Alicante

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Image:Alicante, Spain location.png Alicante (Castillian Spanish) or Alacant (Valencian Catalan) is the capital of the province of Alicante and of the comarca of the Alacantí, in the southern part of the Valencian community, Spain, a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city of Alicante proper was 319,380, estimated as of 2005, of the entire urban area, 427,217. Population of the metropolitan area (including satellite towns) was 711,215 as of 2005 estimates, ranking as the eighth-largest metropolitan area of Spain.

Image:Alicante Spain townhall.jpg Alicante is one of the fastest-growing cities in Spain. Its economy is based upon tourism in the beaches from Costa Blanca coast, wine production, services and administration. It exports wine, olive oil, and fruit, and has light industries, including food-processing, leather, textiles, and pottery. turrones (torrons in Catalan) —a honey and almond nougat—is a food specialty of Alicante.

Image:Alicante Spain marina.jpg The city has regular ferry services to the Balearic Islands, and an international airport is nearby. It is strongly fortified, with a spacious harbor. Amongst the most notable features of the city is its castle, the "Castillo de Santa Barbara", which sits high above the city upon a cliff. The most important festival, the Bonfires of Saint John, takes place at the time of the summer solstice, and they are declared of international touristic interest. Another well-known festival is Moros y Cristianos in any quarter of the city, such as Altozano or Saint Blase.

The city is the headquarters of the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market. Image:Alicante Spain - the city and the sea.jpg

1 Population
2 History
3 Famous citizens
4 External links

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Population

The population of *Alicante in 2005 was 325,797 inhabitants, 711,215 in the metropolitan area "Alicante-Elx". About 15% of the population is foreign, mostly those from Argentina, Ecuador, and Colombia.

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History

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Pre 20th Century History

The area around Alicante has been inhabited for over 7000 years, with the first tribes of hunter gatherers moving down gradually from Central Europe between 5000 and 3000 BC. Some of the earliest settlements were made on the slopes of Mount Benacantil, where the Castillo de Santa Barbara stands today. By 1000 BC Greek and Phoenician traders had begun to visit the eastern coast of Spain, establishing small trading ports and introducing the native Iberian tribes to the alphabet, iron and the pottery wheel. By the sixth century BC, the rival armies of Carthage and Rome began to invade and fight for control of the Iberian Peninsula. The Carthaginian general Hamilcar established the fortified settlement of Akra Leuke, where Alicante stands today.

Although the Carthaginians conquered much of the land around Alicante, they were in the end no match for the Romans, who ended up ruling Iberia for over 700 years. By the fifth century Rome was in decline, with Alicante more or less under the control of the Visigoth warlord Teodmiro. Neither the Romans nor the Goths, however, put up much resistance to the Arab occupation of the area, which brought oranges, rice, palms and the gifts of Islamic art and architecture. The Moors ruled Southern and Eastern Spain until the 11th century reconquista (reconquest). Alicante was finally taken in 1246 by the Castellan king Alfonso X, and the last Muslim rulers left Spain for North Africa in 1492.

After centuries of war, Alicante enjoyed a siglo de oro (golden age) during the 15th century, rising to become a major Mediterranean trading station exporting rice, wine, olive oil, oranges and wool. But between 1609 and 1614 King Felipe III expelled thousands of Arabs who had remained in Valencia after the reconquista. This act of intolerance cost the region dearly; with so many skilled artisans and agricultural labourers gone, the Christian feudal nobility found itself sliding into bankruptcy. Things got worse when in the early 16th century Alicante, along with the rest of Valencia, backed Carlos in the War of Spanish Succession. Felipe won, and he punished the whole region by withdrawing the semi-autonomous status it had enjoyed since the time of the reconquista. Alicante went into a long, slow decline, surviving through the 18th and 19th centuries by making shoes and growing oranges, and relieving its frustration with occasional attempts at rebellion.

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Modern History

By the early 20th century the whole of Spain was almost at the point of revolution. Amid growing civil unrest, after years of sponsoring a failed military dictatorship, King Alfonso XIII abdicated the throne, and in 1931 a Spanish Republic was declared. A left-wing coalition of communists and socialists narrowly won the subsequent elections. In 1936, General Francisco Franco led an uprising, supported by Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany, to re-establish the authority of the Catholic church, the army and the aristocracy. After three years of bloody civil war, Franco's armies were victorious; Alicante was one of the last cities loyal to the government to be overcome.

The next 20 years under Franco's police state were wretched ones for Alicante, with severe frosts in 1941 and 1946 adding to the problems of local orange farmers. Franco died at last in 1975, with his successor King Juan Carlos I guiding Spain towards democracy. Regional governments were given more power, and the cities of Valencia were permitted an autonomy they had not been allowed for four centuries.

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Recent History

At the start of the 21st century, in this New Spain, Alicante is the Valencia region's second-largest town. What used to be a rather shabby port has spruced itself up and become a rather attractive town. As a result, it's starting to attract waves of daytrippers looking for the 'real' Spain.

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