Santa Pola

Santa Pola is a municipality in the Valencian Community (Spain) located on the coast of the province of Alicante, in the Bajo Vinalopó region. It had 33,303 inhabitants in 2020 (INE). The main attractions of Santa Pola are its historical remains, its port, its salt flats and its beaches with the blue flag, a symbol of environmental quality awarded by the European Foundation for Environmental Education.

Toponymy

The place name Santa Pola seems at first sight to be derived from Santa Paula, although it would be necessary to document whether this popular saint was ever worshiped in this area. A highly probable popular etymology derives the place name from the Latin name of the apostle Saint Paul who, according to local tradition, would have disembarked on the neighboring island of Tabarca. Finally, there are authors who point out that the true origin of the place name can be found in the Latin palus ("wetland"), which by metathesis would become pauls and from there to pol; this hypothesis has sense, but it leaves the addition of 'Santa' unexplained, and it would also be necessary to document the hypothetical continued local use of this word for many centuries.

Physical geography

Location of Santa Pola regarding the region of Bajo Vinalopó

Santa Pola is a coastal municipality, with 52.8 km², a good part of which is protected by natural landscapes. The nucleus of the population develops having the port and the castle as the center, but limited by two natural landscapes that flank it. To the west is the Salinas de Santa Pola Natural Park, and to the east are the Sierra and Cabo de Santa Pola.

The coastline is 13 km long and can be divided into several sectors. From the southern border with Elche to the urban area we find a fine strip of sand, which is what separates the salt flats from the sea; in this area are the beaches of El Pinet and La Gola. The urban beaches are Tamarit, Smooth and Gran Playa to the west of the port; and to the east that of Levante, the coves of Santiago Bernabéu, (a succession of small beaches artificially separated by breakwaters) and that of Varadero, which is located next to the shipyards. From then on, the entire coast of the cape is narrow and rugged, with small coves that lie under the cliff. The cape itself is a first-order geodesic vertex and is also known as Cabo de l'Aljub. It has a third-order lighthouse on it, installed since 1858 on the old Atalayola tower. Opposite the cape, less than 3 nautical miles (5.56 km), is the island of Tabarca, also called Isla Plana or Isla de Santa Pola, which belongs to the municipality of Alicante.

The relief presents three totally different zones: the one to the NE is occupied by the Sierra de Santa Pola, a kind of tabular promontory made up of bluish marls and yellowish molasses that reaches a maximum altitude of 143 m in the place where the lighthouse. The NW area, inland from the aforementioned sierra, corresponds to a Quaternary-type plain where the only agricultural area in the municipal area has been developed, while the entire southern half coincides with the marshy area of the Albufera de Elche, separated from the sea by an arrow of sand with dunes. Salt had been extracted in this marsh area since time immemorial, but the large exploitations that today dominate its landscape began to take shape at the end of the XIXth century (700 hectares in the Braç del Port) and were expanded at the beginning of the XX century.

Border locations

	North: Elche
West: Elche		This: Mediterranean Sea
	South: Mediterranean Sea

Map of the municipality

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Interactive map — Santa Pola and its municipality

Climate

Santa Pola enjoys a mild arid Mediterranean climate, with an average temperature of 14 °C in January and 26 °C in August, which is ideal for tourism. Rainfall, however, is very scarce, not exceeding 240 mm per year.

History

Roman archaeological remains in the Palmeral

View of the Tamarit Tower, located in the heart of the Salinas de Santa Pola Park

The first traces of human life in the Santa Pola area date back to the 3rd millennium BC. C., Eneolithic materials and paintings having been found in the Cueva de las Arañas del Carabassí, as well as remains of the passage of hunter-gatherers from the Upper Palaeolithic in the Cueva de las Teresitas. In the IV a. C. a walled Iberian town was built at the mouth of the Vinalopó river, on the banks of the old Albufera de Elche, which served as a commercial base, mainly with Greece. In the century I a port that served the city of Illici was built near the place that the Iberian settlement had occupied and was called Portus Illicitanus, as quoted by Claudio Ptolemy in Civitates Mediterraneae. This port was essential for the development of maritime trade in the region, as well as being one of the most important ports along with Cartagena. In 460 the fleet that the Emperor Mayoriano had launched to attack the Vandals from North Africa and was burned in the same port. A necropolis, a fish-salting factory and the Roman House of the Palm Grove remain from the Roman settlement. Part of its remains appear They were already described in 1621 by Cristòfol Sanz from Elche, although they would not be systematically excavated until the XX century.

