Alicante

Alicante (co-officially in Valencian, Alacant) is a city and a municipality in Spain, capital of the homonymous province, in the Valencian Community. Port city, it is located on the Mediterranean coast. With 338,577 inhabitants (INE 2022), it is the second most populous municipality in the autonomous community and the eleventh in the country. It forms a conurbation of 468,782 inhabitants with many of the towns in the Campo de Alicante region: San Vicente del Raspeig, San Juan de Alicante, Muchamiel and Campello. Statistically it is also associated with the metropolitan area of Alicante-Elche, which has 757,085 inhabitants. It is one of the most important tourist destinations in Spain.

It is the headquarters of organizations such as the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), Casa Mediterráneo, the Ministry of Innovation, Universities, Science and Digital Society of the Generalitat Valenciana or the Ombudsman of the Valencian Community. It has an important Mediterranean port and the Alicante-Elche Airport is located a few kilometers away in the municipality of Elche. This being the fifth in Spain in number of passengers. The capital and its metropolitan area are connected through the Alicante Metropolitan TRAM. Among its cultural infrastructures, the City of Light stands out.

Its most important festivals are the Bonfires of San Juan, which are celebrated from June 19 to 24 and have been declared of International Tourist Interest. Museums such as the Archaeological Museum of Alicante, the Museum of Contemporary Art or The Ocean Race Museum stand out.

Toponymy

The first known place-name, in relation to Alicante, is the Greek for Akra Leuké (Ἂκρα Λευκῆ, Akra Leukḗ or Λευκῆ Ἂκρα, Leukḗ Akra , 'White Promontory'), referring to a previous Carthaginian factory or settlement, whose Punic name is unknown. Although there is no certainty, it is believed that it is the same place where the first Roman sources call Castrum Album ('White Fortress'). Although it has not been confirmed that it is the same city, the etymological relationship between Akra Leuké and the later Latin denomination of Lucentum or Leukante, related to the Tossal de Manises. With the arrival of the Arabs, this denomination evolved into medina Laqant or al-Laqant (in Arabic لَقَنْت or اللَّقَنْت), name that was retained in the Valencian form ana Alacant and which became Spanish in Alicante.

The official place name is currently Alicante for the Spanish form and Alacant for the Valencian form.

Symbols

Official shield. Design according to the Marquis de Rafal, official report of the RAH, 1941.

The coat of arms of the city of Alicante is one of its representative symbols. It was approved by Order of March 29, 1941 of the Ministry of the Interior, with the previous favorable report of the Royal Academy of History of January 31, with the following emblazonment:

In the gules field, under the bars of Aragon, a golden castle on a rock beat by the sea. Setting the fort, the initials A.L.L.A. And out of the blazon, serving him as a bell and a prayer, respectively, an open colonel and the Golden Toy.

It appears described in various heraldry treatises in a different way, also associated in some periods, with the arms of the province. Thus, Francisco Piferrer in his Nobiliary of the kingdoms and lordships of Spain describes it as a castle on a rock bathed by the waves of the sea, and in the chief, the four bars of Aragon. More recently, Vicente de Cadenas, a Spanish arms chronicler who died in 2005, describes it as including the order of the Golden Fleece and stamped, as befits the tradition of provincial capitals, with a closed royal crown. This author also associates the rock with a human figure, an allusion to the one popularly known as the Moorish rock, and representative letters of the motto Acra Leuka, Lucentum Alicante, which is reflected in gold.

Under the Lassaletta mayor's office, the Alicante City Council consults the local heraldist Félix Ortiz, on the question of the letters and their arrangement on the shield. In response to this, this author publishes his study The municipal heraldic shield of Alicante in which the shield with an open crown is composed, in accordance with the regulations of the Valencian Technical Council of Heraldry, and without the letters alluding to the motto in Latin, considered as personal additions from different chroniclers of the city in each era. The City Council has been using a heraldic representation with an open colonel and continues to use the letters «A-L-L-A» (Akra Leuka-Lucentum-Alicante).

Geography

Population entities of the municipality of Alicante.

The city is located on the shores of the Mediterranean, on a plain bordered by a series of hills and elevations. Mount Benacantil, 169 m high, on which the castle of Santa Bárbara sits, dominates the urban façade and constitutes the most characteristic image of the city. In this we also find Monte Tossal, where the castle of San Fernando is located, the Sierra Grossa (or Sierra de San Julián), the Lomas del Garbinet and the Tossal de Manises. Between these ravines and valleys run, some completely hidden by urban growth such as the boulevards of Canicia, Bon Hivern or San Blas-Benalúa; others, larger, are canalized such as the Rambla de las Ovejas or the Rambla del Juncaret. To the south of the city there is a swampy area, the Agua Amarga salt marsh, and to the northwest are the Lagunas de Rabasa.

San Juan beach.

On the coastline, it is worth noting the beaches that are, from north to south: San Juan, La Almadraba, La Albufereta, El Postiguet, Agua Amarga, El Saladar, and those on the island of Tabarca. Between the beaches of La Albufereta and San Juan is Cabo de la Huerta, with numerous coves: Calabarda, Cantalares, Los Judíos, La Palmera.

There is a great unevenness within the same city: while the town hall is at 0 m and is taken as a reference to measure the height of any point in Spain, there are neighborhoods at the same level, such as Playa de San Juan, others at more height such as Pla del Bon Repós and San Blas at 30 m, Los Angeles at 75 m or the Ciudad Jardín del General Marvá and Virgen del Remedio at more than 80 meters.

The municipal area covers just over 200 km² and the highest elevation of Cabezón de Oro stands out as its highest elevation, 1,209 m, in an exclave of the municipality located to the north between Relleu, Busot and Aguas de Busot. There are also lower mountain ranges such as the Sierra de las Águilas, to the west, on the border with Monforte del Cid (mount San Pascual, 555 m), Sierra Mediana (407 m), Sierra de Fontcalent (446 m), Sierra de Sancho (229 m), to the southwest, on the border with Elche, and Sierra de los Tajos (426 m), to the northwest, on the border with Agost. These elevations are formations composed of limestone, marl and sandstone materials. Regarding hydrography, it is worth noting the basins of the Monnegre or Seco river and the Rambla de las Ovejas. The island of Tabarca also stands out, in front of Cape Santa Pola and which is part of the municipality.

Northwest: Agost, Tibi	North: San Vicente del Raspeig, Muchamiel and San Juan de Alicante	Northeast: Campello and Mediterranean Sea
West: Monforte del Cid		This: Mediterranean Sea
Southwest: Elche	South: Elche	Sureste: Mediterranean Sea

Panoramic view of Alicante from the castle of San Fernando.

Climate

Climogram of Alicante. Values of the Garden City Observatory.

According to Köppen's climate classification, Alicante's climate is warm semi-arid (BSh). With very mild temperatures in winter and warm in summer, rains concentrated mainly in autumn (from September to November) and with a markedly dry summer.

View from the castle of Santa Barbara on a sunny summer day.

Winters are mild. The coldest month (January) presents an average temperature of 12 °C, maximums of about 17 °C and minimums of between 6 and 7 °C. Frost is extremely rare, while snow is practically unknown in the city, the last snowfall in the city of Alicante occurred in 1926. Summers are warm, with August being the warmest month, with an average of around 26 °C In this month the maximums are not too high (due to the maritime influence), standing just above 30 °C and therefore being milder than in much of the center and south of the peninsula. However, the nights are usually tropical in July and August, with an average minimum of around 21 °C. The daily thermal amplitude is small (about 10 °C), although in occasional episodes of west wind it can exceed 15 °C. The annual thermal oscillation is also low, around 14 °C.

Precipitation barely exceeds 300 mm and regularly in the autumn and spring months. The months of July and August are very dry (with an average of about 4 mm in July), in contrast to the rainiest months: September and October, due to the torrential rains caused by the cold drop, which have come to exceed in several times 200 mm in 24 hours causing severe flooding. In the city there are approximately 37 days of rain, with October being the one with the most. Since there are historical rainfall records, 1938, the three most copious rainy days in the Alicante capital have been: that of September 30, 1997, with 270.3 mm, in which the city was flooded and five people died. That date is followed by October 20, 1982, with 233.1 mm, and the third rainiest day in the city was the night of March 13 to 14, 2017 with 137 mm.

Because Alicante is a coastal city, the average annual humidity is high (around 66%), varying little throughout the year.

The following table shows the climatological values in the reference period 1981-2010 of the AEMET observatory located in Ciudad Jardín, in the municipality of Alicante, located 81 m above sea level and the historical extremes of the observatory that records data since 1938.

