Situated in the old church square, it was a project for an academistic temple approximately in the middle of the XIX Century. Feature writers say that “when a good part of the building had been done, the vault collapsed, leaving the entire building in ruins”. After having come to terms with the disaster, the works continued, only with the same misfortune to happen again a few years later. At the end of the XIX Century, an earthquake turned the new church into what was known in the town as the “broken church” (Bonmatí, 1981). Between 1935 and 1938 the current wholesale food market was constructed in its place. The grounds house several different businesses which offer fresh homemade products.
El Clot de Galvany is a Municipal Natural Area located in the rural areas of El Altet and Los Balsares within the municipality of Elche, Alicante. Given its great environmental value has been declared in addition to Municipal Natural Area, Biological Station, Site of Community Interest (LIC) and Special Protection Area for Birds (ZEPA) on a large part of its surface. In its 366.31 hectares, it is possible to differentiate several ecosystems in which there is great diversity, both of flora and fauna, of high biological value due to its scarcity and degree of threat. You can also find fossil outcrops and geological formations of great interest. In addition there are elements of the archaeological and ethnographic heritage. It is an endorheic basin surrounded by a set of small elevations and closed to the sea by a coastal dune cord. In this physical environment, diverse ecosystems and ecotones converge, that is, spaces of transition between ecosystems, which generate a great biological diversity. Despite semi-arid and climatic conditions (thermo-Mediterranean), there is a very small space in which there is great geological deviry, an important variety of soils, a great biodiversity and a rich paleontological, geological and anthropic heritage.
The Escaletes Tower, also known as Torre i Pep, has a circular floor plan and its main function consisted of the surveillance of this maritime sector, paying special attention to any enemy vessel that could have hidden in the nearby island of Tabarca. In that case, he had to immediately send warning signals to the Atalaiola tower and the Castillo-Fortaleza de Santa Pola. The Vigía Towers were built in 1552, under the reign of Felipe II. They are strategically located to spot the enemy before it reaches the coast and communicate with each other through smoked by day and by night luminaries. They are: Torre del Tamarit in Las Salinas, Escaletes in the Sierra and Atalayola in the current lighthouse. His custody was entrusted to four attackers: two on foot, who carried out continuous surveillance, and two on horseback, who controlled the route between two towers: communication, request for help, etc. Both the Escaletes Tower and the Atalayola (current Faro) had guards on foot, but not on horseback, so the liaison function was carried out by the two atajadores of the castle.
El Portalet Palace was built in the middle of the 18th century. It receives its name to be located on the corner between the street of Labradores and known as Portalet de Capuchinas, now Calle de Santo Tomás, and whose name is due to the existence of a door, located at the end of the street, which allowed to cross the wall, that passed by the Rambla, to arrive at the Convent of the Capuchinas. Today the palace is the result of a multitude of reforms that its residents carried out over three centuries and is shown to us as a living testimony of the history of the city of Alicante. In the 19th century part of the building was managed by the Maisonnave-O'Connor family. At the end of the 19th century it was the headquarters of the Philharmonic Society, of the Federal Republican Party, and here was the writing of its newspaper La Federación. At the beginning of the twentieth century the building accommodated the Provincial Mercantile Montepio of Alicante, whose presence is due to the exquisite decoration of the interiors of the Noble Hall where this association organized a multitude of parties, charities, and conferences. Under the direction of this organization, during the first half of the 20th century the most important reforms were carried out in this house with the transformation of the interior spaces and the addition of the top floor. The current renovation has allowed the building to be recovered in all its splendor and three of its rooms have been museumized, one on the ground floor that houses an Interpretation Center of the building itself, another on a mezzanine floor with the Spanish Guitar Collection Romanillos-Harris, and, finally, in the other mezzanine, the exhibition "Monumental Alicante of Vila Nova a la Vila Vella" that runs through our Casco Antiguo, through seven historical buildings. The noble floor itself has a huge interest. Regardless of the self-interest of the building's visit, the noble room and the third floor hall, as well as the roof, can host cyclical activities and extraordinary activities of relevance in the field of culture, outreach and social relations .
The Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art is a permanent institution of the Diocese of Orihuela - Alicante, non-profit and open to the public, which aims at the acquisition, conservation, restoration, study, exhibition and dissemination of collections or collections of goods of historical or artistic value, mainly religious and coming from the SI Cathedral of Orihuela and other churches and ecclesiastical institutions of the diocese. The Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art, lacks its own legal personality, being the owner of it the Bishopric of Orihuela - Alicante, is governed by its statutes and the canonical and civil provisions that are applicable. The Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art of Orihuela is located in front of the Cathedral of Orihuela in the heart of its historical center. It is a museum center that focuses on the integral management of cultural heritage, innovation and the use of the tools provided by information and communication technologies. The Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art of Orihuela has as main objectives: The study, protection, conservation, restoration, dissemination, and promotion of the Religious Cultural Heritage of Orihuela, its region and the territory of the diocese of Orihuela - Alicante, whether for its artistic, historical, archaeological, ethnographic, bibliographic or documentary interest. In particular, the exhibition with museographic techniques of the funds that he guards. The strengthening of this heritage as an important element in the economic development of the city of Orihuela and its municipal area. Those that favor the catechetical - pastoral service of the exhibits.
