per year and generate an economic impact of close to €20 million annually, boosting both the cultural offering and the tourist and commercial fabric of the historic centre.
The opening of the Sorolla Museum in the heart of the city represents a unique opportunity to reinforce Valencia’s position as a leading cultural destination in the Mediterranean. The new space complements the city’s extensive cultural, gastronomic and event offerings, and is shaping up to be a top-tier travel destination for domestic and international visitors drawn to art, light and the Mediterranean lifestyle.
The new museum also arrives at a key moment for the city, which in 2026 will experience a particularly intense year with the celebration of the Third Jubilee Year of the Holy Chalice, the opening of new cultural spaces, and major sporting and leisure events that will consolidate Valencia as an essential destination.
The city also contributes: Sorolla returns “home” with his own paintings
Valencia City Council will contribute to the Hispanic Society’s new headquarters by temporarily lending seven works by Sorolla from its collection, including My Family (1901) and My Garden (1917), which will form part of the museum’s temporary exhibitions.
‘We want visitors who come to discover the Hispanic Society’s collection in Valencia to also find works that are part of the city’s heritage. No one like Sorolla showed the world the light of Valencia, and now that light is coming back to stay,’ said the Mayor of Valencia, María José Catalá.
The selection of more than 200 works from New York will be validated by Blanca Pons-Sorolla, the painter’s great-granddaughter and leading expert on his work, ensuring a rigorous and deeply emotional exhibition narrative on the artist’s career.
A cultural bridge between Valencia and New York
The relationship between Sorolla and the Hispanic Society dates back to 1909, when the institution organised a major exhibition of the painter’s work in New York. More than a century later, that connection is reinforced with the opening of its European headquarters in Valencia. At the recent Annual Gala of the Hispanic Society in New York, the future museum was one of the stars of the show, with the screening of the official video presentation of the project.
Source: HOPSCOTCH TOURISM