province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

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 wi ...

Alicante 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 ...

Elche Elche ( ca-valencia, Elx) is a city and municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2014 data, Elche has a population of 228,647 inhabitants,Murcia on the southwest,

Albacete Albacete (, also , ; ar, ﭐَلبَسِيط, Al-Basīṭ) is a city and municipality in the Spanish autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha, and capital of the province of Albacete. Lying in the south-east of the Iberian Peninsula, t ...

on the west,

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

on the north, and 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 ...

on the east. The province is named after its capital, the city of

Alicante 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 ...

.

Territory, population and resources

According to the 2018 population data, Alicante ranks as the fourth most populous province in Spain (after

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

,

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

and

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

), with 1,838,819 inhabitants. Cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants in the province are

Alicante 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 ...

(334,757 inhabitants),

Elche Elche ( ca-valencia, Elx) is a city and municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2014 data, Elche has a population of 228,647 inhabitants,Torrevieja Torrevieja (; ca-valencia, Torrevella ) is a seaside city and municipality located on the Costa Blanca in the province of Alicante, in the southern part of the Valencian Community, on the southeastern Mediterranean coast of Spain. Torrevi ...

(101,792), Orihuela (86,164),

Benidorm Benidorm is a town and municipality in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, Valencia, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Benidorm has been a tourist destination within Spain since 1925, when its port was extended and the first hotel ...

(71,034), Alcoy (61,552), Elda (55,168), and San Vicente del Raspeig (53,126).Relación de unidades poblacionales
Instituto Nacional de Estadística The province has the largest ratio of foreigner population among all Spanish provinces. The total of 446,368 foreigners are registered in the province, which represents 23.6 percent of the total population.Uno de cada cuatro vecinos es extranjero en el 40% de los municipios alicantinos
May 16, 2009. Diario Información, provincial newspaper Out of 141 municipalities that make up the province, foreign population is above 25% in 54 municipalities, and above 50% in 19 municipalities. The latter include San Fulgencio (80%), Rojales (74%), Benitatxell (69.8%), Algorfa (69.7%), Llíber (67%), Teulada (65.5%), Daya Vieja (64.4%); San Miguel de Salinas (64.3%),

Calp Calpe () or Calp () is a coastal municipality located in the ''comarca'' of Marina Alta, in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, Spain, by the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of and a population density of . The city lies at the foot ...

(62.8%), Els Poblets (61.6%), Alcalalí (60.8%),

Benijófar Benijófar () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Vega Baja del Segura in the Valencian Community The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the four ...

(58.5%), L'Alfàs del Pi (56.6%), Orba (55%), Xàbia (54%),

Torrevieja Torrevieja (; ca-valencia, Torrevella ) is a seaside city and municipality located on the Costa Blanca in the province of Alicante, in the southern part of the Valencian Community, on the southeastern Mediterranean coast of Spain. Torrevi ...

(53.5%), Murla (52%), Fondó (51.7%), and

Benidoleig Benidoleig () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Marina Alta in the Valencian Community, Spain. Benidoleig is located in the Girona Valley of the Marina Alta area in Spain's Costa Blanca The Costa Blanca (, , literally meaning "White Co ...

(50%). From the 50 provinces of Spain, Alicante is the only one with three

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually ...

s—Alicante–Elche, Elda–Petrer and Benidorm—even though only one of them (Alicante–Elche) is ranked within the Spanish top ten metropolitan areas.El boom demográfico lleva a la provincia a ser la única con tres áreas metropolitanas
March 10, 2007. Diario Información, provincial newspaper It has an area of , and so it has a population density of 313.8 inhabitants/km².

Geography and climate

The province is mountainous, especially in the north and midwest, whereas it is mostly flat to the south, in the Vega Baja del Segura area; the most elevated points in the province are

Aitana Aitana (, ) is a mountain massif that is part of Prebaetic System in the eastern end of the Iberian Peninsula. Administratively, the mountainous area is located in the Marina Baixa, Alcoià and Comtat comarcas in the northern part of Alicante ...

(1,558 m),

Puig Campana Puig Campana (, literally translated in English as Bell Peak) is a mountain forming part of the Prebaetic System in the southeast of Spain. With an altitude of , it is the second-highest peak in the province of Alicante. Puig Campana is located ...

(1,410 m), Montcabrer (1,389 m), Carrascar de la Font Roja (1,354 m), Maigmó (1,296 m), Serra de Crevillent (835 m) and El Montgó (753 m). All of these peaks are a part of the Subbaetic Range. The coast extends from the cape, Cap de la Nau, in the north to almost reaching the

Mar Menor Mar Menor (, "minor/smaller sea") is a coastal saltwater lagoon in the Iberian Peninsula located south-east of the Autonomous Community of Murcia, Spain, near Cartagena. Its name is the opposite of the Mediterranean, which is the (greater/lar ...