Average climatic parameters of Observatory of Alicante (City Garden) (81 msnm) (reference period: 1981-2010; extremes: 1938-2022)
Month	Ene.	Feb.	Mar.	Open up.	May.	Jun.	Jul.	Ago.	Sep.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.	Annual
Temp. max. abs. (°C)	29.8	29.4	32.6	32.6	37.0	38.4	41.4	42.0	38.4	36.2	30.6	26.6	42.0
Average temperature (°C)	17.0	17.6	19.6	21.3	24.1	27.8	30.3	30.8	28.5	24.9	20.5	17.7	23.3
Average temperature (°C)	11.7	12.3	14.2	16.1	19.1	22.9	25.5	26.0	23.5	19.7	15.4	12.6	18.3
Temp. medium (°C)	6.3	7.1	8.9	10.9	14.1	18.1	20.7	21.2	18.5	14.5	10.3	7.4	13.2
Temp. min. abs. (°C)	-2.6	-4.6	-1.0	2.6	4.8	10.4	13.4	13.2	9.4	4.0	0.2	-2.6	-4.6
Total precipitation (mm)	23	22	23	29	28	12	4	7	56	47	36	25	311
Precipitation days (≥ 1 mm)	3.6	3.0	3.4	4.1	4.0	1.8	0.6	1.1	3.3	4.5	4.2	3.8	37.4
Hours of sun	181	180	227	247	277	302	330	304	250	217	173	164	2851
Relative humidity (%)	67	66	65	63	64	63	65	67	69	70	69	68	66
Source: State Meteorology Agency

Here are some weather records recorded at the AEMET observatory located in Alicante, considered from the year 1938 for temperature and precipitation and from 1939 for wind. The absolute maximum temperature record is 42.0 °C recorded on August 13, 2022, and the minimum of -4.6 °C recorded on February 12, 1956. The maximum rainfall in one day is 270.2 mm recorded on September 30, 1997, and the maximum gust of wind is 120 km/h recorded on April 12, 1941.

Nature

Flora

Arbutus, fan palm, St. John's wort, myrtle, holm oak, walnut, Spanish astragalus, cat's tail and thyme.

Fauna

In the city of Alicante and the neighboring municipalities you can see rabbits, hares, mouflons, partridges, thrushes, turtle doves, pigeons, whiting, weasels, wild boars, wild dogs, wild cats, ducks, field mice, sparrows and hedgehogs. ^{[citation required]}

The island of Tabarca is characterized by its richness in species and both arthropods and vertebrates prevail. Species such as the Iberian skink, Chalcides bedriagai, and the dermapteran Anisolabis maritima, located on small beaches, stand out. The island has some species exclusive to the area such as Cryptocephalus espagnoli and Brachynema espagnoli. The large number of seabirds, such as the shag, the common gannet, the Audouin's gull and the common storm petrel, is striking.

Marine environment

Tabarca Island.

Since its protection in 1986, the seabed of Tabarca has had little contamination by wastewater, being a magnificent enclave for the development of communities of phaeophycean algae of the Cystoseira genus and tropical species such as Hypnea cervicornis, Penicillus capitatus and Anadyomene stellata. Seagrass meadows are highly developed, with plants of the genera Cymodocea and Posidonia, particularly oceanic Posidonia that cover the entire contour of the island between 0 and 30 meters. This Posidonia meadow presents an abundant and rich vagile fauna –with fish such as salpa or oblada–. Populations of large crawling crustaceans such as lobster and sea cicada have increased significantly.

Adult specimens of the loggerhead turtle, Caretta caretta, are frequent in the area of the island of Tabarca. Among the fish in the waters of the island of Tabarca, the large serranids such as the dot, grouper, grouper and the "gypsy" and the large sparids such as the gilthead bream, the snapper and the dentex stand out. Among the invertebrates of faunal interest, the vermetid molluscs stand out, which build atolls and small platforms throughout the island's abrasion platform. Also noteworthy are the gorgonians, the nacras, the abundant crabs, the snails, the sponges, the sea urchins and the starfish.

History

Prehistory and Antiquity

View of the port with the castle of Santa Barbara at the bottom.

Side view of the castle of Santa Barbara on Mount Benacantil.

The origins of urban settlement in the orchard and around Alicante date back to the appearance of Iberian settlements dating from the III century a. C., in close relationship with Greek commercial factories, mainly that of the Baños de la Reina in Campello. And it is that they are colonists of Phocea (Greek polis in Asia Minor) who took Mount Benacantil as a maritime reference for coastal navigation, calling it Akra Leuka ("White Promontory"), although there is no certainty of buildings until Hamilcar Barca located there his main quartering shortly before the Second Punic War when assessing the possibilities offered by its peak as a military settlement.

In 201 B.C. C. the Romans capture the Iberian city known as Leukante or Leukanto —Lucentum is a Latinization of the original name that only existed on Roman maps— which had an acceptable maritime-fluvial port at the mouth of the Albufereta ravine. This will be the first plot of land in what would eventually become Alicante.

Towards the end of Roman rule, the siltation of the torrent that flows next to the town of Leucante (Lucentum) makes it no longer suitable as a port and remains the settlement surrounded by marshes and unhealthy malarial swamps, which is why its population progressively moves towards the slopes of the Benacantil, giving rise to the true origin of the current urban area.

Middle Ages

Islamic Mastery

Between 718 and December 4, 1248, the city fell under Islamic rule, and was renamed Medina Laqant or Al-Laqant (note that the Valencian place name is Alacant, as well as the initial form in Spanish of Alacante until the 18th century). During this period, the city followed the destinies of Al-Andalus and after the dismemberment of the Caliphate of Córdoba belonged to the Taifas of Denia, Almería and Murcia. Today you can see archaeological remains of the Islamic medina next to the city hall.

Christian reconquest

Barrio de Santa Cruz from the slopes of Santa Barbara Castle.

Although with the Treaty of Tudilén it was already established in 1151 that the extension of the Crown of Aragon would reach the emirate of Murcia, the agreement was revised by the Treaty of Cazola (Soria, 1179) between Alfonso VIII of Castile and Alfonso II of Aragon, generically establishing the limit on the border between the emirates of Dénia and Murcia. However, due to the volatility and lack of definition of the internal borders of al-Andalus, which gave rise to confusion and conflicts between the Catholic monarchs, the agreement was revised in more detail in the Treaty of Almizra signed in 1244 between the kings of Castile and Aragon. In said agreement, the monarch Jaime I "the Conqueror" granted Castilla the territory between Biar and Orihuela, which was part of the south of the extinct emirate of Dénia, as a dowry in the marriage negotiation during the year 1240 of his daughter, the infanta Violante of Aragon and Hungary, with the infante Alfonso, future king Alfonso X the Wise. For his part, the sovereign of Castile granted the sovereign of Aragon the right to recover said territory from the current south of Valencia at any time. The limits of the expansion of their respective domains were set on the line that joins Biar, Castalla, Jijona and Vilajoyosa and, therefore, Alicante would eventually become a zone of Castilian expansion, as long as there were good diplomatic relations between the monarchs of Castile and Aragon.

In addition, previously, in the year 1243, the Muslim ruler of the Emirate of Murcia, Muhamad ben Hud, had signed the Treaty of Alcaraz with the Infante Don Alfonso, by which the Muslim kingdom of Murcia was placed under the Castilian protectorate ...with the city of Murcia and all its castles from Alicante to Lorca and to Chinchilla... Specifically, Alicante was integrated into the Mudejar kingdom of Murcia, which was constituted as a protectorate of the Crown of Castile through vassalage and as agreed with Jaime I in Almizra. However, the governor of Alicante, the arráez Zaén ibn Mardanix (who was the last emir of Valencia until 1238), had rejected the legitimacy of the pact, resisted the town's vassalage to the King of Castile and, with the help of the Caliphate of Ifriquía in North Africa, it became de facto independent from Murcia. Finally, the exile of Zaén in 1248 from the Laqant medina would facilitate the takeover of the town by Christian forces, which would come to form part of the royal engo of Alfonso X el Sabio.

After the imposition of the authorities of the vassal protectorate of Murcia, the city of Alicante was repopulated with Christians coming mostly from the Crown of Aragon, especially from Catalonia, but also from the kingdoms of the Crown of Castile, although to a much lesser extent. The new settlers could benefit from tax exemptions and the distribution of land, often expropriated from Hispanic Muslims who were expelled from the population centers of Andalusian origin to be occupied by Christian settlers. Thus began the expansion of the city, Villanueva, in the western area of Benacantil. However, the lack of a diversity of specialized trades among the settlers, who were mostly laborers and crossbowmen, caused a demographic rupture that had as a consequence an economic crisis for Alicante, which justified the permanence of the Andalusian population as a necessary workforce.

Crown of Castile (1248-1296)

Church of Santa Maria.