Little is known about the situation of Santa Pola after the fall of the Roman Empire, since the port fell practically into disuse and the population of the area fell drastically. However, the Visigoths are believed to have had a fleet ready on it at least since the time of Sisebutus (612-621), with which Count Theodomir likely repelled a Byzantine attack in 754. In medieval times it must have continued in use, but the first mention of Santa Pola dates from 1275, appearing as port of Cap de l'Aljub ("Cabo del Aljibe"). The port, which gained importance again, was protected in 1337 with a tower that in 1379 was already commanded by a warden, while around it there was a cortico (sic) for fishermen, according to the Book of Councils of Elche. Some warehouses that are already mentioned appear in the middle of the XV century, and slightly later documents already speak of stores, an oven for bread and works for a church. The commercial prosperity and the danger of Barbary piracy advised the people of Elche to build a large fort or castle where sailors and merchants could take refuge in case of attack. The work was begun in 1557 by Duke Bernardino de Cárdenas, viceroy of Valencia and son of the Marquis of Elche, and in 1562 it was already equipped with cannons. In 1609 the Moors from Elche embarked in Santa Pola bound for Orán.

In 1739, according to a report written by the administrator of the Marquis of Elche, within the walls of the castle were the church of the Virgin of Loreto and 29 houses where 21 families of soldiers resided, despite the fact that the castle had already disappeared. pirate danger. In 1761 the Veïnatge d'Elx indicated 15 soldiers in the castle and 26 residents of said castle (about 100 inhabitants), who inhabited the population that was already forming around the strong and that already appeared clearly defined in 1766 in a plan of the "Lugar nuevo de Santa Pola" in which some three dozen houses were indicated in addition to the barracks. As a result of the colonization works on the island of Tabarca that began in 1769 and for which a large part of the Sierra de Santa Pola was deforested, the number of inhabitants increased quickly. In 1769 there were some 471 inhabitants, which in 1794 were already 870. Cavanilles, who visited the town that year, points out that «[...] its hamlet is unhappy and the neighbors are poor, partly engaged in agriculture and partly in Fishing. The women and children make cordage for the factories of Alicante".

In 1812, taking advantage of the circumstances of the Spanish War of Independence, the population requested the municipal independence of Elche and created its own town hall, although the segregation was not effective until 1835. During the century XIX the fishing and commercial export activity made the population grow almost exponentially, at the same time as the summer function. The beaches were already so crowded in 1810 that the Elche town hall was obliged to publish a Regulations and method of life that must be observed by those who come to Sta Pola for recreation or bathing. In fact, the Dictionary of Madoz (1845-1850) affirms that Santa Pola "consists of 350 houses, almost all of them on one floor, neat, clean and pleasant-looking, many of which belong to owners from Elche, who only have them for the purpose of going to spend the bathing season there".

In 1877, King Alfonso XII granted it the rank of town and, already in 1944, its municipal area was delimited. In the 1950s the port was expanded as the fishing fleet increased, although the definitive boost came from the tourist boom of the 1960s. The first constructions affected Playa Lisa and Santa Pola del This one, with houses of one or two heights, but soon began the great actions based on apartment buildings of eight and ten heights to which later the townhouses on the slopes of the mountains would be added.

