El Puerto de Santa María
| El Puerto de Santa María | |||
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| — Municipality — | |||
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| Nickname(s): La ciudad de los 100 palacios (The city of the 100 palaces) | |||
| Motto: Puerto de Menesteo | |||
  El Puerto de Santa María
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| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Spain | ||
| Autonomous Community | Andalusia | ||
| Province | Cádiz | ||
| Comarca | Bay of Cádiz | ||
| Government | |||
| - Type | Ayuntamiento | ||
| - Mayor | Enrique Moresco (PP) | ||
| Area | |||
| - Total | 159.34 km2 (61.5 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 0 m (0 ft) | ||
| Population (2009)INE | |||
| - Total | 87,696 | ||
| - Density | 550.4/km2 (1,425.5/sq mi) | ||
| Demonym | Portuenses | ||
| Time zone | CET (GMT +1) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | CEST (GMT +2) (UTC) | ||
| Post code | 11500 | ||
| Area code(s) | +34956 | ||
| Website | Official website | ||
El Puerto de Santa María (Spanish: "The Port of Saint Mary", locally known as just El Puerto) is a municipality located on the banks of the Guadalete River in the province of Cádiz, Spain. As of 2009[update], the city has a population of c. 88,000, of which some 50,000 live in the urban center, and the remainder in the surrounding areas.
The town of El Puerto de Santa María is 10 km north east of Cádiz across the bay of Cádiz and is best known for its ferry El Vaporcito which has been in operation for 76 years carrying passengers to and from Cádiz to El Puerto.
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History
According to the legend told in the Odyssey of Homer, after the Trojan War a Greek official named Menestheus escaped with his troops through the Straits of Gibraltar and reached the Guadalete River. They established themselves here and called that port Menestheus's port.
In 711, Arab (Moors) from the North of Africa invaded southern Spain. They renamed the place Alcante or Alcanatif which means Port of Salt, due to the old salt industry of Phoenicians and Romans.
In 1260, Alfonso X of Castile conquered the city from the Moors and renamed it Santa María del Puerto. He organized the land distribution and conceded a charter under the Crown of Castile. In his Cantigas de Santa Maria CSM 367, Alfonso sings that he was miraculously healed of swollen legs after visiting his church of Santa Maríado Porto.
Christopher Columbus's second expedition to the Americas set sail from El Puerto de Santa María. His pilot, Juan de la Cosa drew his world map (the first including the coast of New World) in El Puerto in 1500.
Columbus visited El Puerto in 1480 and received encouragement for his travel plans. He also met Juan de la Cosa who issued the first world map in 1500.
El Puerto was the residence of several wealthy cargadores, merchants who operated Spain's trade with the Americas.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, it was the winter port of the royal galleys.
In the nineteenth century the city became the General Headquarters for the French Army during the War of Independence (Peninsular War) under the reign of Jose Bonaparte (1801-1812).
The town is seeped in history, museums and monuments. It is also within easy reach of the historical cities of Seville and Cádiz.
Geography
El Puerto de Santa María is located on the Atlantic coast of the Bay of Cádiz, near the municipalities of Jerez de la Frontera, Rota, Puerto Real, and Cádiz. It is popular for its beaches, which are the town's principal tourist attraction. Well known beaches include Vistahermosa, Valdelagrana, and La Puntilla. Like many other southern cities, there are many smaller towns encompassed by the municipality. There is also a major port, known as Puerto Sherry. A large amount of land has been devoted to the Bay of Cádiz Nature Reserve.
Economy
The most important economic activity is tourism, mainly because of the beaches, as well as the bullfights held at the arena during the summer. The town also hosts large groups of motorcyclists during the Jerez Motorcycle Grand Prix. There is commercial development in the center and periphery, and a highly developed wine industry.
Fiestas and festivals
Andalusians love colour, noise, crowds and pageant, dressing up and generally partying and have many opportunities to do so at the local fiestas, which are held annually. Listed are a few of the main fiestas in the area:
- Spring Carnival: Cadiz is the home of Carnival with fancy dress and parades in the streets usually ending on the Tuesday 47 days before Easter.
- Semana Santa: Holy Week the week that leads up to Easter Sunday is a wonderful time to enjoy the area with it’s street parades and long lines of penitents and big crowds. In El Puerto de Santa Maríathere are daily parades from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday.
- Campeonato de España ( Motorbikes Races): A weekend fiesta of music and dance in April World Championships of Motorcycling.