(Minor Sea) in the south. With regard to water sources, due to the dry rain regime there are no major rivers, but mostly ''ramblas'' (dry rivers), which fill in with water when torrential rains occur. The only remarkable streams are the Vinalopó, Serpis, and the river Segura. Other minor seasonal creeks (some completely dried out in summer) are

Girona Girona (officially and in Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in 2020. Girona is the capit ...

, Algar, Amadorio and Ebo. There are saline wetlands and marshlands along the coast such '' El Fondo'' and the former wetlands and now salt evaporation ponds in Santa Pola and Torrevieja. All of them are key

Ramsar Site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

coastal dunes A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...

are present in the

Guardamar Guardamar del Segura () or briefly Guardamar is a municipality of the province of Alicante located at the mouth of the river Segura in southern Valencia (autonomous community), Spain. It is a Mediterranean resort, with a large pine forest abutting ...

area which were planted with thousands of pine trees during the 19th century in order to protect the ville from the dunes advancing, which has created now an area of remarkable ecologic value. The climate is strikingly diverse for such a reduced area. Three major areas can be cited: * Most of the province belongs to a

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi ...

. It roughly goes along the coastal plain from

La Vila Joiosa La Vila Joiosa () is a coastal town and municipality in the Province of Alicante, Valencian Community, Spain, by the Mediterranean Sea. The town is known to the locals simply as La Vila. It is the historic and administrative capital of the ''co ...

through the southernmost border (cities included here are, amongst others, Alicante, Elche, Orihuela and Torrevieja). Summers are very long, hot to very hot and very dry, winters are cool to mild and its most prominent feature is very scarce precipitation, typically below 300mm. per year and most likely to happen during spring and autumn. The reasons for this lack of precipitation is mostly the marked

rain shadow A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side. Evaporated moisture from water bodies (such as oceans and large lakes) is ca ...

effect caused by hills to the west of the Alicante province (and, to a lesser degree, those in the northern part of the province which, in turn, enhance the inverse Orographic lift effect around Cap de la Nau). Most of its few rainy days happen during Autumn and Spring. :The predominant vegetation in this part of the province is

Matorral 300px, Springtime in Chilean matorral a few kilometers north of Santiago along the Pan-American Highway Matorral is a Spanish language, Spanish word, along with ''tomillares'', for shrubland, thicket or bushes. It is used in naming and describin ...

Scrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It ...

s including

thyme Thyme () is the herb (dried aerial parts) of some members of the genus ''Thymus'' of aromatic perennial evergreen herbs in the mint family Lamiaceae. Thymes are relatives of the oregano genus '' Origanum'', with both plants being mostly indigen ...

, esparto,

juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arc ...

and the like. *Proper

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

is present in the northeastern areas around Cap de la Nau, mostly to its North but also to its South, in diminishing grades until disappearing slightly north of Benidorm. It roughly goes along the coastal plain from the northern border of the province through the Benidorm area. The north slopes of the mountains in the

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 ...

have a remarkably wetter

microclimate A microclimate (or micro-climate) is a local set of atmospheric conditions that differ from those in the surrounding areas, often with a slight difference but sometimes with a substantial one. The term may refer to areas as small as a few squ ...

with an average of up to 900mm of precipitation due to orographic lift, with most of the precipitation occurring in Autumn and Spring. The precipitation in this area is an average four times the one of the semiarid South, with this big precipitation gap occurring in a matter of just . :The vegetation of this part is an enriched version of the Matorral shrubland and also Mediterranean pine woods. *The Alicante province also has a mostly dry Mediterranean to Continental Mediterranean climate. These are the innermost part of the province (for example Villena) and some closer to the sea but at a higher elevation (for example Alcoy). Here winters are cool to cold and a few days of snow are not unusual; summers are mild to hot and rains at about 500 mm average and slightly more evenly distributed through the year than in the previous mentioned areas. The innermost part of this domain is more quite dry while the mountainous part reach slightly higher precipitation figures which allow Kermes Oak woods to thrive, such as the one in ''La Carrasqueta'' or in the Mariola range, both near Alcoy.

History and politics

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 (amon ...

were the oldest documented people living in what today is the Alicante province. Belonging to these there are several archaeologic sites from which is specially known the one in ''La Serreta'' (near Alcoy) because the longest inscriptions remaining in the undeciphered

Iberian language The Iberian language was the language of an indigenous western European people identified by Greek and Roman sources who lived in the eastern and southeastern regions of the Iberian Peninsula in the pre- Migration Era (before about 375 AD). The ...

were found there. Along the coast and contemporarily to the Iberians, the seafaring

Phoenicia Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their his ...

ns (in Guardamar) and

Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, ot ...

