This important site, declared an Asset of Cultural Interest, was found in the process of opening Castillo Street, which was planned in this place and was rejected before the discovery. The Aljau Castle would be one of the fortifications of the town of Aspe el Nuevo, a site located on the plain in the second half of the 13th century, after forcing the abandonment of the Castillo del Río, known as Aspe el Viejo. For a time, the two urban centers survived as demonstrated by a privilege granted by Alfonso X El Sabio to Alicante, dated 1252, in which "Azpe el Viejo" and "Azpe el Nuevo" are repeatedly mentioned. The remains could be defined as a fortification Aragon plant, or quadrangular with towers in the corners, and central courtyard. The access, of which there are remains, seems to be organized with a corridor in a bend protected by a circular border that enables a corridor that surrounds the floor of the patio, without knowing where it ends. Without being discovered the end of the system, resembles the access of the main domus of the Castle of Castile, also dated in the middle of the XIV century. Next to this fortification the remains of a house with several rooms where the home and a jar embedded in the pavement have been documented. Although the state of conservation of these last remains is low, the structures that separate the rooms and the access door to it are distinguished. This house shows a somewhat later chronology, centered on the fifteenth century, which may correspond to an area of extra-urban outskirts, located on the edge of the castle to guarantee its protection.
Original building of 1922 that was acquired by the City Council in the early eighties, when it was practically doomed to his disappearance. After several years of rehabilitation work, it was inaugurated on February 16, 1995. Since its inception, it has been distinguished by the diversity of activities carried out in it, with a program designed to meet the cultural demands of the citizens of Aspe. The interior has been completely reconstructed, but it respects the three own bodies that we find in all the theaters: lobby, hall and scene. It has a capacity of 550 seats distributed in 290 of patio, 63 of boxes and 197 of amphitheater. The theater lobby is equipped to host exhibitions.
At the entrance to the Parque de L´Aigüera a very different monument greets visitors: The new Town Hall, colloquially known as the ‘floorscraper’. The unique structure has aroused the interest of many architects and a lot of people come to visit it. The building is like a bridge which acts as a doorway to the green zone ‘L´Aigüera’ park. It juts out horizontally and you can walk underneath it. This 'horizontal skyscraper' is supported by four pillars. The glass façade is covered with thick slats with the names and surnames of the over 60,000 inhabitants of Benidorm from the year when its construction was finished.
The ancestral home of the Rovira family (17th & 18th Centuries). The family crest is to be found on the façade on the top floor. The crown was removed from this crest during the Second Republic. The Rovira family originally procedes from Catalonia and came to the Kingdom of Valencia towards the end of the 12th century. There are records of this family in Xixona going back to 1421. Throughout modern times family members have been leaders in local civic life. However, some of the more exalted members of the family moved to the neighbouring town of Alicante. With the passing of time some of those in the family who resided in Xixona adapted to the changing times and became active in the growing cottage industry, turrón (nougat) making. At the end of the 19th century several companies had been created and were destined to play a major role in the economy of the town at the beginning of the twentieth century.
This baker’s attests to the importance of bread as a staple in the time when it was constructed. It is of Arab origin and medieval characteristics documented as far back as the beginning of the 16th century. It is said to be one of the oldest in all of the Valencian Community and is a true architectural gem. Nowadays it is still fully functioning. It is well-known for its typical Jijona buns such as tonyetes (almond, flour and cinnamon), doblades which are only made for All Saints’ Day, cupcakes (madalenas) and tortadas (almond tortes) as well as a long list of other puddings and sweet dishes. The local bakers and confectioners make buns, sweets and other delicacies for all the visitors who would like to try the traditional Jijona confectionary.
It is installed in a stately building built in 1857. It has the uniqueness of having some curious arcades in the ground with a corridor that serves the small square "dels Portxins".
Is located at the foot of the castle and was built to commemorate the spot where the old hermitage of Saint George was set. It was devoted to Saint George, but today it no longer exists. It was the oldest hermitage in Banyeres, as it can be inferred by taking into account its location, so its construction may very well date back to between the 13th and the 15th centuries. There are only a few remains: one of its corners. According to photographic evidence it can be assured that by the end of the 19th century or in the early 20th it was still standing. This hermitage was also known as the one of El Conjurador because of the ability that the Saint had to conjure storms and evils before the pleas of the people gathered around his image. The current monument is located in a viewpoint overlooking the mountain and it allows the visitor to admire the natural environment that surrounds the town.
It is a tower built at the beginning of the 16th century, located at one of the entries to the town. This tower has undergone many variations in its structure, especially from the middle of the 19th century, when it was integrated as a part of a two-storey house. It is unknown which family it belongs to, but we know that the building is characterized as a country building of low nobility rank, possibly typical of a knight and associated to agricultural properties and to the means of communication between Bocairent and Banyeres. It is a square building with an approximate height of 18 m. It was built with externally uncoated masonry walls. The corners, cornices and lintels of holes and arches are made of ashlar masonry.
A Renaissance watchtower, which was part of the coastal defensive system developed during the 16th and 17th centuries to defend the coast from the attacks of Barbaresque pirates. Although there are documents proving the existence of three towers in the natural park’s limits, the Gerro tower, a Renaissance fort (16th c.) is the only still remaining. It is one of the coast’s most outstanding towers. It has a circular shape, shaped like a truncated cone divided in 2 parts featuring a King Charles V coat-of-arms, supported by three cantilevers. The tower owes its name to its strange shape as a “pitcher or gerro” (a valencian language word for jar or pitcher). SITUATION How to get there: from the last regular bus tine in les Rotes Road (next to Restaurant Mena) we follow the road towards the east some 50 metres up to Via Làctia Street. Going up this street there is a fence that forbids vehicles from passing to the access way to the path leading to.
The EXCELLENT TOWN HALL OF BENEJÚZAR was inaugurated on October 20, 1988, structured on two floors, ground floor and basement, where the "Municipal Archive" is located, with documents dating from 1630, that is, from the old site of the municipality. In it the municipal offices are located, presiding in the Plenary Hall the original coat of arms of the old palace of the Rosell, founders of Benejúzar. As for the exterior, we can highlight the existing mural on the façade, which represents the earthquake that hit Benejúzar in 1829 and that shaped its current location and structure. We owe this fascinating work to D. Francisco Pérez Rubio, a well-known local painter.
Download your Alicante guide!