From the beginning, Alfonso X the Wise tried to establish a large group of Christians in Alicante given the town's military and commercial importance, but the colonizing process was slow and lasted throughout the century XIII, although it is poorly documented due to the disappearance of the Cast Books. The first Christian settlers came mainly from the Crown of Aragon, who received a series of privileges and franchises with the aim of facilitating their settlement. With this purpose of better ensuring its growing population and boosting its economic and commercial promotion, in August 1252 Alfonso X granted the city the Fuero Real, very similar to that of Córdoba. It endowed the town with a strong council, numerous tax exemptions and a wide municipal area, which included the current municipalities of Agost, Monforte del Cid, Aspe, Novelda, Elda, Petrel, Busot, Aguas de Busot, El Campello, Muchamiel, San Juan and San Vicente del Raspeig. In addition, the Castilian king dispensed important measures of favor to the port of Alicante, considered of great strategic value. However, all these measures are more an expression of the wishes of the Castilian monarch than a reality, since with the new urban patriciate, made up of Christian rich men, Alicante had lost the commercial and maritime economic activity that it had characterized it during the Andalusian period.

In addition, the repopulation process provoked a Mudejar rebellion in Alicante between 1264 and 1266 that spread throughout almost the entire kingdom of Murcia. The queen consort of the Castilian king, Violante de Aragón, requested help from her father, Jaime I of Aragón, to quell her. At that time, Alfonso the Wise was then employed in the siege of Niebla. The King of Aragon intervened quickly, with troops exclusively of Catalan origin, and reduced all the rebellious cities to accept Castilian sovereignty. This military intervention, which took Alicante as the main center of military operations, accelerated the colonization process with more than 10,000 Christians, coming from the Crown of Aragon. Since then, the preponderance of the Christian population in Alicante is mainly Catalan and is the historical origin of Valencian as the city's own and traditional language.

Crown of Aragon (1296-1492)

Plaza Santísima Faz, located in the old town.

Due to a dynastic crisis due to the succession of Sancho IV the Brave, the infante Alfonso de la Cerda, an illegitimate claimant to the Crown of Castile, asked Jaime II of Aragon for help in exchange for donating him, in case he obtained the Corona, the kingdom of Murcia, according to the secret agreements of Calatayud (1289), Ariza (January 1296) and Serón (February 1296). Taking advantage of the situation, Jaime II proceeded to conquer the kingdom of Murcia.

Alicante was conquered on April 22, 1296, despite the resistance of the castle warden Nicolás Peris, ending Castilian sovereignty. The conquest was, in part, facilitated by the Christian colonists of Catalan and Aragonese origin who settled in Alicante after putting down the Moorish rebellion, in 1266, carried out by James I of Aragon (such as the help of the family Torregrossa, from whose coat of arms the current coat of arms of the city is based). Even so, Jaime II respected the previous privileges and institutions, although adapting them to the new political situation, particularly after the incorporation of Alicante, and the rest of the bordering regions to the kingdom of Valencia by modifying what was established in the Treaty of Almizra (Sentence Arbitration of Torrellas, 1304 and Treaty of Elche, 1305). The Christian repopulation increased, but even so, until the first expulsion of the Moors, the native Hispano-Arab population was in the majority compared to the Christian repopulators.

Real Provision allowing the Mudejars to settle and populate the city and the orchard (1430).

The growth of the beginning of the XIV century would be cut short from 1333, when famine was already felt in Alicante, the first sign of the approaching crisis: the War of the Union (1348), the Black Death (1348) and the War of the Two Pedros (Pedro I of Castile and Pedro IV of Aragon) between 1356 and 1366 that had in Alicante one of its main stages. The town was in Castilian hands and part of the population emigrated, died or fell into captivity. As a consequence, the population was reduced by half, as in other cities in the kingdom of Valencia. With peace, social and economic reconstruction began, although the Mudejars practically disappeared and the Jews were a minority. Pedro IV the Ceremonious issued numerous measures to reactivate the economy and social peace, although this did not prevent the attack against the Jews in 1391 that ended the presence of this community in Alicante society.

During the XV century Alicante continued to grow and a prosperous export-oriented agriculture (wine, dried fruit, esparto grass) It promoted a notable development of the port and a middle class that controlled the municipal government. The only military conflict was the war with Castile in 1430, which did not have excessive consequences. The population continued to increase and this progress served as justification for Ferdinand the Catholic to grant it the title of city in 1490.

Modern Age

Plan of the city towards the beginning of the centuryXVIII.

In 1510 Alicante was the fifth city of the kingdom of Valencia. Since obtaining the title of city, the institutional, economic and demographic development of Alicante has been palpable. During the Modern Age, the port became the most important in the kingdom of Valencia and fostered the settlement of colonies of foreign merchants that gave great dynamism to commercial traffic. The construction of the Tibi reservoir at the end of the XVI century made it possible to ensure the production of the orchard near the city, whose main product it was the grape, and therefore the wine, together with the barrilla, the esparto grass and the dried fruits. The port also became the point of departure for products from La Mancha and an effective redistributor of some colonial and salted products from northern Europe. Economic development allowed Alicante to snatch from Orihuela, in 1647, the capital of the Valencian Southern Bailiwick and later, in 1785, the creation of a Consulate of the Sea independent from that of Valencia.

Alicante was a military objective in practically all the armed conflicts. Thus it was almost destroyed in 1691 by the French squadron led by Admiral D'Estrées and during the War of Succession it was alternately occupied by Austrians and Bourbons. The partial blowing up of the Castle of Santa Bárbara by the knight D'Asfelt determined the departure of the allies from the city and the Bourbon triumph in this part of the kingdom of Valencia. The War of Independence also left its consequences as a consequence of the subsistence crisis and the military expenses, new walls and the Castle of San Fernando were built, although the French troops did not manage to occupy the city.

Contemporary Period

19th century

Alicante on a sheet of Alfred Guesdon in the middle of the centuryXIX.

The liberal spirit of the people of Alicante manifested itself throughout the XIX century. Examples of this are the popular joy over the Spanish Constitution of 1812 and the disappearance of the Inquisition, the great difficulties in forming a battalion of royalist volunteers in 1824 to repress the liberals, the Boné rebellion led by Pantaleon Boné in 1844, the support for the Vicalvarada (1854) and the pronouncement of September 1868 that gave way to the Revolutionary Sexennium. The first republican club was opened in Alicante around November 1868, and this political tendency triumphed in the municipal elections of 1870.

Due to its status as a port city, epidemics were frequent. One of the most remembered was the cholera disease of 1854 (see: Cholera pandemics in Spain). In this epidemic, the civil governor Trino González de Quijano stood out above all, who heroically gave his life defending and helping, during the 24 days of his mandate, the sick throughout the province. He would die a victim of the epidemic on September 15, 1854. In memory of him, a mausoleum was built in which his remains rest in the center of the Plaza de Santa Teresa.

Inauguration of the Madrid-Alicante railway in 1858.

The province of Alicante was born as such in the liberal Cortes of 1822, and corresponded to the old Valencian southern Bailía, although it was expanded in 1833 with part of the missing province of Játiva and the municipalities of Villena and Sax. In 1847 the expansion of the port began, and in 1858 the construction of the railway between Alicante and Madrid finished with the Alicante-Almansa link, for which the so-called Madrid station was built. Between 1854 and 1878 the city walls were demolished. The railway infrastructures would be increased with the inauguration of the Murcia-Alicante line, in 1884, and the inauguration of the Benalúa station.

View of the port of Alicante in 1875 of the painter Joaquín Agrasot.

On February 1, 1893, the city council adopted the naval flag of Alicante as the city's flag.

20th century

During the period 1920-1935 the Alicante economy opted for industry while agriculture plunged into a second crisis. Alicante was one of the cities where the Republicans won the municipal elections of 1931 and throughout the Second Republic the left-wing parties maintained a comfortable majority, both in the city and in the province. The proclamation of the Republic was followed by the burning and destruction of the main churches of the city (Salesian Schools, the Colegio de las Carmelitas, the Parish of Benalúa, the convent of San Francisco, the house of exercises of the Company of Jesus, the convent of the Oblates, the church of Carmen, the convent of the Most Precious Blood of Christ, the Capuchin convent, the Augustinian convent, the Episcopal palace, the Jesús María school, the school of the Company of Mary and the school de los Maristas), proportionally the largest burning in all of Spain, before which the new authorities did nothing to prevent it, only to protect the Holy Face before the popular devotion that it aroused among the people of Alicante.

Aerial view of 1932.

The first mayor of this period was Lorenzo Carbonell Santacruz, elected in the Republican-Socialist candidacy, who with 81% of the vote carried out various important urban projects and promoted the construction of public schools. In 1933, with the arrival of universal suffrage, Alicante women voted for the first time, winning the PSOE and in the general elections of February 16, 1936, the Popular Front triumphed with 80.72% of the vote.

At the beginning of the Spanish civil war, the rebel side failed in an attempt to lay siege to the city from Orihuela and other towns in Vega Baja. Another important event was the execution of the Falangist leader José Antonio Primo de Rivera, who was imprisoned in Alicante, on November 20, 1936. As a reprisal, Alicante suffered the famous "eight-hour bombing" a few days after it was followed by the murder of 49 civilians suspected of not being of leftist ideology.