- Feria del Vino Fino (Spring's fair):El Puerto de Santa María's local week of fiesta, dancing sherry drinking and sevillana dancing this is usually in the middle of May. This is the principal festival is the Feria de Primavera (Spring Fair), held between the fifth and sixth week after Holy Week. In recent years, it has coincided with May 1.
- Romeria del Rocio: Festive pilgrimage of up to one million people to the village of Rocio in Almonte, Huelva usually around the third week of May.
- Hogueras de San Juan: Midsummer bonfires and fireworks on the beaches in most areas of Cádiz on the 23 June.
- Dia de la Virgen del Carmen: The patron Saint of El Puerto de Santa María and all fishermen is the Virgen Del Carmen and on the 16 July her imagine is taken from the local Church and carried into the sea on board on a fishing boat and then paraded around the town. A general day of festivities.
Main sights
El Puerto has a famous bullring which dates back to 1880 with space for 15,000 spectators.
Other sights include:
- Iglesia Mayor Prioral, known from 1486
- Castle of San Marcos, a fortified church built over the remains of a 10th century Islamic mosque. It was built by order of Alfonso X of Castile from 1364, also using parts of an ancient Roman edifice nearby.
- Monastery of the Victory (early 16th century), built by the Dukes of Medinaceli
- Hermitage of Santa Clara (16th-18th century)
- Convent of the Holy Spirit (15th century)
- Antigua Lonja ("Ancient Loggia"), located in the port and dating to the 18th century.
El Puerto de Santa María is situated in the middle of the Parque natural Bahia de Cádiz. This include two square kilometres of pine forest which form one part of the three ecosystems in the area. An endangered species of chameleon along with other reptiles and birds of immense variety can be found in the forest. The area boasts two other Natural parks, the Sierra de Grazalema and El Coto Donaña.
Events
Bullfighting is still enjoyed during the Feria season during the month of August, and during the Feria de la Primavera (Spring Fair) in early May. This Feria is dedicated to sherry wine and 180,000 half bottles are drunk in 4 days. There are several bodegas (wineries) in the town centre, all of which can be visited by the public. The most famous bodegas in El Puerto are Osborne and Terry both of which export sherry and brandy worldwide. In the cellars of El Puerto, the dry, pale sherry known as Fino is produced using the traditional method called solera. This method produces Fino, the sweet Muscatel, Amontillado and the older Oloroso.
Sister cities
Ermoupoli, Greece
Lagouira, Western Sahara
Coral Gables, USA
Texcoco, Mexico
Brighton, United Kingdom
Calp, Spain
Famous people
- Pedro Muñoz Seca, playwright
- Rafael Alberti, poet of the Spanish Generation of 1927
- Federico Rubio, surgeon
- Tomás el Nitri, flamenco singer
- Juan Modesto, Republican general
- Valentín Galarza Morante, minister of Francisco Franco
- El Negro, flamenco singer
- Pedro Pérez Fernández, playwright
- Martín de Garay, minister of finances
- Miguel del Pino, matador bullfighter
- Juan Antonio de Vizarrón y Eguiarreta, viceroy and archbishop
- Torcuato Benjumeda, architect
- Ramón Gaztelu, lawyer and philanthropist
- José Luis Galloso, bullfighter
- Hipólito Sancho de Sopranis, historian
- Manolo Prieto, painter
- Juan Lara, painter
- Francisco Javier de Burgos y Sarragoiti, journalist
- Luis de Coig y Sansón, mariner
- Javier Ruibal, folk singer
- Juan Carlos Arniz Sanz, writer
- Juan Manuel de Cañas, governor of Costa Rica
- Juan Carlos Jaén, scientist
- José Cordero de Torres, clockmaker
- Rafael Taboada Mantilla, musician
- Joaquín Sánchez Rodríguez, football player
- José Manuel Pinto, football player
- Ricardo Summers Ysern, painter and illustrator
- Francisco Javier de Uriarte y Borja, Captain General of the Spanish Navy.
- Francisco Andrés Gallardo, Journalist. Grupo Joly. Expert on International TV.
Gallery
 "La Muralla" beach from the sea |
 Sunset in Valdelagrana |
 San Marcos Castle |
 Ave María Square |
 Our Lady of Amargura |
 Bull ring |
 Galeras fountain |
 Penitente |
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Guadalete River |
.JPG) Puntilla Beach |
 Carnival 2007 |
See also
- History of Sherry
External links
- Hotels, Restaurants and Bars in El Puerto de Santa María
- Cultural Information of the Monuments and Museums of El Puerto de Santa María
- 360º Panoramic walk of El Puerto de Santa Maria
- Ask Olive a tourism and business site
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