Calpe

Calpe (Spanish: [ˈkalpe]), or Calp (Valencian: [ˈkaɫp]), is a coastal town located in the comarca of Marina Alta, in the province of Alicante, Spain, by the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of 23.5 km² and a population density of 855.45 persons/km². The town is located 67 km from the city of Alicante, lying at the foot of the Natural Park of Penyal d'Ifac.

The economy of Calpe is mainly based on tourism and fishing. Many Iberian, Roman and Arab archeological sites exist in the town, due to its strategic coastal location.

History

There are some remains which testifies the presence of inhabitants in the region of Calpe in prehistoric times; some remains date back to the Bronze Age. The first buildings were introduced by the Iberians, constructed on the higher grounds.

The Penyal d'Ifac (in Spanish Peñón de Ifach) was the natural lookout for the inhabitants that lived in the surrounding areas. Another lookout was the Morro de Toix Mountain, from which the Mascarat Ravine, an essential passage along the coast, could be controlled. The area gained in importance during the Romanization of the Iberian Peninsula. The township's proximity to the sea favoured marine trade and fish factories. Evidence of this are at the historical site Els Banys de la Reina (the Queen's Baths).

After the Arabs conquered Iberia, they built a castle overlooking the Mascarat Ravine. When the area was conquered by the Crown of Aragon, the Muslim administration was maintained: small townships set apart and protected by a castle or fortress. Therefore, the inhabitants of the region were dependent upon the Castle of Calpe.

In 1290 Calpe came under the control of the Aragonese admiral Roger of Lauria, who ordered that a village named Ifach be built in the proximity of the Rock of Ifach. In 1359, the battle between the then monarch Peter II of Aragon and Peter I of Castile in the War of the Two Peters caused the destruction of Ifac and a surge in the population of the Alqueria (from the Arabic Al-garya, meaning the "small town"). This rural edification, generally constructed on mountainsides, is of an austere nature and simple design. It is made up of one or two floors at the most, with just the one gallery.

In 1386, the administrative unit of the Castle of Calpe was divided into the towns currently known as Benissa, Teulada, Calpe, and Senija. The town was plundered by Barbary pirates in 1687. 290 townsfolk were captured and taken to Algeria, were they were imprisoned for 5 years until their liberation in exchange for gold and the release of pirate prisoners. In this period the town had 18 houses inside the castle walls and some 350 inhabitants. In the 17th century there was an increase in the population which gave rise to the consolidation of Calpe.

Towards the mid 18th century several projects arose to build a new fortified wall around the township, because by that point, due to the increase in the population, many inhabitants were forced to live outside the protection of the existing walls. During the 19th century the village developed towards the west. The basic axis of growth was along the route between Altea and Alicante.

During the second half of the 19th century the fishing industry began to take off throughout the region. Buildings such as the Fisherman's Cooperative were constructed and functioned alongside several existing factories dating from the end of the 18th century. These buildings, however, didn’t constitute a nucleus of population dedicated to fishing activities.

In 1918 the El Saladar salt flats were cleaned up and the production of salt could once again take place. Thanks to the technical innovations of the times bigger fishing vessels were constructed. The first small hotels arose in the area surrounding Els banys de la Reina and the Racó Beach, and catered to the emerging middle classes. The summer tourist trade increased substantially with the construction of the Ifach Parador in 1935.

In the period between 1945 and the end of the 1950s many holiday villas and small hotels were built to accommodate the flourishing summer tourist trade. The hotel trade in the region is located almost exclusively on the coastal area. During the second half of the 1960s, as happened along the rest of the Costa Blanca, there was a tremendous boom in construction in Calpe. This was due to political change and the emergence of tourism as a phenomenon of the masses.

Main sights

Some of the most important monuments in Calpe are the ruins of Els banys de la Reina, (the Queen's baths), the flooded salt flats, a bird sanctuary for migratory birds, its Gothic Catholic church and the tower of La Peça, dating from the 18th century.

Twin towns

Calp is twinned with:

Oppenheim, Germany
El Puerto de Santa María, Spain

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Calp.

v t e Municipalities of Marina Alta

Adsubia Alcalalí Beniarbeig Benidoleig Benigembla Benimeli Benissa Calpe Castell de Castells Dénia Gata de Gorgos Llíber Murla Ondara Orba Parcent Pedreguer Pego El Poble Nou de Benitatxell / Benitachell Els Poblets El Ràfol d'Almúnia Sagra Sanet y Negrals Senija Teulada Tormos La Vall d'Alcalà La Vall d'Ebo La Vall de Gallinera La Vall de Laguar El Verger Xàbia Xaló

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