This tower is one of the few testimonies that have survived from the medieval walls built around La Vila, or first enclosure of Medieval Alcoi. Its construction was carried out throughout the second half of the 13th century. The tower’s basement, its entrance door and its four corners, made of blocks of stone are worth mentioning. The tapial (mould of two parallel panels used to build walls) was used in its construction. The tower was restored in 2002. Its strategic location guarantees a superb overview of the river Riquer and the area of the Tints.
L'Alfàs del Pi (Valencian pronunciation: [lalˈfaz ðel ˈpi]; Spanish: Alfaz del Pi) is a Valencian town and municipality located in the comarca of Marina Baixa, in the province of Alicante, Spain, lying at the foot of Serra Gelada. L'Alfàs del Pi has an area of 19.3 km² and, according to the 2013 census, a total population of 21,969 inhabitants. The town has the second largest concentration of Norwegian residents abroad, along with sizable Dutch and English communities.[1] The economy of L'Alfàs del Pi is mainly based on tourism. The most important monument in the city is the Catholic church of Crist del Bon Encert, built in 1784. The town's symbol is a pine tree, which can be found in the church square. It is home to a nationally renowned film festival which runs each year. L'Alfàs del Pi has created a planned sea-side community - Platja de l'Albir - situated between Benidorm to the south and Altea to the north in fields earlier dominated by citrus and almond groves. Since 1995, Albir has grown into a village of about 5,000 inhabitants; the majority of whom are originally from Northern Europe. L'Alfàs del Pi has the highest proportion of Norwegian speakers of any settlement anywhere in the world outside Norway.
El Cau is Mariano Ros's great little artistic project. A unique and wonderful outdoor place in the El Tabaià mountain range. This open-air museum is sculpted on the walls of an old quarry in Ferriol, one of the districts of Elche. From here the stone that was used to rebuild the church of Santa María was taken. Mariano Ros, retired shoemaker and mountain fan, spent years building and sculpting in stone a multitude of figures representing the life of the people of Elche. For eight years, from 2000 to 2008 (when he was forbidden to continue with his work because he was in the public forest), he dedicated himself to creating this emblematic, with the help of his friends Cándido, Vicente and Pere. Among all they made are numerous figures, among which the representations of the most emblematic monuments and icons of Elche stand out. Among all the figures carved in the rock we can find works that represent the Swamp (which was the other place we visited that same morning), the Palm Grove, the Lady of Elche, the Misteri, the Church of Santa María ... And much more. In this curious sculptural group we will also find other original works with which he wanted to pay homage to his family, to the women, to characters loved by the neighbors ... Some sculpted animals and, also some interesting construction, such as the Pyramid, the Tower of Ros or the Cau (a small room carved out of the stone. Hence its name. Cau means burrow). Without a doubt, it is one of those beautiful places to take photos in Elche that we must know. Next to a large stone table we find the refuge. Another room excavated in the rock, a little larger, that houses a table, several chairs and what seems to be some materials for the maintenance of the place. On the table there is a notebook that they have left so that visitors can leave their opinions. In addition to all his artistic work, various species of trees, shrubs and aromatic plants have been planted in El Cau. All native and typical of this arid terrain and the Mediterranean climate. The land on which this open-air museum in Elche is located is dry, arid and with very little water. El Cau is about 15 minutes by car from Elche. The path that takes us to the point where we can park the car is asphalt. So getting here is good and easy. It has no loss. Here we will see a sign carved in stone that indicates the direction we have to follow to get to the Cau. In Google Maps you can find the point where you can leave the car. From here, there will only be about 600 meters to reach El Cau. The path that leads from the place where we left the car to El Cau is quite short and easy to do, although it runs through a fairly stony area, so there is a lot of loose stone and it is also on a slope. Going up can cost us a little if we do it in the hottest hours. Keep in mind that it is a very arid area, so you should always carry a lot of water, do not forget your hat, sunglasses and good shoes. The route is very easy to follow since there are several signs drawn or sculpted in the rock, just walk and enjoy. It is worth climbing to the highest parts. Both from "El balcó d’Elx" and from the "Torre de Ros", the views are truly impressive.
The museum was opened in 1994 thanks to private donations and deposits. Here are showed the discoveries found in the local archaelogical sites. This museum's collection is currently divided into five sections: environment, fossils, archaeology, ethnology and numismatic. Its exhibitions allow us to obtian a global image of the development of this area through the time, as well as its resources. The Office of Mr. Gratiniano Baches is also part of the museum's permament exhibition. He was the first person to begin archaelogical studies in Pilar de la Horadada at the beginning of the 20th century.
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