The town of Rota is a Spanish municipality located in the

Province of Cádiz Cádiz is a Provinces of Spain, province of southern Spain, in the southwestern part of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is the southernmost part of mainland Spain, as well as the southernmost part of ...

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

. Its surface area is 84 km² and is bordered by the towns of

Chipiona Chipiona is a town and municipality located on the Atlantic coast in the province of Cádiz, Spain. According to the 2012 census, the city has a population of 18,849 inhabitants, but this amount increases greatly during the summer holiday perio ...

Sanlúcar de Barrameda Sanlúcar may refer to: * Sanlúcar de Barrameda, a city in the Province of Cádiz, Spain * Sanlúcar de Guadiana, a village in the Province of Huelva, Spain * Sanlúcar la Mayor, a city in the Province of Seville, Spain *Sanlúcar de Albaida, forme ...

and

El Puerto de Santa María El Puerto de Santa María (), locally known as El Puerto and historically in English as Port Saint Mary, is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain located on the banks of the Guadalete River in the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. , the c ...

. It is located near the city of

Jerez de la Frontera Jerez de la Frontera () or simply Jerez, also cited in old English-language sources as , is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Sp ...

and is 36 kilometers away from the provincial capital, Cadiz. It had in the year 2009 28,516 inhabitants, with a density of 339 inhabitants / km². It belongs to two associations, the Association of Municipalities of Cadiz Bay along with the municipalities of Cadiz, Jerez de la Frontera, El Puerto de Santa María, San Fernando, Chiclana and Puerto Real; and the Association of Municipalities of the Lower Guadalquivir that comprises municipalities of Northwest Coast of

. Located along the

Bay of Cádiz The Bay of Cádiz is a body of water in the province of Cádiz, Spain, adjacent to the southwestern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The Bay of Cádiz adjoins the Gulf of Cádiz, a larger body of water which is in the same area but further offsh ...

in the Atlantic Ocean, it is halfway between Portugal and Gibraltar, is predominantly a tourist town, a vacation/holiday destination for travelers from all over Europe. During the low season, its main business activity is the fishing industry. In the municipality is located the

Naval Station Rota Naval Station Rota, also known as NAVSTA Rota (), is a Spanish naval base, that is jointly used by the Spanish Navy and the United States Navy. Located in Rota in the Province of Cádiz, NAVSTA Rota is the largest American military community in ...

, which is the largest source of employment to the municipality. It also served as a transoceanic abort landing site for the Space Shuttle program.

History

Archaeological evidence suggests that there was a

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

settlement on the present site of Rota. The current town was founded by the

Phoenicians Phoenicians were an ancient Semitic group of people who lived in the Phoenician city-states along a coastal strip in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily modern Lebanon and the Syrian coast. They developed a maritime civi ...

at approximately the same time as Cádiz. Rota is assumed to be the same city known as ''Astaroth'' of the Tartesian empire. It later passed to the Romans, who knew the town as ''Speculum Rotae''. Following the arrival of the

Moors The term Moor is an Endonym and exonym, exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslims, Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a s ...

in Spain, the city became known as ''Rabita Rutta'' ("watchtower of Rota"), from which it derives its present name. In 1217 the city was raided by a group of Frisian Crusaders en route to the Holy Land. From 1248 onwards, the Moors were gradually expelled from Spain, and the city became Christian. In 1297, Sancho IV awarded the town to

Alonso Pérez de Guzmán Alonso Pérez de Guzmán (1256–1309), known as ''Guzmán el Bueno'' ("Guzmán the Good"), was a Spanish nobleman and hero of Spain during the Middle Ages, medieval period. Guzmán is the progenitor of the Dukes of Medina Sidonia, the oldes ...

in honour of his defence of

Tarifa Tarifa () is a Spanish municipality in the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. Located at the southernmost end of the Iberian Peninsula, it is primarily known as one of the world's most popular destinations for windsports. Tarifa lies on the Costa d ...

. Later, Pérez de Guzmán gave it to his daughter, Isabel, as a wedding present when she married Fermin Ponce de León, Maestre of

Alcántara Alcántara () is a municipality in the province of Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain, on the Tagus, near Portugal. The toponym is from the Arabic word ''al-Qanṭarah'' (القنطرة) meaning "the bridge". History Archaeological findings have atte ...

and First Lord of

Marchena ''Marchena'' is a genus of jumping spiders only found in the United States. Its only described species, ''M. minuta'', dwells on the barks of conifers along the west coast, especially California, Washington and Nevada.Maddison, Wayne. 1995. ...

