Santa Pola

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Harbour of Santa Pola.

Santa Pola is a coastal town located in the comarca of Baix Vinalopó in the Valencian Community, Spain, by the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of 58.6 km² and, according to the 2003 census, a total population of 22,253 inhabitants.

The town has an important salt evaporation pond known as the salines which remains in business, additionally, most of it is recognized as the Natural Park of Salines de Santa Pola, an important RAMSAR site. The town was settled over the ruins of a Roman village called Portus Ilicitanus (literally, Harbour of Elx); after being abandoned for decades, then a castle was constructed in the 16th century which marked the repopulation of Santa Pola. The town has an archeological museum covering these phases.

Santa Pola is, at present, a coastal fishing and tourist town. Population more than doubles during the summer, with people coming mostly from the rest of the Alicante province, also from the Basque autonomous community, Madrid, France and the UK, just to mention some. The nearby island of Tabarca (part of Alicante) can be visited by ship.

The more modern part of Santa Pola is called Gran Alacant, inside the Alicante bay area, and now accounts for over one third of the population. Next to it is the Carabasi area, a nature preserve. Gran Alacant lies only a few kilometres from Alicante's international airport.