(along the coastal section to the north of the Alicante city) settled stable trading colonies and interacted with the former (see Lady of Elche for the most renowned archeological piece of this period). After a brief Carthaginian period, the Romans took over. Romanization in this part of Iberia was intense, the Via Augusta communicated this part of the Empire to the metropoli and so several cities thrived, from which the one known as ''Ilici Augusta'' (now Elche) even reached the status of colonia. After a brief period of

Visigothic The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is ...

ruling, the area was taken by Islamic armies and became a part of

Al Andalus Al-Andalus translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label= Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, al-Ándalus () was the Mu ...

. From the 13th century, kings like Ferdinand III of Castile, James I of Aragon, Alfonso X of Castile, James II of Aragon reconquered the cities that

Moors The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinc ...

occupied. What today is the Alicante province was initially split between the Crown of Castile and 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 ...

by means of the Treaty of Almizra, however later on the whole territory became under the control of the

Kingdom of Valencia Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

, which was a component Kingdom of the Crown of Aragon. Alicante contributes with 12 deputies in the Spanish Parliament and with 36 deputies in the

Corts Valencianes The Corts Valencianes (), commonly known as ''Les Corts'' (), are the main legislative body of the Generalitat Valenciana and therefore of the Valencian Community. The main location of the Corts is in the Palace of the Borgias in Valencia; how ...

, the regional Parliament of the

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 wi ...

.

Economy

The main industries in Alicante province are, in the primary sector,

intensive agriculture Intensive agriculture, also known as intensive farming (as opposed to extensive farming), conventional, or industrial agriculture, is a type of agriculture, both of crop plants and of animals, with higher levels of input and output per unit of ag ...

, especially in the fertile Vega Baja del Segura, Camp d'Elx (Elche's countryside) and

vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyard ...

s in the inner part of the province (Monforte, Novelda, Pinós), also near the coast in the Marina Alta area.

Fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from fish stocking, stocked bodies of water such as fish pond, ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. ...

is important all along the coast, with important fishing harbours such as Santa Pola, Calp or Dénia. Industry has been historically important in the textile sector around Alcoy. Footwear still remains as the flagship industrial sector of the province, which occurs in Elche, Elda, Petrer and Villena, both

labour-intensive Labor intensity is the relative proportion of labor (compared to capital) used in any given process. Its inverse is capital intensity. Labor intensity has been declining since the onset of the Industrial Revolution in the late 1700s, while its inv ...

footwear Footwear refers to garments worn on the feet, which typically serves the purpose of protection against adversities of the environment such as wear from ground textures and temperature. Footwear in the manner of shoes therefore primarily serves ...

and, specially, textile are at a low ebb due to harsh competition from fast pace growing economies in Asia. The traditionally important toys industry around the Ibi and Onil area is another one competing internationally with those same areas. A sector which has gained preeminence during the last 20 years is

marble quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mining, open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock (geology), rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some juri ...

ing and processing, it happens mostly in the Novelda and Pinós area. Still, what the province is known for is its massive tourism sector. The Costa Blanca's generally mild and sunny weather attracts millions of tourists from other European countries such as the Netherlands, the UK and Ireland, Germany, Belgium, Norway or France and also from other parts in Spain like Madrid. Thousands of families from other places own a second home in the Alicante province which they use for their vacation time.

Gallery

File:Altea3.jpg, La Mare de Déu del Consol in

Altea Altea (, ) is a city and municipality located in the Valencian Community, Spain, on the section of Mediterranean coast called the Costa Blanca. At present, the economy of Altea is based on tourism, which started to grow in the 1950s because of ...

File:Montgó.jpg, Montgó massif from Cap de Sant Antoni, Xàbia File:Castillo de Denia.jpg, The Castle in Dénia File:CastMoraira01.jpg, The Castle in Moraira File:La vila joiosa.jpg, Beachfront in Villajoyosa File:Sonnenaufgang penon de ifach.jpg, View of the Ifach atoll in

Calp Calpe () or Calp () is a coastal municipality located in the ''comarca'' of Marina Alta, in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, Spain, by the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of and a population density of . The city lies at the foot ...

File:Elche el palmeral.JPG, The Palmeral of Elche File:Explanada de España Alicante 1.jpg, The Esplanade of Spain promenade in

Alicante 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 ...

File:Claustro catedral Orihuela.JPG, The Cathedral in Orihuela File:Pantano_de_Guadalest.jpg, The Guadalest Reservoir File:Aitana02.jpg, The

Aitana Aitana (, ) is a mountain massif that is part of Prebaetic System in the eastern end of the Iberian Peninsula. Administratively, the mountainous area is located in the Marina Baixa, Alcoià and Comtat comarcas in the northern part of Alicante ...