Demographics

In 2022, the municipality of Santa Pola had 36,174 inhabitants, according to official figures from the INE. Most of the population lived in the city of Santa Pola, and the rest in various population centers, which are scattered throughout the wide municipal area, distributed as follows:

At the end of the XVIII century Santa Pola already had about 780 inhabitants, which would have increased to 1,400 in 1812. The population grew to reach 2,759 inhabitants in 1857 and 4,383 in 1887, although it then stagnated until the 1950s, first thanks to the increase in the fishing fleet and then thanks to the boost of tourism. After continued strong population growth since the In the 1960s, Santa Pola had 36,174 inhabitants in the 2022 census (INE), which makes it the tenth largest municipality in the province of Alicante by population. 11.8% of the inhabitants registered in the census in 2011 were of foreign nationality; 69.3% of foreigners came from the European Union, with the predominant nationality being British. On the other hand, hotel and apartment capacity exceeded 100,000 beds at the beginning of the century XXI, so that in the summer months the real population of Santa Pola normally exceeds 125,000 inhabitants, or what is the same, it quadruples the population registered.

Urbanism

Calle del Muelle

The current town center developed in the 17th century with a series of houses arranged to the north of the fortress and to the roadside of Elche. However, the settlement did not develop until the beginning of the XIX century, when a good number of streets arranged completely behind the defensive screen of the fortress, while the latter was outside the urban framework. The same church, which at that time played a central role in subsequent urban development, was located at a safe distance from the military fortress. However, by mid-century the sea had ceased to be a source of danger, and in a A plan from 1863 already shows the first half of Calle del Muelle built, the beginning of the expansion towards the coastline. The Dictionary of Madoz (1845-1850) describes Santa Pola by saying that it is made up of "15 wide, clear and straight streets, and a main square". Between the 1860s and the 1930s the population grew little, and the same happened with the number of buildings, which, nevertheless, were aligned along orthogonal axes in the direction of the port. The tourist impulse of the 1960s was the true engine of the urban expansion of Santa Pola. The first constructions affected the Lisa beach and Santa Pola del Este, with houses of one or two heights, but soon began the large actions based on apartment buildings of eight and ten heights to which would later be added the townhouses on the slopes of the sierra.

Administration and politics

Municipal elections of 24 May 2015
Party		Candidate	Votes		Councillors
Popular Party		Miguel Zaragoza Fernández	5 353	37.97 %	9	4
Socialist Party of the Valencian Country-PSOE		Yolanda Seva Ruiz	2 631	18.66 %	4	1
Citizens		Ignacio Soler	1 660	11.78%	3	3
Commitments		Alejandro Escalada Villanueva	1 644	11.66 %	3	1
Yes you can Santa Pola		Mercedes Landa	1 094	7.76 %	1	1
United Esquerra del País Valencià		Samuel Ortiz	753	5.34 %	1	0
Source: Ministry of the Interior (Spain).

Economy

Partial view of the port

The traditional economy of Santa Pola has traditionally been based on agriculture, crafts and mainly fishing. In 2003, only 1.3% of the active population was dedicated to agriculture, which only achieves a certain profitability if it is helped by artificial irrigation, as is the case with the almost 200 hectares planted with orange trees (102), mandarins (74) and pomegranates (18), which are accompanied by another 230 dedicated to vegetables, where melons, endives, artichokes and, for some years now, broccoli are harvested.

Fishing, for its part, occupied 8.13% and, although with a certain weight, it no longer has the great importance it had until the 1980s, when it was the headquarters of the largest Valencian fishing fleet and its boats (with almost 1,700 sailors) were engaged in deep-sea fishing in the Alboran Sea and in the Canary Islands. Currently, in Santa Pola there are only small boats that fish between the Spanish and Algerian coasts and the volume of landed fish has fallen from from 6,000 or 7,000 tons in the 1970s to 4,151 in 2001 and only 2,753 in 2003. Alicante to Almeria.

The maintenance of the fishing fleet motivated the formation of shipyards, which currently have better clients in sports navigation. The rest of the local industry is not very important except for the extraction of salt and those derived from construction and tourism. The rest of the population is dedicated to the service sector, which is, by far, the main economic engine of the town.