During the war, the city suffered 71 bombardments that caused the death of 481 people and the collapse of 705 buildings. The attack that caused the most victims was the bombardment of the city on May 25, 1938 carried out by Italian Savoia planes at 11 o'clock, with ninety bombs that caused the death of 313 people, mostly women and children who were in the Central Market. Many current historians^{[citation needed]} on the Spanish Civil War agree that it is equated with the bombing of Guernica.

Refugio de la plaza Séneca.

Despite the bombardments, the city remained faithful to the Republic until the end of the war and for this reason was subjected to psychological weakening techniques such as the throwing of white bread wrapped in fascist slogans in times of famine. Since Alicante was one of the last cities to fall into the hands of Franco's troops, dramatic scenes were experienced in the port among those waiting for ships to go into exile; there was an order to kill anyone who was in the area trying to flee, foreign ships did not accept to pick up anyone due to the existing threat of the sinking of any ship that was picking up exiles; the only ships that took the risk to save the civilian population were the Algerians and other ships like the Stanbrook that left the port overloaded. Hundreds of people from Alicante left for Oran, creating a stable colony and a twinning between the two cities that still persists today.

In the evening of March 30, 1939, the units of the Littorio Division, commanded by General Gambara, entered the city with an ostentatious parade in front of the Town Hall and the main streets of the city. The consequent repression was considerable as the city and the province were considered "red". The last Republican detainees in the war were in the port of Alicante, and the majority suffered their stay in the Los Almendros concentration camp. At the end of the war, Mayor Luciáñez proposed that the city be renamed Alicante de José Antonio. Despite approval, the change never came to pass.

The 1960s brought economic and social development in the so-called Spanish economic miracle (1959-1973), with significant demographic growth that continued in the following decades. The economy evolved towards the service sector, especially towards tourism, and the greatest urban development in the city took place, with the birth of new neighborhoods in the suburbs.

San Blas neighborhood in 1978.

With the advent of democracy, the city government would be governed by the PSPV-PSOE from 1979 to 1995, then the government passed into the hands of the PP from 1995 to 2015, when after twenty years there was a new mayor of the PSPV-PSOE. In the eighties, an attempt was made to solve the urban chaos by creating new communication routes (Gran Vía, Vía Parque) and providing the city with health centers, public schools, institutes, social centers and other municipal services., especially in some neighborhoods that were born in the development stage, although some of these projects were not finished until the nineties or even in the century XXI.

Calle Arquitecto Morell during the floods of 1997.

A problem due to not taking into account the characteristics of the Mediterranean climate, during the urban planning phase, is flooding. Since the developers developed the land they owned, in many cases being isolated neighborhoods with spaces between them that were filled in over the years, although there are still unused spaces today. This absence of effective urban planning and regulation, as well as the non-consideration of the risks of the Mediterranean climate such as rainfall with strong hourly intensity; They have caused repetitive effects in the city, mainly in autumn, where maximum rainfall occurs, and in spring. In fact, on October 19, 1982, 220 mm fell in the city, a new record of rain in less than 24 hours that caused numerous material losses. The Rambla de las Ovejas would reach 400 m³/s, its historical maximum, and would sow chaos in the San Gabriel neighborhood, with two deaths, which led to the final stretch of the boulevard being channeled after the flood.

On September 30, 1997, the rainfall record was broken again with 270 mm and the city suffered the worst flooding in its history, with four deaths and a height of waters that in some neighborhoods such as Playa San Juan or San Agustín exceeded the meter. A day of official mourning was decreed in which the authorities dedicated themselves to draining the waters that flooded entire neighborhoods. The economic losses were large, especially in the city center and the beaches, which motivated a great defense plan against floods to prevent the city from repeating a similar situation.

21st century

Departure from Alicante from the Volvo Ocean Race 2008/09.

With the new century, Alicante has experienced an exceptional demographic growth as a result of the arrival of immigrants. This, together with the fact that the largest generations are currently looking for housing, has caused a new urban boom that entails urban expansion.

A fundamental element of communications is the Alicante Metropolitan TRAM, a combination of tram and light rail that is underground in some sections. It connects the center of the city of Alicante with Benidorm and San Vicente del Raspeig, and extends to the towns in the north of the province (Denia). In the future, it is expected to connect with the Alicante-Elche airport, with the IFA, and with the neighboring city of Elche. Denia avenue (north entrance to the city) was completely remodeled in the first decade of the century, incorporating architectural elements and roundabouts, and Elche avenue (south entrance to the city) has been in the second.

On the other hand, in the southern part of the city, the Ciudad de la Luz film studios were built, where between 2006 and 2012 national and international films and series were shot, but which finally fell into disuse due to lack of of projects that would make the investment profitable and by the decision of the European Union that considered that public support for them contravened European legislation. Other projects that are being carried out are the expansion of the University of Alicante within the municipal area, or the organization of sporting events such as the Volvo Ocean Race.

Demographics

People on the beach.

In 1900, Alicante had 50,495 inhabitants, which slowly increased until 1950, with 101,791. From then on, urban development was spectacular, exceeding 250,000 in 1981. With democracy, growth was slower, reaching 272 432 in 1998. With the arrival of immigration to Spain, Alicante had a significant demographic increase of more than 50,000 inhabitants in a decade, after which the population remained stable at around 330,000 inhabitants.

The port, from the viewpoint of the castle of Santa Barbara.

Currently, according to INE data from January 1, 2022, the city has 338,577 inhabitants, making it the second city in Valencia and the 11th in Spain in terms of population. According to data from the Alicante City Council, as of January 1, 2022, the population of the city was 350,849 inhabitants, of whom 342,281 lived in the urban nucleus and 8,568 in rural areas, the most populous neighborhoods being Playa de San Juan, with 26,725 inhabitants and Carolinas Altas with 18,842 inhabitants.

The conurbation that it forms with the neighboring municipalities (San Vicente del Raspeig, San Juan de Alicante, Muchamiel and Campello) exceeds 450,000 inhabitants (468,782 in 2018) and has more and more joint services. The metropolitan area of Alicante-Elche has 757,085 and is the eighth in Spain.

Graphic of demographic evolution of Alicante between 1842 and 2021

Source: Spanish National Institute of Statistics — Graphical Writing by Wikipedia. Between the census of 1857 and the previous one decreases the term of the municipality because Aguas de Busot is independent, between the 1910 census and the previous one is independent Campello. Between the 1940 and the previous census the term of the municipality grows because Villafranqueza is incorporated.

Sources: Data for the period 1250–1609 are estimates given by historians. The data for 1646 is from the Vecindario archive of the Kingdom of Valencia.
The data for the period 1717–1803 are from the various censuses carried out by the governments of Spain. From 1857, these are census data.

Foreign nationalities with more than 1000 inhabitants in 2021

Nationality	Men	Women	Total
Algeria	5217	3271	8488
Colombia	2485	2938	5423
Italy	2431	1909	4340
Morocco	2177	1756	3933
Romania	1815	2085	3900
Russia	1149	1759	2908
Venezuela	991	1336	2327
France	1162	1144	2306
Ukraine	931	1251	2182
China	945	969	1914
Argentina	931	979	1910
United Kingdom	840	629	1469
Bulgaria	640	609	1249
Ecuador	675	457	1132
Germany	503	506	1009

Foreign population

In 2021, the population of foreign nationality represents 17.2% of the total population, counting 152 different nationalities.

Administration and politics

Provincial institutions

In the Plaza de la Montañeta are the main administrative headquarters of the State, among which you can find the provincial sub-headquarters of the Delegation of the Spanish Government in the Valencian Community, as well as the provincial headquarters of the Tax Agency, or the Provincial Undersecretary of the Ministry of Justice.

In terms of regional offices, the Provincial Delegation of the Consejo de la Generalitat (Valencian Government) stands out in the Provincial Tower, which is located presiding over the Rambla de Méndez Núñez, with its popular digital clock. Plenary sessions are held there once a month. Likewise, there are territorial addresses of all the consellerías, highlighting the uniqueness of the buildings, the Casa de las Brujas, where the Territorial Office of the Presidency and the Ministry of Social Welfare are located, the Arniches Theater with that of Infrastructures and Transport, or the building of the Ministry of Culture, Education and Sports that is located on Carratalá street, in the Benalúa neighborhood and next to the Courts.

Municipal government

The most relevant political formations at the local level since the first democratic elections are the PP (Popular Party), the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers Party) and IU (Izquierda Unida). Since April 2018 the mayor has been José Luis Barcala of the PP as the head of the most voted list in the 2015 municipal elections. Between June 2015 and April 2018 the mayor was Gabriel Echávarri, of the PSOE as he was supported by left-wing municipal groups and Valencian nationalists. Echávarri succeeded Miguel Valor, who became mayor in January of the same year by replacing Sonia Castedo Ramos (PP) elected mayor after the 2011 elections, while Andrés Llorens Fuster was in interim period for a few weeks. Between 1979 and 1995, the city was governed by mayors belonging to the PSPV-PSOE (see Mayors of Alicante and Elections municipal of Alicante).