, the highest peak of Alicante's

Prebaetic System The Prebaetic System ( es, Sistemas Prebéticos or ''Sistema Prebético'', also often referred to simply as ''Prebético'') is a system of mountain ranges that forms the northeasternmost prolongation of the Baetic System in the southern Iberian P ...

File:Maigmó vista Norte.jpg, The Maigmó Peak File:Vista de Penáguila.jpg, Penàguila in the ''comarca'' of Alcoià File:Guadalest (Alicante).jpg, The touristic town of Guadalest File:BarrancSinc Alcoi.jpg, Barranc del Sinc in the Serra Mariola. File:Santuari fontroja.jpg, Font Roja shrine. File:Playa Paraíso, Villajoyosa, España, 2014-07-03, DD 01-02 PAN.JPG, Paradise Beach in Villajoyosa.

Traditional subdivisions

Traditionally, Alicante province is divided into nine '' comarcas'' or ''comarques'' (in Valencian): * Comtat: 28,391 inhabitants (2009); its capital is Cocentaina; textile industry and agriculture. * Alcoià: It is subdivided into two clearly differentiated ''subcomarcas'': ** Valls d'Alcoi or Valle de Alcoy: 69,224 inhabitants; its capital is Alcoy; olive trees and textile industry; Moros y Cristianos festivals. ** La Foia de Castalla or Hoya de Castalla: 43,930 inhabitants; its capital is Castalla; its most populous city is Ibi; industry of toys. *

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 ...

: 199,273 inhabitants; its capital is Dénia; it is the most rainy ''comarca''; tourism. * Marina Baixa or Marina Baja: 191,388 inhabitants; its capital is

Benidorm Benidorm is a town and municipality in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, Valencia, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Benidorm has been a tourist destination within Spain since 1925, when its port was extended and the first hotel ...

; eminently tourist; beaches and mountains. *

Alto Vinalopó The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: ''altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In 4-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in choruses ...

or Alt Vinalopó: 54,061 inhabitants; its capital is Villena; agriculture and footwear; Moros y Cristianos festivals. * Vinalopó Mitjà or Vinalopó Medio: 173,324 inhabitants; its capital is Elda; footwear industry,

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

, wines and

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus '' Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years a ...

s. * Baix Vinalopó or Bajo Vinalopó: 290,481 inhabitants; its capital is

Elche Elche ( ca-valencia, Elx) is a city and municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2014 data, Elche has a population of 228,647 inhabitants,Misteri d'Elx The ''Misterio de Elche'' (), in English the ''Mystery Play of Elche''Mystery play of Elche
- ''UNESCO'' o ...

(Elche's Mystery) festival and services with

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 ...

in municipality of Elche. * L' Alacantí: 476,123 inhabitants; its capital is

Alicante 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 ...

; services and tourism; highly urbanised ''comarca'';

Bonfires of Saint John The Bonfires of Saint John ( ca, Fogueres de Sant Joan, es, link=no, Hogueras de San Juan, gl, Fogueiras de San Xoán, ast, Fogueres de San Xuán, pt, Fogueiras de São João) are a traditional and popular festival celebrated around the world ...

festival. * Vega Baja del Segura or Baix Segura: 390,817 inhabitants; its capital is Orihuela; its most populous city is

Torrevieja Torrevieja (; ca-valencia, Torrevella ) is a seaside city and municipality located on the Costa Blanca in the province of Alicante, in the southern part of the Valencian Community, on the southeastern Mediterranean coast of Spain. Torrevi ...

; agriculture and tourism.

Museums

Alcoy: * Archaeological Museum Camil Visedo * Museu Alcoià de la Festa * Firefighters Museum of Alcoy *

Shelter of Cervantes The Shelter of Cervantes is an air raid shelter built during the Spanish Civil War, located next to the Parque de Cervantes (''Cervantes Park'') in the city of Alcoy (Alicante), Valencian Community, Spain. It was refurbished and opened to the publi ...

Alicante: * Alicante Museum of Contemporary Art * Archaeological Museum of Alicante * Gravina Museum of Fine Arts

Celebrations

*

Moors and Christians of Alcoy The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or se ...

*

Bonfires of Saint John The Bonfires of Saint John ( ca, Fogueres de Sant Joan, es, link=no, Hogueras de San Juan, gl, Fogueiras de San Xoán, ast, Fogueres de San Xuán, pt, Fogueiras de São João) are a traditional and popular festival celebrated around the world ...

*

Mystery Play of Elche The ''Misterio de Elche'' (), in English the ''Mystery Play of Elche''Mystery play of Elche
- ''UNESCO'' o ...

Territory, population and resources

Geography and climate

History and politics

Economy

Gallery

Traditional subdivisions

Museums

Celebrations

See also

Notes

References

External links