Transportation

The following highways circulate through the municipality of Santa Pola:

Taxi service in Santa Pola - Taxi Santa Pola

Heritage

Architectural heritage

Gateway to the castle-fortress

Plaza de Abastos

Torre vigía Tamarit

• Castillo-Fortaleza de Santa Pola: The castle-Fortaleza, of a Renaissance military style, was built in 1557 on the commission of the viceroy of Valencia and Mr of Elche, Bernardino de Cárdenas, for the protection and defense of the sailors against the attacks of the pirates and corsarios. Previously there had been a tower in the same place, built in 1334 to defend the port. The building is rectangular, with masonry structure, thick stone on its walls and sillery on its vertices. Inside it had military units, warehouses, oven and mussel. The current front door dates back to the centuryXVIIIin which it was opened to replace the former, placed on the opposite wall. It has now become a Cultural Centre in which various activities take place. Inside are the Museum of the Sea, the Museum of Fisheries, the Virgin Chapel of Loreto and the Municipal Exhibition Hall.

• Torres vigía: These coastal surveillance towers were built in 1552 as a preventive system against the attacks of Berber pirates. They are strategically placed to warn the aggressor's arrival, so that they communicate with each other, through day smokes and night luminaries. They are:
  • Tamarit Tower: Located in the Salinas, it is a square-floor tower made of masonry materials with a few chairs reinforcing its corners.
  • Tower of Escaletes (Torre d'Escaletes): Located in the mountains, its construction dates from the centuryXVI, although it seems to be that it was lifted over another tower of Muslim origin. Lifted with masonry walls, its height is eight meters and has stone walls at its top. It has been declared a Good of Cultural Interest by the Council of Valencian Generality.
  • Tower of the Atalayola (Tower of the Talaiola): Located at the top of the end, in 1858 the lighthouse was built on it.
  • Carabassi Tower: Built with masonry walls and cylindrical shape, it is currently in ruins. It has been declared a Good of Cultural Interest by the Council of Valencian Generality.

• Lighthouse: it is located at the eastern end of the Cape of Santa Pola, on an ancient Vigo tower of the centuryXVI, called "Atalayola", on a cliff of 144 m above sea level about 360 m from the coast. It was installed in 1858 for the orientation of the ships that at night sail along these coasts, especially for the ships of the Navy, which in the year of its construction anchored in the bay of Santa Pola.

• Port: Its activity dates back to the centuryIVa. C., although with different locations. He has witnessed important historical events, such as the departure of the Moors of Elche after his expulsion in 1609, and the visit of the Royal Squad in which Alfonso XII traveled in 1877. The current port dates from 1911, when the dam destroyed by a temporary period was expanded in 1909, building it with 169 m long and 40 m wide. This, however, remained insufficient, so in 1931 it expanded 487 metres further. In 1953 the definitive configuration of the port was undertaken at the request of the fishermen, with the construction of a squire counterpart (552 m) and the extension in 198 m of the previous dam, works that ended in 1966. Since then, the tourist use was intensified, in 1980 the Santa Pola Nautical Club, before which there were 550 moorings. In the 1990s, the Valencian Generality expanded it, building a small spike in the middle of the port, on which 434 new moorings were arranged. Its main activities are fishing, tourism and the export of salt.

• Mill of the Calera: It is a windmill built in 1771 to supply grain mill to the population; in its vicinity there was a calera, to which it owes its name. From it you can enjoy panoramic views of the villa and the natural park.

• Abastos Market: It was built in 1935 on a church of the early centuryXIX as a result of an earthquake, and that in its beginnings was a project of academic temple.

• Aljibes del Massapà: This is a set of three aljibes intended to keep drinking water from the rain and were built around the centuryXVIII to supply the growing population. Then this water was sold in tubs transported by cars. They were in use until the first half of the centuryXX.when they left because of the installation of modern water and irrigation in the post-war period and the disappearance of many crops.

Archaeological heritage

Reconstruction of the Roman villa located at the Museum of the Sea

• Roman Villa del Palmeral: This is a Roman villa of the centuryIVcontaining polychrome mosaics of geometric style. This mansion was the residence of a rich family, which would develop its activity in the Portus Illicitanus.

• Portus Illicitanus: The remains of the ancient port of the city of Illici, located in the Palmeral park, contain remains of a commercial area of the Roman city, with walls of houses, a small courtyard with aljibe from the I to the IV centuries and several warehouses. In its vicinity there has been a great Roman necropolis, similar in chronology to that of Tarragona.