The Municipal Corporation is made up of 29 councilors, including the mayor. In the 2015 municipal elections, the PP lost 10 councilors and therefore an absolute majority, leaving 8 councilors (with more than 38,000 votes, 25.58%), while 6 PSOE councilors were elected (20, 29% of the votes) and another 6 from the Guanyar Alacant coalition (18.71% of the votes). Two new parties entered the consistory. On the one hand, Ciudadanos obtained 6 councilors (18.70% of the votes) and the Compromís coalition obtained 3 (9.03% of the votes). After four years, UPyD was left out by obtaining 2.74% of the votes.

Since the recovery of democracy in Spain, ten municipal elections have been held. In the elections held in May 2015, the Popular Party obtained a majority, but ten councilors were left behind, leaving eight. The PSPV-PSOE obtained six, the same as the left-wing Guanyar Alacant coalition. Two new parties entered the consistory: Ciudadanos with 6 councilors and the nationalist coalition Compromís with 3. UPyD was left out of the consistory after one legislature. After an agreement between the PSPV-PSOE, Guanyar Alacant and Compromís, thus governing in tripartite, Gabriel Echávarri (PSPV-PSOE) would be proclaimed mayor of the city on June 13, 2015. In April 2018, and after the publication After several corruption scandals that affected the mayor Gabriel Echávarri (PSPV-PSOE), he resigned and the Popular Party returned to the mayor's office led by Luis José Barcala Sierra.

Consistorial house, headquarters of the City of Alicante

City Hall.

Territorial organization and urban planning

Neighborhoods and districts

The political-administrative organization of Alicante officially divides the city into 12 population entities. The entity of Alicante is divided into 45 neighborhoods and the port of Alicante, which depends on the port authority. The remaining 11 entities are rural areas that for statistical purposes are an additional neighborhood.

Parks and recreation areas

Explanated from Spain.

• Explanated from Spain. It was built on the ancient Malecón, in the 1950sXX.. It is composed of 6 000 000 tessellas that draw an undulating mosaic of red, black and white colors. In addition, the promenade has four rows of palm trees that run through the more than 500 meters in length. It is a sign of identity for the criminals, and a whole symbol of the city's tourism. It was renovated and restored in the 1990s and remains considered one of the major landmarks of the city. From 1854 until 1940, this recreational area was named after the Martyrs. He's known four major reforms. The first, at the end of the centuryXIXHe removed the midwives and transformed it into a walk. As mayor Agatángelo Soler Llorca paved with colored tiles in imitation of the square of the Rossio of Lisbon with which he acquired the iconic image of the city. In the 1990s of the centuryXX. was completely refurbished by keeping the original design, suffering a new improvement in 2009.

Concha Auditorium.

• Canalejas Park. It is next to the Esplanade of Spain. It is characterized by having a series of large hundred trees (Ficus macrophylla), which offer shade during almost all its journey. Its proximity to the sea makes this park an ideal place for rest and reading. Two decorative fountains (one of them known as "El Niño Flautista") can be found on both ends, and stone sculptures representing lions and dogs, which sometimes enter the park. Another element of interest is the monument to the alicantine playwright Carlos Arniches.
• El Palmeral Park. This park is located in the southern entrance of Alicante. He belonged to the old El Carmen estate. It has hundreds of palm trees and abundant native vegetation, plus a lake and waterfalls that can be visited in small boats available to rent.
• Lo Morant Park. It is the largest park in the city. It is located in the northern part of the Alicante capital. In it you can find pinadas, recreational areas, merenderos, an amphitheater, a small lake, as well as a sports area with tennis and paddle tennis courts.
• Ereta Park. It is located on the edges of Mount Benacantil, and is one of the most spectacular views of the city. From this park you can see the neighborhood of Santa Cruz, the cathedral of San Nicolás, the port and the Mediterranean sea. Another attraction of this area is that it is allowed to visit the renovated wall that accesses the castle.
• Juan Pablo II Park. It is the third park in extension of Alicante. It is in the neighborhood of the same name and has an oval shape. It has children's area, grass and a good number of palm trees.
• Plaza de la Paz. A young park full of peace, in one of the new expansion areas of Alicante. It is located in the neighborhood of La Torreta, and has rectangular shape. It has an area with different types of trees, a children's area, lawn and an annexed public parking. It is a very quiet park with the name, where the many children born from the first members of this neighborhood (born in the 2002-2010s), enjoy the game.
• La Marjal Park. Built in 2013 and located in the area of San Juan Beach, it has as characteristic element, its design to be flooded in case of strong floods with a capacity of 45 000 m3. This prevents the overflow and flooding of inhabited areas or streets of the neighborhood. This element has made it an example of urbanism capable of simultaneous use by the population of a green space with containment to adverse weather effects.

Economy

Postiguet beach. Tourism has played an important role in the development of the city.

The economy of the city of Alicante is based mainly on the service sector, which employed 85.7% of the active population in 2007.

The service sector dominates the Alicante economy.

Among the economic activities carried out in the city, trade stands out, which historically had the port of Alicante as its support point. The commercial activities of the city have a great power of attraction for most of the province, and reach Almansa along the Vinalopó axis. Currently, the city of Alicante occupies the fifth position at a national level in importance in terms of commerce, only surpassed by cities such as Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia or Seville.

The latest data published by the INE places the unemployment rate in the city of Alicante at 19.8% for the month of April 2018.

Tourism, already present in the mid-XIX century, but mainly developed since the 1950s, is also another activity important in the city, supported by the benign climate, the beaches, the historical heritage (castle of Santa Bárbara, church of Santa María, co-cathedral of San Nicolás, old town, Torres de la Huerta, etc.) and its leisure offer.

Real estate activity is also an important part of the economic activity of Alicante. The real estate market is a sector that behaves as an auxiliary engine of the tourism industry, not only for its economic value, but also for its social value as a generator of employment. During the first half of 2017, one in four new construction visas in all of Spain is requested in the province. Alicante is the third province in the number of real estate transactions behind Madrid and Barcelona, and the first in the number of property sales to foreign citizens, mostly seasonal residents in the province.

European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).

In Alicante, administrative activities are also important, favored by its position as the capital of the 4th Spanish province with the highest economic production. Alicante is the headquarters of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), the European agency for the registration of community trademarks, designs and models.

The University of Alicante, located in San Vicente del Raspeig, has more than 33,000 students and attracts a significant number of foreign students. For its part, the Miguel Hernández University, whose headquarters are in neighboring Elche, has its health sciences campus in the municipality of San Juan de Alicante, a member of the Alicante conurbation.

Industry employs 5.7% of the active population of the municipality. The aluminum and tobacco factories stand out (Altadis, closed in December 2009, heir to the old Tabacalera factory, which was of great economic importance in the city for several centuries, having hired more than 4,000 employees), machinery, construction materials and food products. Within the metropolitan area, manufacturing activities are of great importance in the municipality of San Vicente del Raspeig (a place that has served as an area of expansion and manufacturing decongestion for the capital), where the largest factory in the Alicante agglomeration is located, a factory of cement production of the multinational Cemex. The main industrial estates in the municipality are the Las Atalayas estate, the Pla de la Vallonga estate, the Agua Amarga estate and the Florida industrial area.

Infrastructures with economic impact

One of the leading elements in the Alicante economy is the port of Alicante. The port is in the midst of an expansion phase, with the aim of being among the ten most important in terms of freight transport. Currently, around 15,000 people work directly or indirectly at these facilities. Historically, the port of Alicante has been closely linked to the destiny of the city. In fact, a large part of the trade in Alicante has had its port as its point of departure or arrival. The most important moment of this element occurred in the XVII century, when it began to trade with America, eventually becoming the third Spanish port in importance.

Shopping

The traditional shopping area is located in the urban center of Alicante, more specifically between the triangle formed by Rambla de Méndez Núñez, Alfonso X El Sabio avenue and Maisonnave avenue, where you can find both small traditional shops and large national and international franchise chains.^{[citation required]} In the city you can also find 5 shopping centers: Puerta de Alicante, Gran Vía, Plaza Mar, Vistahermosa and Panoramis. ^{[citation required]} Within the municipality, but located in the Playa de San Juan area, we can also find the Alicante Golf shopping center.^{[citation required ]}

Services

Hospital General Universitario.

Education

In the city of Alicante there are 47 Public Schools for Early Childhood and Primary Education, 32 Private-Subsidized Schools and 4 Special Education Centers.

Regarding secondary education, Alicante has 18 public centers that offer E.S.O, Baccalaureate and Vocational Training Cycles for Middle and Higher Education. There is, in the private sphere, a variety of different types of Vocational Training courses in sectors such as aeronautics, tourism, communication, sports, health or culture offered by private entities such as MEDAC Alicante.