. Construction of the ''Castillo de la Luna'' (Castle of the Moon) had begun in 1295, two years prior to the bequest to Pérez de Guzmán, as part of Sancho IV's effort to develop strong coastal defenses, especially near the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea. During the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, the town was an important port for trading with North Africa. In 1780 the 11th Duke of Arcos died without issue, and the city was rendered to the Duke of Osuna. File:Rota - torre del convento de la Merced.jpg, Tower of the Convent of La Merced File:Rota - Capilla de la Caridad.jpg, Capilla de la Caridad, Rota File:Rota - Portada de piedra ostionera.jpg, Piedra ostinera (shell limestone) cover File:Rota - Azulejo del Pozo de la Villa.jpg, Tile of Pozo (well water) de la Villa File:Rota - Castillo de Luna - exterior.jpg, Castillo de la Luna File:Rota - Castillo de Luna.jpg, Castillo de la Luna File:Rota parroquia de ntra sra de la o 2.jpg, Parroquia de Nuestra Señora de la O File:Rota parroquia de ntra sra de la o.jpg, Parroquia de Nuestra Señora de la O File:ROTA00945.jpg, Beach

Economy

Rota is primarily a

resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that aims to provide most of a vacationer's needs. This includes food, drink, swimming, accommodation, sports, entertainment and shopping, on the premises. A hotel ...

town, offering eight hotels and nearly two thousand beds. It is a summer destination for tourists from all over Europe. During the off-season, its main commercial activity centres on the fishing industry. Rota is also the location of the Rota naval base, a joint

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

and

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

naval base, opened in 1955 (which also hosts U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Air Force units). It is also the usual first and last port of call for U.S. naval vessels after leaving 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 east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

. Once contributing up to 80 percent of Rota's economy directly or indirectly, the significant decrease in the American presence since about 1995, and the city's modern infrastructures that enable those remaining to commute readily from surrounding towns and cities, the base has given way to tourism as the leading source of revenue. The surrounding area is used for agriculture; the predominant crops are

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

and

sunflower The common sunflower (''Helianthus annuus'') is a species of large annual forb of the daisy family Asteraceae. The common sunflower is harvested for its edible oily seeds, which are often eaten as a snack food. They are also used in the pr ...

s, as well as sweet green peppers,

tomato The tomato (, ), ''Solanum lycopersicum'', is a plant whose fruit is an edible Berry (botany), berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originate ...

es, and

pumpkin A pumpkin is a cultivar, cultivated winter squash in the genus ''Cucurbita''. The term is most commonly applied to round, orange-colored squash varieties, but does not possess a scientific definition. It may be used in reference to many dif ...

Climate

Rota has a hot-summer

mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Csa'') with mild winters and hot summers. Rota has significant maritime influences from the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

. The average temperature during the coldest month (January) is around while the average temperature during the hottest month (August) is around . Rota is very sunny, as the annual sunshine hours are above 3,000h. The average sea temperature is around during the winter and around during the summer.

Demographics

Culinary

A traditional dish is the ''arranque'' made with chopped bread, tomatoes, green peppers, garlic, salt and olive oil. The local wine, known as '' tintilla'', is made with dark, ripe grapes. It can be found in the numerous ''bodegas'' spread over the old town, one of them being ''El Gato'' which produces its own wine. Spanish, Andalucian, Cádiz, and Rota gastronomic delights are many and varied. Most Spanish people enjoy dishes such as caracoles (snails), menudo (tripe soup),

chicharrón (, plural ; ; ; ) is a dish generally consisting of fried pork belly or fried pork rinds. may also be made from chicken, mutton, or beef. Name , as a dish with sauces, or as finger-food snacks, are popular in Andalusia and Canarias in ...

(deep fried pork rinds), a variety of wines, and of course

gazpacho Gazpacho () or gaspacho (), also called Andalusian gazpacho (from Spanish ''gazpacho andaluz''), is a cold soup and drink made of raw, blended vegetables. It originated in the southern regions of the Iberian Peninsula and spread into other are ...

(cold tomato soup taken as a drink).

Arts

The Foundation Ruiz Mateos delivers a biannual award called Villa de Rota in the field of the

plastic arts Plastic arts are art forms which involve physical manipulation of a ''plastic medium'', such as clay, wax, paint or even plastic in the modern sense of the word (a ductile polymer) to create works of art. The term is used more generally to ...

, music and literature. This constitutes nowadays an extensive art collection which is being shown in the Museum Ruiz Mateos since opened its doors on 4 February 2005. This museum gathers a total of 102 works composed of oil paintings, watercolors, engravings and sculptures, and includes all first prizes awarded in the course of the national contests “Villa de Rota” as well as individual donations received. Among other artists, Antonio Utrera, Francisco Luque and Dominika Grisgrabed have won the contest.

Politics

Traditionally the town has four predominant parties: People's Party,

Spanish Socialist Workers' Party The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( , PSOE ) is a Social democracy, social democratic Updated as required.The PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources: * * * * List of political parties in Spain, political party ...

, United Left, and the local Roteños Unidos (United Rotanians). While there are occasional independent parties, the only one to successfully enter the Town Council is Roteños Unidos.

Sports

Rota has two football (soccer) teams: CD Rota and UD Roteña, and also a basketball team: C.D. Don Bosco 88.

Notes

External links

Rota municipal government
official website
VillaDeRota.com (previously ROTAcom° Web Oficial - Rota, Andalusia (Spain)
On-line since 1999! News, premiere information, pictures, weather, etc. Into Spanish, English... (https://villaderota.com)
Rota.City
Tourism website. Find out what's on in Rota City and explore the best routes, shows & events)
U.S. Naval Station Rota Spain website

U.S. Naval Hospital Rota Spain website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rota, Cadiz Costa de la Luz Municipalities of the Province of Cádiz Port cities and towns on the Spanish Atlantic coast