Roman village called ''Portus Ilicitanus'' (literally, ''Harbour of
Elche''); after being abandoned for decades, then a castle was constructed in the 16th century which marked the repopulation of Santa Pola. The town has an archeological museum covering these phases.
Santa Pola is, at present, a coastal fishing and tourist town. Population more than doubles during the summer, with people coming mostly from the rest of the
Alicante province
Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a province of eastern Spain, in the southern part of the Valencian Community. It is the second most populated Valencian province. Likewise, the second and third biggest cities in the Valencian Community (Alica ...
, and also from the
Basque autonomous community,
Madrid,
France and the
UK, just to mention some. The nearby island of
Tabarca
Tabarca (, ), officially Nueva Tabarca and also known as ''Isla Plana'' (Spanish) and as ''Nova Tabarca'' and ''Illa Plana'' in Valencian, is an islet located in the Mediterranean Sea, close to the town of Santa Pola, in the province of Alican ...
(part of Alicante) can be visited by ship.
The new town of Gran Alacant, north of Santa Pola along the Alicante bay, accounts for about one third of the population of the district. Next to it is the Carabasi area, a nature reserve. Gran Alacant lies only a few kilometres from
Alicante Airport
Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in the ...
and a few hundred metres from the town of Los Arenales which is located in the Elche district.
In June 2009, the
Valencian Government announced that the
Alicante Tram
The Alicante Tram, trademarked as Alicante Metropolitan TRAM ( ca-valencia, TRAM Metropolità d'Alacant}, es, TRAM Metropolitano de Alicante), operates in the Spanish city of Alicante (Valencian Community) and its surrounding area. Like other na ...
system will be extended southwards via Alicante Airport and El Altet, to stations in Gran Alacant and Santa Pola and then onwards to
Guardamar and
Torrevieja before terminating in
Murcia.
Etymology
The name is derived from Saint Paula, itself derived from Saint Paul the apostle, who arrived at Tabarca island, as tradition holds. However, it is likely that the name comes from Latin "palus", thence "pauls", finally "pol".
History
The first settlements in the area remount to the third millennium BC, proof of which have been tools and paintings from the Neolithic found in the Cueva de las Arañas del Carabassí, as well as remains found from hunter-gatherers of the Palaeolithic in the Cueva de las Teresitas.
During the fourth century BCE, a small walled settlement was built near Vanalopó river. It served mainly as a Greek-Iberia economical hub.
During the first century CE, near the former site a port was built, serving the city of Illici, named Portus Illicitanus ( el, Ἰλλικιτάνος Λιμήν) (cited by
Claudius Ptolemy in
Geography).
This port proved paramount for the development of the region's maritime commerce, together with Cartagena's.
In 460 AC, emperor Majorians flotilla set sail to attack north African vandals, but was burnt at that same port.
From the Roman settlement a necropolis is still in place, as well as a fish-salting factory and the Roman House of Palmeral. Their remains are described as back as 1621 by Cristòfol Sanz, although they were excavated during the 20th century.
Economics
Economical activity in this region is based on agriculture, craft-making and fishing. 1.3% of the population was dedicated to agriculture in 2003, and that's only successful when coupled with artificial watering systems, needed for the 200 hectares of orange trees (102ha), mandarin trees (74ha), and pomegranate trees (18ha), together with 230ha used for vegetables such as melons, shallots, broccoli, etc.
Languages
According to article 35 of law n° 4/1983 (23 November), Santa Pola's official language is Valencian, together with Spanish (Spanish Constitution, article n°3, 1978). INE's latest census shows that 90% of the population speaks Valencian. There has been an increased positive trend in the influx of new language influences, in part due to immigration patterns in the region. This has caused suburbs such as Gran Alacant to have a significant population of English speakers.
Gallery
File:Santa Pola. Castillo. Puerta este 3.JPG, Door to Castle of Santa Pola
File:Torre de Tamarit, en las Salinas de Santa Pola.jpg, Tamarit Tower
File:Santa Pola. Salinas. Puesta de Sol 1.JPG, Sunset at las Salinas
File:Santa Pola. Castillo. Museu del Mar.JPG, Castle of Santa Pola, Maritime Museum
References
External links
Santa Pola in English.
City Overview with a Video and Pictures. From a local citizen. In English.
Granalacant Urbanization Granalacant Urbanization.
Gran Alacant's Website , Devoted to Gran Alacant http://www.mygranalacant.com
{{authority control
Municipalities in the Province of Alicante
Greek colonies in Iberia