The University of Alicante has its headquarters next to the capital, within the adjacent municipality of San Vicente del Raspeig. Nevertheless, Alicante hosts a headquarters of it.

Lastly, Alicante has a wide range of university education. The University of Alicante, founded in 1979 and located between the municipalities of San Vicente del Raspeig and Alicante and in the process of expansion, has a large campus and an offer made up of more than 50 degrees, with more than 70 university departments and more than 33,000 students studying in their classrooms. For its part, the Miguel Hernández University, whose headquarters are in neighboring Elche, has its health sciences campus in the municipality of San Juan de Alicante, a member of the Alicante conurbation. There are projects at different degrees of development for the opening of private university centers (sub-sites of the UCAM and the Mare Nostrum University).

In another order of things, it should be noted that the Education Service of the Alicante City Council manages and develops, within the powers that are attributed to it in terms of education, everything related to the maintenance and surveillance of schools – through the members of the Local Police and in the fight against school absenteeism and effective compliance with compulsory schooling time, as well as other tasks such as the control and prevention of retail and drug use in the surroundings of the centers of public and subsidized education. Alicante City Council is also responsible for the provision of plots for the construction or expansion of buildings related to education. In relation to school absenteeism, the Alicante City Council has a program to prevent it, through the prevention, resolution and monitoring of those cases related to school absenteeism of minors between 6 and 16 years of age, a program that, on occasions,, is developed with the collaboration of public administrations and private entities. The program focuses on the development and dissemination of specific protocols aimed at the prevention of absenteeism and the study of particular cases, seeking awareness and responsibility of families regarding the compulsory nature of schooling at these ages.

Transportation

Road

Identifier	Itinerary	Note
	Autovía de Alicante	Cañavate Watch – Albacete – Almansa – Alicante
	Autovía Valencia-Pilar de la Horadada	AP-7 - Sollana - Sueca - Cullera - Favara - Jaraco - Jeresa - Gandía - Benisa - Alicante - Santa Pola - Pilar de la Horadada
	Transfer of Alicante	AP-7 Campello – A-7 Elche
	Northwest access to Alicante	A-70 San Vicente del Raspeig – AP-7 Second Circumvalation of Alicante
	Carretera Alicante-France	Alicante – Almansa – Requena – Utiel – Teruel – Zaragoza – Huesca – Jaca – France
	Carretera Cartagena-Valencia	Vera – Cartagena – Alicante – Valencia
	Mediterranean Road	Cadiz – Algeciras – Malaga – Motril – Almería – Murcia – Orihuela – Elche – Alicante – San Juan de Alicante – Valencia – Castellón de la Plana – Tarragona – Barcelona
CV-86	Via Parc Alicante-Elche and Ronda Norte	A-31 – EL-20

TRAM-Metropolitan of Alicante

Metropolitan TRAM of Alicante.

The TRAM trains and trams connect the beaches of Alicante with the city center, the town of San Vicente del Raspeig and other towns further away such as Benidorm, Altea or Denia. The city of Alicante has 31 stations or stops in its municipal area.

Lines currently in service:

• L1 Plaza Luceros-Benidorm (community services with trains-tram)
• L2 Plaza Luceros-Sant Vicent del Raspeig (metropolitan service)
• L3 Plaza Luceros-Campello/Venta Lanuza (metropolitan service)
• L4 Plaza Luceros-Pl. of La Coruña (Playa San Juan) (metropolitan service)
• L5 Mar-Pl Door. of La Coruña (Antigua Line 4L) (active metropolitan service from June to October)
• L9 Benidorm-Denia (accommodation service with 2500 series diesel trains).

City buses and taxis

The city has an extensive urban and metropolitan bus network of around 40 lines. These buses have all their fares and travel tickets integrated with each other and even with the TRAM through the Móbilis contactless card that can be used interchangeably for transport within the Alicante Metropolitan Area. Currently it continues to be the means of public transport most used by the people of Alicante thanks to its great coverage of the urban territory.

The city has a fleet of 537 taxis that serve the towns of Alicante, San Juan de Alicante, Muchamiel, San Vicente del Raspeig and Campello.

Currently there is also the private transport alternative Cabify.

Airport

Alicante-Elche Airport.

The airport is located 9 km away, in the district of El Altet, in the municipality of Elche. It is an international airport, which ranks fifth in Spain in terms of the number of passengers transported with a total of almost 14 million during 2018 and one of the most profitable in economic terms in Spain.

During 2008, its expansion was undertaken with a new and modern terminal that will provide the current airport with capacity for more than 20 million passengers per year. Similarly, it is also projected that both the TRAM and the Renfe-Operadora C-1 commuter line will connect the airport with the future Alicante Central Intermodal Station in a second phase.

In 2014 the airport was the most profitable airport in Spain according to the report presented in Congress by the Minister of Public Works, José Blanco. This report highlights the excellent economic health of the provincial aerodrome, which exceeded airports such as Mallorca (second on the list) and the two most important in the State, Barajas and El Prat, in revenue. In 2014, Alicante airport was the fourth most used airport in Spain by low-cost airlines with 863,993 passengers. There are no more current data, since AENA, the airport's concessionaire, does not regularly provide disaggregated information.

Railway

Train station.

There are currently three lines in operation that connect the city with its surroundings and nearby towns. These commuter lines are managed by two different operators. One is FGV that through its commercial brand in Alicante (TRAM) connects the city with the center of Benidorm passing through other coastal towns. The other operator is Renfe-Operadora, a Public Business Entity under the Ministry of Development of Spain that makes commuter trains available to users in most large Spanish cities, providing service with two lines and having three stations in the municipal area. from Alicante: Alicante Terminal Station (C1 and 3), San Gabriel Station (C1) and University of Alicante Station (C3).

• Alicante – Benidorm (Transbordo) - Denia (operated by FGV)
• Alicante - Murcia (line C-1 Renfe-Operadora)
• Alicante – University - San Vicente del Raspeig (line C-3 Renfe-Operadora).

In addition to commuter lines, Alicante also has several long-distance lines:

• AVE: Alicante – Villena/Albacete/Cuenca - Madrid.
• Alvia Train: Alicante – Galicia/Asturias/Cantabria.
• Euromed Train: Alicante – Valencia/Castellón/Tarragona - Barcelona.
• Talgo Train: Murcia – Orihuela/Elche - Alicante – Elda y Petrel/Villena/Játiva/Valencia/Sagunto/Castellón/Benicásim/Oropesa/Benicarló y Peñíscola/Vinaroz/La Aldea, Amposta y Tortosa/Cambrills/Tarragona - Barcelona.

Heritage

Abastos Central Market.

• Basilica of Saint Mary (siglos XIV-XVI). Built in Gothic style, it was raised over the old Great Mosque and it is the oldest temple in the city. Highlights are its main altar, in the Rococo style, and its cover, in the baroque style, both of the centuryXVIII.
• Concatedral de San Nicolás de Bari (siglos XV-XVII). Built also on the remains of another mosque, it is renaissance style Herrerian. Sobria in its exterior appearance, its construction was made between 1616 and 1662, although its most ancient cloister, dates from the centuryXV. It was elevated as a concatedral in 1959, although the cathedral headquarters is the holy cathedral church of the Salvador of Orihuela.
• Monastery of the Santa Faz (centuryXV). Located 5 km north of the urban center, it is baroque style. Every year, on the second Thursday after Holy Week there is a massive pilgrimage that leaves from St. Nicholas to this monastery.
• Torres de Defensa de la Huerta de Alicante (siglos XV-XVII). Defensive baluartes lifted in the Garden of Alicante to defend against the attacks of Berber pirates. At present, little more than 20 towers are preserved. Some of them are of great beauty, such as Veronica, Reixes or Bonanza. They are declared Good of Cultural Interest with the category of monument which has not prevented some from being ruined.
• House of La Asegurada (sixteenth centuryXVII). Oldest civil construction in the city, was built in 1685 in baroque style. It is located in the same square as the Basilica of Santa Maria and currently houses the Museum of Contemporary Art in Alicante.
• Consistorial House of Alicante (centuryXVIII). Reference point for the measurement of the altitude on the sea level of any point in Spain, is a baroque civil architecture.
• Convent of the Precious Blood (centuryXVIII). Beginning in 1732, his works lasted until the beginning of the century.XIX. In this convent the oldest procedural virgin in the city, "La Marinera" (the first Marian representation of the city can be found in the Basilica of Santa Maria), a stone carving of the century.XIV.
• Gravina Palace (centuryXVIII). Built between 1748 and 1808 as the palace of the Count of Lumiares, it currently houses the Museum of Fine Arts Gravina, dedicated to regional painting and sculpture of the centuries XVI at the beginning of the XX..

Provincial Palace, headquarters of the Provincial Council of Alicante.

