Peníscola () or Peñíscola (), anglicised as Peniscola, is a

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 go ...

in the Province of Castellón,

Valencian Community The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid with ...

, Spain. The town is located on the Costa del Azahar, north of the

Serra d'Irta Serra d'Irta (, es, Sierra de Irta) is an 18.8 km long mountain range in the Baix Maestrat comarca, Valencian Community, Spain. Its highest point is Pico Campanelles (573 m). Location The Serra d'Irta stretches in a northeast-southwest ...

along the

Mediterranean 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 the e ...

coast. It is a popular tourist destination.

History

Peniscola, often called the "

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

", and locally as "The City in the Sea", is a fortified seaport, with a lighthouse, built on a rocky headland about 220 feet (67 m) high, and joined to the mainland by only a narrow strip of land ( tombolo). ''Peníscola'' is a local evolution of Latin ''

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

''. The history of the place goes back to the

Iberians The Iberians ( la, Hibērī, from el, Ἴβηρες, ''Iberes'') were an ancient people settled in the eastern and southern coasts of the Iberian peninsula, at least from the 6th century BC. They are described in Greek and Roman sources (among ...

. Later the town became Phoenician, named ''Tyreche'', then Greek, under the name ''Chersonesos'' (meaning "peninsula"). It was next captured by the

Carthaginians The Punic people, or western Phoenicians, were a Semitic people in the Western Mediterranean who migrated from Tyre, Phoenicia to North Africa during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term ''Punic'' – the Latin equivalent of the ...

under

Hamilcar Barca Hamilcar Barca or Barcas ( xpu, 𐤇𐤌𐤋𐤒𐤓𐤕𐤟𐤁𐤓𐤒, ''Ḥomilqart Baraq''; –228BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman, leader of the Barcid family, and father of Hannibal, Hasdrubal and Mago. He was also father-in-l ...

; legend has it that this is the place where he made his son

Hannibal Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Puni ...

swear an oath that he would never be a friend of Rome. The present castle was built by the

Knights Templar , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

between 1294 and 1307. In the fourteenth century it was garrisoned by the

Knights of Montesa The Order of Montesa ( va, Ordre de Montesa, Aragonese and es, Orden de Montesa) is a Christian military order, territorially limited to the old Crown of Aragon. It was named after the castle of Montesa, its headquarters. Templar background T ...

, and in 1420 it reverted to 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 B ...

. From 1415 to 1423 it was the home of the schismatic Avignon pope Benedict XIII (Pedro de Luna), whose name is commemorated in the ''Castell del Papa Luna'', the name of the medieval castle, and ''Bufador del Papa Luna'', a curious cavern with a landward entrance through which the seawater escapes in clouds of spray.

The castle

The castle where Benedict lived from 1417 until his death in 1423 was restored, improved and new walls were added in 1960 when Anthony Mann's film ''

El Cid Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (c. 1043 – 10 July 1099) was a Castilian knight and warlord in medieval Spain. Fighting with both Christian and Muslim armies during his lifetime, he earned the Arabic honorific ''al-sīd'', which would evolve into El ...

'' was partially filmed there. The town and castle of Peníscola played the role of

. The castle is now a popular tourist attraction and the beaches and surrounding area are a popular family holiday resort.

Music festivals

Each summer, Peniscola hosts two music festivals : the International Festival of Ancient and Baroque Music (since 1996) and the International Jazz Festival of Peniscola (since 2004). At the beginning of August, a pyromusical show opens the International Festival of Ancient and Baroque Music.El Mundo, 08/02/2019
La Pirotécnica Peñarroja iluminará el piromusical de Peñíscola
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Film festival

Peniscola hosted an annual comedy film festival that draws Spanish and foreign actors and filmmakers, and features screenings in historic venues. That the festival celebrates comedy is a natural fit; the city was the backdrop for

Luis García Berlanga Luis García-Berlanga Martí (12 June 1921 – 13 November 2010) was a Spain , Spanish film director and screenwriter. Acclaimed as a pioneer of modern Spanish cinema, his films are marked by social satire and acerbic critiques of Spanish culture ...

's comedic masterpiece ''

Calabuch ''Calabuch'' (US title: ''The Rocket From Calabuch'') is a 1956 comedy film directed by Luis García Berlanga. Synopsis Calabuch is a little village in the coast of Spain. There arrives Dr. George Hamilton (Edmund Gwenn), a scientist expert in ...

''.

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peniscola Municipalities in the Province of Castellón Baix Maestrat Seaside resorts in Spain Phoenician colonies in Spain