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Calpe () or Calp () is a coastal
municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...
located in the ''comarca'' of
Marina Alta Marina Alta (, "Upper Marina") is a central and coastal ''comarca'' of the autonomous community of Valencia, Spain. The ''comarca'' is located in the area of Alicante and its capital and largest settlement is the city of Dénia. Marina Alta b ...
, in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, Spain, by the
Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...
. It has an area of and a
population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...
of . The city lies at the foot of the
Penyal d'Ifac Natural Park Penyal d'Ifac Natural Park ( ca-valencia, Parc Natural del Penyal d'Ifac, es, Parque Natural del Peñón de Ifach) is a natural park (Spain), natural park situated in Calpe, in the Valencian Community, Spain. The Penyal d'Ifac is a massive limes ...
. In 2022 the population was 24,096 inhabitants. The economy of Calpe is based mainly on tourism and fishing. Many Iberian,
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...
and Arab
archeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...
s exist in the town because of its strategic coastal location. The
Prime Meridian A prime meridian is an arbitrary meridian (a line of longitude) in a geographic coordinate system at which longitude is defined to be 0°. Together, a prime meridian and its anti-meridian (the 180th meridian in a 360°-system) form a great ...
crosses Calpe.


History

There are some remains that testify 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 Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, a ...
of the
Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, def ...
. The township's proximity to the sea favoured marine trade and fish factories. Evidence is 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 Crown of Aragon ( , ) an, Corona d'Aragón ; ca, Corona d'Aragó, , , ; es, Corona de Aragón ; la, Corona Aragonum . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of ...
, 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 Roger of Lauria (''c''. 1245 – 17 January 1305) was a Neapolitan admiral in Aragonese service, who was the commander of the fleet of the Crown of Aragon during the War of the Sicilian Vespers. He was probably the most successful and tal ...
, who ordered for a village named Ifach to be built in the proximity of the Rock of Ifach. In 1359, the battle between the then monarch
Peter IV of Aragon Peter IV, ; an, Pero, ; es, Pedro, . In Catalan, he may also be nicknamed ''el del punyalet'': "he of the little dagger". (Catalan: ''Pere IV''; 5 September 1319 – 6 January 1387), called the Ceremonious (Catalan: ''el Cerimoniós''), w ...
and
Peter I of Castile Peter ( es, Pedro; 30 August 133423 March 1369), called the Cruel () or the Just (), was King of Castile and León from 1350 to 1369. Peter was the last ruler of the main branch of the House of Ivrea. He was excommunicated by Pope Urban V for ...
in the
War of the Two Peters The War of the Two Peters ( es, La Guerra de los Dos Pedros, ca, Guerra dels dos Peres) was fought from 1356 to 1375 between the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon. Its name refers to the rulers of the countries, Peter of Castile and Peter IV of ...
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 building, 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 The Barbary pirates, or Barbary corsairs or Ottoman corsairs, were Muslim pirates and privateers who operated from North Africa, based primarily in the ports of Salé, Rabat, Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli. This area was known in Europe ...
in 1687. 290 townsfolk were captured and taken to Algeria, where they were imprisoned for five years, until their liberation in exchange for gold and the release of pirate prisoners. Then, 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 then, the increase in the population forced many inhabitants 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, were not 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. 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 The Costa Blanca (, , literally meaning "White Coast") is over of Mediterranean coastline in the Alicante province, on the southeastern coast of Spain. It extends from the town of Dénia in the north, beyond which lies the Costa del Azahar (or ...
, there was a tremendous boom in construction in Calpe because of political change and the emergence of tourism as a phenomenon of the masses. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Calpe became the filming location for the films of Spanish Film director
Jesus Franco Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
.


Main sights

Some of the most important monuments are the ruins of ''Els banyas de la reina'' (the queen's baths), the flooded salt flats, a bird sanctuary for migratory birds, its
Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chri ...
and the 18th-century
tower A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures. Towers are specific ...
of ''La Peça''. The
Penyal d'Ifac Natural Park Penyal d'Ifac Natural Park ( ca-valencia, Parc Natural del Penyal d'Ifac, es, Parque Natural del Peñón de Ifach) is a natural park (Spain), natural park situated in Calpe, in the Valencian Community, Spain. The Penyal d'Ifac is a massive limes ...
is also a popular tourist destination.


Twin towns

Calpe is twinned with: *
Oppenheim Oppenheim () is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The town is a well-known wine center, being the home of the German Winegrowing Museum, and is particularly known for the wines from the Oppenheimer Kröten ...
, Germany *
El Puerto de Santa María EL, El or el may refer to: Religion * El (deity), a Semitic word for "God" People * EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer * El DeBarge, music artist * El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American ...
, Spain


References


External links

*
Official website
{{authority control Marina Alta Municipalities in the Province of Alicante Seaside resorts in Spain