Big door of the bullring.

• Maisonnave-Archivo Municipal PalaceXVIII). palatial house located in the old town, on the ground floor there have been found remains of a late-Roman necropolis.
• Portalet Palace (centuryXVIII). It hosts a Interpretation Centre of the building itself, the Collection of Spanish Guitars Romanillos-Harris, and the permanent exhibition Alicante Monumental, from Vila Nova to Vila Vella which runs through the old town through seven historic buildings.
• Principal Theatre of Alicante (centuryXIX). Neoclassical-style building was opened in 1847.
• Bullring of Alicante (centuryXIX). It was built in 1848, being reformed in 1888, when it covered its current appearance.
• Central Market of Alicante (centuryXX.). In a regionalist style, it was built between 1911 and 1921 on the old square of Balmes.
• Building of the Provincial Council of AlicanteXX.). Neoclassical court palace, opened in 1931 and opened by the President of the Niceto Alcalá Zamora Republic in 1932.
• Fish Lonja (centuryXX.). Early in the centuryXX., is an industrial building of historicalist style, which integrates neo-Arab ornamental details. It has served as an exhibition hall since 1992.
• Castle of Santa Barbara XIV-XVIII). Located on the highest part of Mount Benacantil, it dominates the entire Garden of Alicante and from it is the island of Tabarca. Ancient Arab castle, was rebuilt by Christians and consists of three enclosures of the centuries XIV, XVI and XVIII.
• Castle of San Fernando (centuryXIX). It was built in 1813 to defend the city from the Napoleonic invasion. It is currently awaiting rehabilitation.
• Tabarca Island, declared historical-artistic ensemble in 1964. They highlight the wall with its three doors, the church of Saint Peter and Paul, the House of Governor, the tower of Saint Joseph and the lighthouse.

In addition, in the Albufereta are the archaeological remains of the Ibero-Roman city of Lucentum, dating from the IV span> a. C. al III d. C..

Culture

Archaeological Museum of Alicante.

Museums, archives and libraries

Theaters and auditoriums

Principal Theatre of Alicante.

Cultural events

Festivities and traditions

Festivals of 2006.

The bonfires of San Juan are the main and official festivals of Alicante, declared of International Tourist Interest since 1984, their origins being very remote since the custom of burning objects, dancing around a bonfire with the arrival of the solstice of summer, is lost in the mists of time.

As such parties organized with the current peculiarities date from 1928, being its promoter José María Py y Ramírez de Cartagena. With the proclamation these festivities are considered initiated, planting the bonfires, polychrome artistic monuments of papier-mache and wood with a profound satirical charge, on the night of June 20, burning four days later after being thrown from the top of Mount Benacantil, where they were find the Castillo de Santa Bárbara, a monumental fireworks palm tree that is visible from much of the city.

Throughout the holidays there is a very extensive program of events such as parades, parades, offerings, bullfights, musical performances, sports championships and a long etcetera, living the party in the street where people can eat, dine and dance in the barracas and racós, tasting the typical coca de atún and brevas. The party has its highest representatives, the Bellea del Foc, and its six bridesmaids chosen from among those who were "beauties" from each of the districts and are the living representation of the party. In the days after the cremá de las bonfires (until June 29, the day of Saints Peter and Paul) there is a fireworks and light-filled fireworks contest that is shot from the Postiguet beach.

• Holy Week. It has more than thirty fellowships that carry out its processions from Palm Sunday to Resurrection Sunday. The Virgin of the Angustias (Mare de Déu de la Penya) of Salzillo and the Virgin of the Soledad "La Marinera", which is the oldest in the city, stand out. The best known processions are that of Palm Sunday (The donkey) in which many citizens participate, that of Santa Cruz, on Wednesday, with more than a thousand brothers and four steps, being the most valuable one of the Descendimiento. It is worth noting the sizes of the Ecce-Homo and the Virgin of the Amargura. The first is the presentation to the people, and is composed of Christ, a Roman centurion, a sayon and Pilate. The scene is identical to that of Seville but with fewer figures, since they are the same author, Don Antonio Castillo Lastrucci. The step is taken to the rib, the Sevillian style. The image of the virgin is also the work of the above-mentioned author and is of a Sevillian style. Other sizes of this same author are the Christ of the Great Power and the Virgin of Hope who are also taken to the coast and carry out their penitence station on holy Wednesday.
• Romeria de la Santa Faz. It is a romeria of eight kilometers, with five centuries old, that begins in the concatedral of St. Nicholas (the religious) or the City Council (civic) and ends in the Monastery of the Holy Faz, where a relicario containing a piece of cloth with the marks of the face of Christ is venerated. This relic was brought by the priest of San Juan de Alicante, Mosén Pedro Mena in the centuryXV. It is held on the second Thursday after Easter, and more than 300 000 people are usually involved, being the second most important pilgrimage in Spain, behind that of the Rocío.
• Moors and Christians of Alicante. The festivals of Moros and Christians of the city of Alicante, unlike those held in other towns of the province where the entire population is blown, are only held in five neighborhoods: Villafranqueza, from 12 to 19 March; San Blas, from 19 to 22 July; Rebolledo, from 29 June to 2 July; Altozano, from 12 to 16 August and Barrio Miguel Hernández, from 24 to 22 July. The parties usually start with the Party notice, a parade with gala costumes, giving way to the Night of the Ollain which a pregon is made. Acts (such as Dianas and Despertàs) and the parades (the parades Tickets) lead to the Embassy and Alardo, representations in which the Christian side “begins” symbolically to the Moor. The final point puts it RetretaA parade in humorous tone. Since 1993, there has been the Alican Federation of Moors and Christians. Its objective is to achieve joint goals from the efforts of the five neighborhoods that celebrate the holidays.
• Porrate of San Antón. It is also worth noting the feast that is celebrated every year in the San Antón neighborhood from 13 to 20 January in honor of San Antonio (Sant Antoni del Becauset), his patron, the Porrate of San Antón. This tradition celebrates the year 2010 its 5th centenary, since there by 1510, when Alicante were two neighborhoods on the edge of the castle, the Raval Roig and San Antón, the Dominican parents called porrate the barter of the pigs they raised for other animals. That year began a tradition that today, almost 500 years later, remains more alive than ever. And all thanks to the neighbors of the neighborhood, which make it possible for the oldest celebration of the city to remain in force hundreds of years after centenary.
• St. Nicholas and Christmas. Alicante prepares the celebration of St Nicholas of Bari, patron of the city, on Sunday prior to his holiday with the blessing and presentation of the children before his image in the concatedral church of his own name, located in the square of the Abad Penalva. A solemn Mass is held on the morning of December 6th, followed by the traditional civic-religious procession with the image of St. Nicholas, guarded by gala escort, being led by the giants and scalps accompanied by a colla, followed by the xiuleters, a representation of St. Nicholas on horseback that distributes toys and caramels among the little ones, the Mayor Board of Sisters and Brotherhoods. During the Christmas holidays the activity that has been carried out since 1959 by the Association of Belenistas of Alicante, installing monumental belenes in the Town Hall, the Plaza de La Montañeta, Caja Medieval and a large belenist exhibition in the Palace of the Provincial Council of Alicante. It also organizes belene contests in the capital and the province, school card contest to the Magi, the Christmas Pregon, Christmas concerts, etc. For this work, clamorously welcomed by criminals and outsiders, the Association of Belenistas of Alicante has been the first belenist association declared "public utility" by the Ministry of the Interior in 1977.
• Civic procession in honor of the Martyrs of Freedom. Every month of February in the neighborhood of Villafranqueza, the traditional civic procession is celebrated in honor of the Martyrs of Liberty, liberal military captained by Pantaleón Boné, who were shot on 14 February 1844 at the top of the Panteón de los Guijarro. Tragic and heroic historical facts in defense of the liberties that the alicantine professor and composer Miguel Brotóns recited musically in his wave and symphonic poem with title “Mártires de la Libertad”.
• Carnival of Alicante. It is popularly called “Carnaval Ramblero” due to the high concentration of people that occurs on the Rambla, as well as different summer parties in different neighborhoods.

Valencian Alicante dialect

Geographical distribution of the Valencian dialect of Alicante.

Valencian from Alicante is the subdialect of the extreme south, in the region of Campo de Alicante and surroundings. Their characteristics are:

• It enmudes the /i/ in front of deaf fricative palatal so that caixa (“box”) and peix are articulated ['kaκa] and ['peь] with the sound / arc/ with which the rioplatenses currently pronounce the θ.
• The /r/ final is unstable throughout the area and is usually immersed in the inner zone, just as in northern Valencian and general Catalan.
• The tendency to circumvent the /d/intervocálica is very sharp: roda (“rueda”)  Roa, the donut (“woman”) the wave, each ▪, cadira (silla)  ♪, life oriented towards, grenyuda  grenyuaetc.
• The tendency to elid other intervocálic consonants such as /r/ o /s/: Anger (“tree”)  Open up., vellesa (“old”)  vellea.
• Articles them and the Sounds both. That's it.: It's vaques. for les vaques (“the cows”).
• The adverb of place I (general assessment) is said here. and the demonstrative pronoun açò It is said as.
• It contains a lot of Castellanismos like: assul (by blah), furniture (by moble), llimpiar (by netejar), gafes (by ulleres), ha hi (by hi).
• It keeps many arcaisms missing elsewhere: denans/ans (by abansreplaced in the rest of the Valencian by “before” Castroism, devers (by cap a), dintre (by dins), Maití (by Matí).

