Vera is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

of Almería province, in the autonomous community 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 ...

, Spain. Today Vera is one of the most important commercial centres in the region, with a thriving traditional core and a number of supermarkets and commercial organisations spread along the ring road. Vera itself lies approximately inland from the coast, but the municipality extends to the sea shore. There, a tourist settlement, named Vera Playa, has been developed. This now forms the main economic activity of Vera. Since 1990, Vera Playa has developed into an important naturist village.

History

The earliest Carthaginian, Roman and

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

settlement was the city of Baria, by the sea near Villaricos. In 209 BC, Baria was conquered by the Romans during the Second Punic War. In

Late Antiquity Late antiquity marks the period that comes after the end of classical antiquity and stretches into the onset of the Early Middle Ages. Late antiquity as a period was popularized by Peter Brown (historian), Peter Brown in 1971, and this periodiza ...

, it belonged to the Byzantine province of

Spania Spania () was a Roman province, province of the Eastern Roman Empire from 552 until 624 in the south of the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands. It was established by the List of Byzantine emperors, Emperor Justinian I in an effort to res ...

and later to the

Visigothic Kingdom The Visigothic Kingdom, Visigothic Spain or Kingdom of the Goths () was a Barbarian kingdoms, barbarian kingdom that occupied what is now southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th to the 8th centuries. One of the Germanic people ...

. But in the unsettled times of the early Middle Ages the settlement was moved inland to the hill of Espíritu Santo but an earthquake destroyed it in 1518. Following the earthquake it was rebuilt on the site it currently occupies
as a rectangular layout with eight towers and two gates. At the centre was the Parish Church of the Encarnación, built as a fortress to protect the village against

Barbary pirates The Barbary corsairs, Barbary pirates, Ottoman corsairs, or naval mujahideen (in Muslim sources) were mainly Muslim corsairs and privateers who operated from the largely independent Barbary states. This area was known in Europe as the Barba ...

. In the late 19th century the town expanded due to mining activity in the region, but it subsequently declined until its recent development as a tourist centre.

Demographics

Vera Playa

Vera also has a long and wide beach with a large number of ''

chiringuito In Spain, a ''chiringuito'' () is a small beach Bar (establishment), bar, selling mainly drinks and snacks, and sometimes meals or ''tapas'', in a more or less provisional building, since a more permanent structure in the beach may be inviable. ...

s''. There are many new neighborhoods in construction and the population is growing. The weather is good all year long, and the area receives many holiday-makers. Vera Playa has a different postal code: 04621.

Naturism

The north of Vera Playa is known for its naturist area, one of the largest in Europe, with accommodation and nightlife. Since 1990, Vera Playa has developed into an important centre for

naturism Naturism is a lifestyle of practicing non-sexual social nudity in private and in public; the word also refers to the cultural movement which advocates and defends that lifestyle. Both may alternatively be called nudism. Though the two terms ar ...

(nudism). There are several apartment complexes, including Natsun, La Manera, Bahia de Vera and Vera Natura, where naturism is officially permitted. The naturist complex is completely open and there are good parking facilities. About of beach have been reserved for naturists. The area of Vera Playa is a well known naturist area and includes one of Spain's naturist hotels (Vera Playa Club Hotel). On 21 July 2013 a local group called Vera Playa Friends organised a Guinness World Record attempt at the largest ever skinny dip. 729 naturists entered the sea at El Playazo beach at 12:00 noon beating the previous record of 506 set in New Zealand the previous year. Vera Mayor José Carmelo Jorge called the mass nude swim a "tremendous success". The event was organised by Vera Playa Friends in association with Vera Town hall and Tourist Office, also heavily involved were the Spanish Naturist Federation and the day chosen was the "day without swimsuits" with hundreds of Spanish naturists flocking to the beach . A local charity for children suffering from disabilities benefited from the Guinness World Record crowds .

Notes and references

External links