Altea

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For other uses, see Altea (disambiguation).
Altea
Coat of arms of Altea
Coat of Arms
Location
Coordinates : 38°35′55″N, 0°3′7″W
Time zone : CET (GMT +1)
- summer : CEST (GMT +2)
General information
Native name Altea (Valencian)
Spanish name Altea

nickname =
Administration
Country Spain
Autonomous Community Valencian Community
Province Alicante
Comarca Marina Baixa
Geography
Land Area 34.43 km²
Altitude 62 m AMSL
Population
Population 21,898 (2006)
Density 636 hab./km² (2006)
A street of Altea by night
A street of Altea by night

Altea is a Valencian town and municipality located in the province of Alicante, Spain, north of Benidorm on the section of Mediterranean coast called the Costa Blanca. It has an area of 34.4 km² and, according to the 2002 census, a total population of 17,608 inhabitants.

At present, the economy of Altea is based on tourism, which started to grow in the 1950s because of its good weather, beaches and the beauty of its labyrinthine streets with whitewashed house-fronts. Altea is protected on the north by the bluffs of the Serra Bernia, creating an especially mild microclimate. Its seafront esplanade is planted with palms.

La Mare de Déu del Consol
La Mare de Déu del Consol

The Iberian coastal settlements at the mouth of the Algar River in the wide Bay of Altea were joined by a Greek marketplace, named Althaia.[1] During the Moorish domination the land around Altea belonged to the Taifa de Denia until it was recaptured by Christian Spaniards in 1244 under James I of Aragon. The town was quickly fortified, and walls were erected to enclose what is now known as the "old town" from outsiders. This maze of cobbled narrow and crooked streets with glimpses of the bay is one of the better features of the town. One of its places of tourist interest is the church of La Mare de Déu del Consol ("Our Lady of Solace"), easily identifiable by its picturesque blue and white domes, tiled with glazed ceramics.

Streets of Altea
Streets of Altea

Altea shares a campus of the University Miguel Hernández.

The city is a member of Douzelage.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Althaia, with an implication of curative power, was the name of several nymphs in Greek mythology, and of the mother of Meleager.

[edit] External links

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Municipalities of Marina Baixa
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