Salina in Santa Pola

Natural heritage

• Natural Park of the Salinas de Santa Pola: Salinas has its origin in the old Albufera de Elche, which adopted its current configuration as a result of the installation of the saline farms at the end of the centuryXIX. They are declared natural park and ZEPA, given the constant presence of flamenco and plum. It has an extension of 2470 ha, using the salinera exploitation on the coast. The dynamics of the saline are to circulate the marine water through a raft circuit to obtain the salt concentration as a result of evaporation. Birds feed on fish and invertebrates that penetrate saline, while saline production benefits from the mineral wealth provided by the bird. In the flora the salts, the carrizals and the vegetation predominate. The Park Information Centre houses the Salt Museum, installed in an old saline mill.

• The mountain range and the mountain range: The mountain range is a cantile formation that rises 144 m above sea level, in whose foothills is the Santa Pola Cape, a space of great environmental interest. This structure is one of the few examples of fossil reefs, of miopliocenic origin, of the Mediterranean coast. This obvious geological importance is linked to an interesting vegetation and fauna. In addition, the Valencian System of Natural Spaces (SVENI) includes in its catalogue the Cabo and the Messiniense Reef of Santa Pola as a Geological Interest Route.

• Beaches: Santa Pola has more than 11 km of beaches. Urbans have most of the typical services, such as handicap access, passenas, lavapiés, help and cleaning service, public telephones, bus stops, sports games, etc. From north to south are the following:
  • Mare de Déu: It is the only one in the east that has typical characteristics of rocks and dark sand, resulting from its exhibition at the end of the Santa Pola Cape. It has a size of 830 m in length and 10 m in medium width.
  • Santa Pola del Este: It has a lot of services, especially in the summer season. The two coves in this sector are of fine sand; the rest of the area is of rocks. It has a dimensions of 1270 m in length and 15 m in medium width.
  • Playa Varadero: It is a semi-urban beach of fine sand. It is 475 meters long and 62 meters wide.
  • Calas de Santiago Bernabéu: Next to the beach of Levante, in the seaport, they form an artificial space complex south of the city. It is an urban beach, with dark sand and quiet waters, with a wide walk that runs it and from which you can access it through stairs and ramps. It has a dimensions of 1000 m in length and 30 m in width.
  • Gran Playa: It is located in the Gulf of Santa Pola, 70 m from the Yacht Club. It has a dimensions of 1100 m in length and 50 m in medium width.
  • Playa Lisa: Its extension is 600 meters and its average width of 120 m. He owes his name to his small slope.
  • Tamarit beach: It is located in the coastal area adjacent to the natural park of the Salinas de Santa Pola. Urban, it is of dark sand and holds the distinctive Blue Flag. It has a dimensions of 1100 m in length and 50 m in medium width.
    

    Playa de El Pinet and in the background the salts of Santa Pola
  • Pinet Beach: It is located next to the natural park of the Salinas de Santa Pola and is part of the space protected by the Conselleria de Medio Ambiente. Gold sand, its length is 3200 m and its average width of 20 m.

Culture

Museums

Access to the Museum of the Sea

• Museum of the Sea: It focuses on the history of Santa Pola, with six main themes: Prehistory, the Iberians, the Roman port, the Fortification of the coast, fishing and the Salinas.

• Fisheries Museum: They focus on the different aspects in which the sea has affected and affects people's lives: navigation, cartography, marine traditions, riverside carpentry, port, religious cult, trade, everyday life, etc.

• Municipal Aquarium: Inaugurated in 1983, it is the oldest in the Valencian Community and has 9 great exhibitors that reveal the flora and fauna of the Mediterranean. Most of the species that collect the aquarium have been donated by the sailors of Santa Pola.

• Salt Museum: It is located in the facilities of an old salt mill, in the natural park of the Salinas de Santa Pola. Officially recognized on 20 June 1991, it exposes and explains various aspects of salt, such as its uses, its characteristics, its importance in history, its consumption and its past and current exploitation, while making a tour of the old mill. It has a bird observatory and the possibility to make guided tours to the natural park of the Salinas.