Sports

Despite soccer being the predominant sport, the greatest sporting successes in the city come from other sports or athletes. Thus, national and international successes have been obtained in sports such as handball or basketball; however, in individual sports better results have been achieved. Thus, Alicante has been the birthplace or residence of some twenty athletes who have participated in the Olympic Games. The City Council annually organizes the Alicante City Council Trophy to reward the city's most outstanding athletes. In 2004 the city of Alicante was the European Capital of Sport.

Olympic Alicante

Miriam Blasco, alicantine for adoption, was the first Spanish Olympic medalist.

It is perhaps José Antonio Chicoy, who competed in the 4x100 medley final at the Mexico Games in 1968, who started the relevant participation of Alicante in the Olympic Games. But it was not until the Moscow Games in 1980 and Los Angeles 1984 when Domingo Ramón achieved fourth and sixth place respectively in athletics (3000 meter obstacles).

In the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, there were four athletes from Alicante participating and, in addition, they obtained a medal for the first time: Miriam Blasco, gold medalist in judo and the first Spanish Olympic medalist; Francisco "Kiko" Sánchez, gold medalist in sailing, men's 470; Carolina Pascual, silver medal in rhythmic gymnastics; and Francisco Veza "Paqui", gold medalist in soccer. In addition, Rosabel Espinosa was part of the national rhythmic gymnastics team as a substitute.

In the 1996 Atlanta Games, gymnasts Marta Baldó, born in Villajoyosa, and Estela Giménez, from Alicante by adoption (both from Club Atlético Montemar), won the gold medal in the rhythmic gymnastics competition for groups; Juan Escarré obtained a silver medal in field hockey and Isabel Fernández from Torrellana obtained a bronze medal in judo. In the following Olympic Games, Sydney 2000, Isabel won a medal again, this time gold. At the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, Fernández was the flag bearer for the Spanish team and obtained fifth place, which gave her the Olympic diploma. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, rhythmic gymnast Alejandra Quereda won the silver medal in the group competition.

Sports Equipment

Handball

Handball is the most successful sport in the city of Alicante. The historical and already disappeared team was the Calpisa Handball Club. Between 1975 and 1980 they won four consecutive League titles (1975, 1976, 1977 and 1978), four Cup titles (1975, 1976, 1977 and 1980) and a European Cup Winners' Cup (1980). Subsequently, the club changed its sponsor and name on several occasions, becoming Tecnisa, Tecnisán (with which it won another Copa del Rey in 1986) and Helados Alacant. In 1993 the team would leave for Benidorm, disappearing the handball elite in Alicante. Subsequently, various teams emerged such as the Port of Alicante or C.B. Students who would end up disappearing under the name of Alicante-Costablanca. He played his matches in the pavilion that now bears the name of the former player and coach Pitiu Rochel.

To this day, the most representative team in this sport is Mar Alicante, a team that was close to becoming champion of the European Cup Winners' Cup. It continues to compete today at the highest level, although in women's handball, which is the purpose for which this club was born. It has, indirectly, a men's team thanks to an agreement with CD Agustinos Alicante, a priori school team, but its senior team is in the Second National Division and is the most powerful team in this sport in the city. In addition, many matches of the old Calpisa Handball Club were played in its pavilion. In this sport, Sporting Salesianos also stands out, although at a lower level.

Basketball

The most prominent team in this sport is Lucentum Alicante (currently called Fundación Lucentum Baloncesto Alicante for financial reasons), which has been the most successful sports team since the turn of the century XX. CB Lucentum Alicante has been placed on two occasions (2002–2003 and 2004–2005 seasons) among the eight best teams in the Spanish league. Recently, Alicante was the sub-site of the Eurobasket 2007 in Madrid, receiving the teams of France, Italy, Slovenia and Poland in the initial phase of the tournament. In the 2011-2012 season he finished eighth, even playing in the Copa del Rey. But for economic reasons, it is currently in the LEB ORO, the second Spanish basketball division.

In this sport, although more in its work as a grassroots sport, SCD Carolinas and CD Santa Teresa also stand out. In addition to Club Atlético Montemar, dean of this sport in the city and which came to be in the 2nd National Division.

Football

In football, the oldest team in the city of Alicante was Alicante CF, founded in 1918, disappeared in June 2014 and refounded that same year under the name of CFI Alicante. The other club in the city is Hércules CF. The latter began its journey in 1922. Both teams shared the Rico Pérez stadium for certain years. This season (2018/19) it is used by Hércules CF, which currently plays in the Second Division "B" or third category of Spanish football.

Hercules and Alicante shared a category for several seasons. The blue and white team is in a moment of regeneration, while the light blues experienced a serious institutional crisis that led to their recent disappearance and subsequent refounding as CFI Alicante. The first stands out for its years in the First Division, while the second stood out for its powerful grassroots football at the national level, as well as for being the oldest sports team in the province. In the 2017/18 season, CFI Alicante was promoted to Regional Preference and in 2013/14, Hércules CF was relegated to Second Division B.

Sporting events

Soccer has always been the sport that has aroused the most passions in the city, despite not being the one that has achieved the most success. Alicante hosted the 1982 World Cup, where the Group C matches (Argentina, Belgium, El Salvador and Hungary) took place. On the other hand, the San Pedro Cup is a historical tournament in the city, in which its participation extends to the neighborhoods that compete directly through their sports and cultural associations.

Volvo Ocean Race

In keeping with its maritime conditions, the city has been the starting port of the Volvo Ocean Race in its last 4 editions. This regatta consists of going Around the World under Sail and has a great media impact all over the world, since teams from various countries participate, sailors of many different nationalities and has various scales around the world.

• VOR 2008-09, the departure of the tenth edition of the Volvo Ocean Race was given on October 11, 2008.
• VOR 2011-12, the release of the eleventh edition of the Volvo Ocean Race was given on November 5, 2011.
• VOR 2014-15, the departure of the twelfth edition of the Volvo Ocean Race was given on October 11, 2014.
• VOR 2017-2018, the departure of the thirteenth edition of the Volvo Ocean Race was given on October 14, 2017.

Sports facilities

José Rico Pérez Stadium.

Among the main sports facilities in the city are:

• Estadio José Rico Pérez: is the most important sports facility in the city. Built in 1974 by Hércules CF, it has the name of its then president. After moving in 1994 to municipal hands, in 2001, Alicante CF after its promotion to Second B was installed in the stadium after the city council. In 2007 the highest shareholder of the Hercules, Enrique Ortiz, bought the stadium to the town hall, and signed an agreement that will allow Alicante CF to play at the Ortiz Stadium until 2012.
• Tecnification Center: It is the sports hall with the highest capacity of the city, and its title is of the Valencian Generality. Its greatest uses are for the basketball and basketball. The CB Lucentum contests its meetings as a local in this pavilion with capacity for 5425 spectators. It should be noted that the court was subsidized by Eurobasket 2007.
• Stadium of Athleticism: it is a functional installation, mainly dedicated to athleticism, although it is also used by the Hércules CF for its trainings and by the Hercules Feminine that disputes its official meetings without paying any rent.
• Villafranqueza Sports Town: installation built in 1979, housed the Alicante CF matches. It has three fields, football 7, soccer 11 and the main field with capacity of 4000 spectators. These facilities currently host the CFI Alicante matches.
• Club Atlético Montemar: facilities opened on October 4, 1975 and located very close to the beach of the Albufereta, next to the avenue of Miriam Blasco, accesses to the club from Virgilio Street and the Parkway, with an area of 60 000 square meters.

On the other hand, at the neighborhood level, there are equipped municipal facilities such as: El Tossal sports center, San Blas Alto soccer field, Alicante Sports City, Pla-Garbinet sports center, El Cabo soccer field, Ciudad de Assisi, Albufereta soccer field, La Cigüeña soccer field, Divina Pastora soccer field, Tómbola sports center, Virgen del Remedio soccer field, San Blas sports center and Florida-Babel soccer field.

Media

Posts

Radius

Television

All national channels are received in Alicante, such as those of the RTVE group (La 1, La 2, Teledeporte), those of the Atresmedia group (Antena 3 among others) and the Mediaset España group (with Telecinco as channel teaches).

There are also some channels at the provincial, regional and regional level, which are the following:

Twin cities

Notable people