On October 14, 1957, a heavy flood flooded the streets of Valencia. The Túria, which crossed the city from west to east, overflowed and caused eighty-one deaths and extensive material damage. The "riuà", as we remember it there, was a warning from nature, the turning point that led the government of the time to divert the river outside the city, to avoid new catastrophes. It was a pharaonic work.
The works were carried out between 1965 and 1972 and involved the diversion of the river south of Valencia. And what was done with the old Túria bed? The question was not futile, because we are talking about a strip of land ten kilometers long and two hundred meters wide. The regime and its heirs wanted to build a freeway there with tall buildings on the sides. People asked for another solution: to allocate the space to a green area.
A broad citizen movement was created demanding the conversion of the old bed into a large green area. A movement started at the heart of the left with the slogan 'El Túria is ours and we want it green', which soon became transversal and resonated with a large part of Valencians. And the option succeeded.