Parties

• Mig Any: It takes place on the first weekend of the month of March, as a prelude to the Feasts of Moors and Christians that are held half a year later, in September.

• Romería del Cap: It is celebrated in June in honor of the Virgin of the Rosary.

Virgen del Carmen

• Virgen del Carmen: On July 16th with Masses, a floral offering to the missing fishermen, procession and fireworks.
  

  Procession of the Virgin of Carmen
• From August 31 to September 8 the feasts of Moros and Christians and Patronial Feasts are celebrated in honor of the Virgin of Loreto, with disembarkation, embassies, conquest and reconquest of Moors and Christians, parades, fireworks, floral offering to the patron, procession, children's games and sport competitions. Some featured events are: September 1st: Embassy Mora Front Fortaleza asks for Castle surrender to the Christian Bando. It strikes, surrenders and takes it from the hues. 2 September: Christian Reconquista: simulated combat, surrender and surrender of the square by the Bando Moro. September 3: Entrance of Moors and Christians. September 6: Multi-colored parade of floats and compartments by the Unió de Festers and Castillo de Fuegos Artificiales. September 7: Offer Floral to Our Patrona the Virgin of Loreto in the Chapel of Fortaleza Castle and Pyrotechnic Show. September 8: Solemn Procession of Our Patron. Artificial Fire Castle and Powerful Final Bomb.

• Venida de la Virgen de Loreto: On the 10th day the Venida de la Virgen de Loreto is commemorated to Santa Pola, with a small procession from the port to its chapel. According to the legend, in 1643, a fisherman for another port was forced to reheat in Santa Pola because of a temporary fort; on the boat he traveled as a passenger an image of the Virgin of Loreto. When the time was over, the ship was made to the sea and had to return to port three times more before it could leave, so the crew and authorities understood that the Virgin of Loreto wished to stay in Santa Pola.

Gastronomy

The basis of Santapolera gastronomy is fish and rice, seasoned with olive oil, saffron, ñoras, cloves and salt. Arroz a banda and black rice are traditional, as well as stews: bollitori , grouper gazpacho, lobster stew and the typical caldero.

Languages

Santa Pola, in accordance with article 35 of Law 4/1983, of November 23, on the use and teaching of Valencian, is a town where the Valencian language predominates. In addition, and as recognized in the 1978 Spanish Constitution in its 3rd article, Valencian is co-official along with Spanish. The latest INE survey of linguistic uses confirms that 90% of the population knows Valencian. Besides, and especially in the residential neighborhood of Gran Alicante, other languages originated by migratory processes are spoken, especially English.

The Valencian dialect variety spoken is the Alicante subdialect. The characteristic linguistic elements include the loss of the final intervocalic d (tired = /cansà/); vowel assimilation (terra = /tɛrrɛ/); the use of the sonorous ese in the ending -ció (combinació = /combinazió/) and in word-final s followed by a vowel; autochthonous lexicon (mamola, arritranco, avixirugo); etc The speech of Santa Pola also presents some characteristics of Eastern Catalan, which means that, on some occasions, the phonetics of Santa Pola are closer to the speech of Tarragona or Barcelona than to those of Valencia.

The philologist and ecclesiastic Antoni Maria Alcover passed through Santa Pola to collect data for what would become the Catalan-Valencian-Balearic Dictionary. At that time, at the beginning of the XX century, he considered Santa Pola as the southern border of the Catalan language. Today this statement has been rectified to consider the neighboring town of Guardamar as the southernmost Valencian-speaking town.

Sports

Santa Pola's climate is conducive most of the year for jogging, hiking, cycling, mountain biking or paragliding. In addition, the protected situation of the bay is favorable to windsurfing, kitesurfing, sailing, swimming, paddle sup or scuba diving.

Since 1990, the Villa de Santa Pola Half Marathon has brought together more than 6,000 athletes every January, while the Pepe Bonet Memorial Cross Duathlon usually has about 900 participants. The Tabarca-Santa Pola Swimming Crossing is the one with the greatest participation in open sea events from an island to the coast. The popular Carrera al Dawn which has been held since 1994 on the last Sunday of August and takes place at dawn along the different promenades.