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La Vilavella, in the Plana Baixa, is the old settlement from which Nules grew: it has a Hispano-Roman sanctuary and a Muslim castle, and was resettled after the expulsion of the Moriscos.
A Hispano-Roman sanctuary, excavated in 1979, survives on the summit of Santa Bárbara mountain. The village is of Roman origin and was the founding core of present-day Nules. In Muslim times a castle was built that gathered the scattered population, and in spring 1238 the castle's population surrendered to James I.
In the early 13th century the Puebla Nueva de Nules was founded, and the old settlement kept the name Vilavella de Nules. The barony was granted to Guillem de Montcada around 1250-1251 and in 1314, when the Montcada lordship died out, it passed to Gilabert de Centelles.
In 1609 the Morisco population was expelled and in 1611 Cristóbal de Centelles, Marquis of Nules, resettled the town with 29 heads of household. In 1715 it had 310 inhabitants; the population grew until 1990 and has fallen since, mainly through ageing.
Text written by Zona Zero TV from public sources; early dates vary between authors. Sources: Villavieja (Castellón) (Hispanopedia, basado en Wikipedia, CC BY-SA). Checked on 2/11/2026.
