() or () is a coastal town and

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' ...

in the ''

comarca A ''comarca'' (, , , ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain, and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, mark ...

'' of

Marina Alta Marina Alta (; ; lit. "Upper Marina") is a central comarques of the Valencian Community, central and coastal ''Comarques of the Valencian Community, comarca'' of the autonomous community of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valen ...

, in the

province of Alicante Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: / ) is a province located in eastern Spain, in the southern part of the Valencian Community. It is the second most populated Valencian province, containing the second and third biggest cities in the Valencian Co ...

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

, Spain, by 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 ...

. Situated on the side of the Montgó Massif, behind a wide bay and sheltered between two rocky headlands, the town has become a very popular small

seaside resort A seaside resort is a city, resort town, town, village, or hotel that serves as a Resort, vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of an official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requi ...

and

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

. Half of its resident population and over two thirds of its annual visitors are foreigners.

History

The area was first inhabited in prehistoric times, 30,000 years ago by cave dwellers on Montgó. Subsequent residents have included Stone and Bronze-age peoples, Romans,

Greeks Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...

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 ...

Visigoths The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied Barbarian kingdoms, barbarian military group unite ...

, Germanic,

Carthaginians The Punic people, usually known as the Carthaginians (and sometimes as Western Phoenicians), were a Semitic people, Semitic people who Phoenician settlement of North Africa, migrated from Phoenicia to the Western Mediterranean during the Iron ...

, and

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 ...

. Roman fishing boats used the port, and there is evidence that dates the Roman occupation of Xàbia to the 2nd century BC, it makes Xàbia the oldest known Roman site on the coast with a commercial port for fish and minerals. According to legend, Christian

Visigoth The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied barbarian military group united under the comman ...

monks came to Xàbia in the 6th century AD and founded the monastery of Sant Martí, which likely gave its name to the cape in the area named Cap San Martí.

Hermenegild Saint Hermenegild or Ermengild (died 13 April 585; ; , from Gothic ''𐌹𐍂𐌼𐌿𐌽𐌰𐌲𐌹𐌻𐌳𐍃 *Airmana-gild'', "immense tribute"), was the son of King Liuvigild of the Visigothic Kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula and southern ...

, son of the Visigoth king

Leovigild Liuvigild, Leuvigild, Leovigild, or ''Leovigildo'' ( Spanish and Portuguese), ( 519 – 586) was a Visigothic king of Hispania and Septimania from 569 to 586. Known for his Codex Revisus or Code of Leovigild, a law allowing equal rights between t ...

of Toledo, sought refuge in the Monastery after angering his father by marrying a Christian girl. When his father's troops arrived to arrest him all but one monk fled to Portichol; Hermenegild and the old monk were killed. Several people with Visigoth names still live in the area. There is no archaeological evidence for the existence of the monastery of San Martí. There is little left of the Moors and their culture, other than some inscribed gravestones and ceramics. They had controlled the area from about 714 AD until they (the Moriscos) were finally expelled from the Alicante region in 1609. The hermitage of Popol dates to the 14th century. In the 16th and 17th centuries pirate raids were prevalent, so a wall was built around the town for protection. The wall was later torn down, and today a replica exists in its place in certain sections.

Archaeology

In September 2021, archaeologists announced the discovery of trove of 1,500-year-old gold coins from the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

. A hoard of 50 coins with inscriptions was almost well-preserved and easily readable. According to researchers, Roman Emperors' pictures included

Valentinian I Valentinian I (; 32117 November 375), also known as Valentinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 364 to 375. He ruled the Western Roman Empire, Western half of the empire, while his brother Valens ruled the Byzantine Empire, East. During his re ...

(three coins),

Valentinian II Valentinian II (; 37115 May 392) was a Roman emperor in the western part of the Roman Empire between AD 375 and 392. He was at first junior co-ruler of his half-brother, then was sidelined by a usurper, and finally became sole ruler after 388, ...

(seven coins),

Theodosius I Theodosius I ( ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also known as Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. He won two civil wars and was instrumental in establishing the Nicene Creed as the orthodox doctrine for Nicene C ...

(15 coins),

Arcadius Arcadius ( ; 377 – 1 May 408) was Roman emperor from 383 to his death in 408. He was the eldest son of the ''Augustus'' Theodosius I () and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla, and the brother of Honorius (). Arcadius ruled the eastern half of ...

(17 coins),

Honorius Honorius (; 9 September 384 – 15 August 423) was Roman emperor from 393 to 423. He was the younger son of emperor Theodosius I and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla. After the death of Theodosius in 395, Honorius, under the regency of Stilicho ...

(10 coins) and an unidentified coin. The coins will be restored and then exhibited at the Soler Blasco Archaeological and Ethnographic Museum in Xàbia

Geography

Xàbia is situated in the north of the province, on the easternmost point of the Mediterranean coast. The island of

Ibiza Ibiza (; ; ; #Names and pronunciation, see below) or Iviza is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of th ...

lies some to the east, and it can be seen on clear days. Flat, fertile agricultural land stretches for miles inland, criss-crossed by small streams and used primarily for growing citrus and olive trees. The coastline of Xàbia features four capes; Cabo de San Antonio, Cap de la Nau (the largest), ''Cap Negre'' and ''Cap Martí''. The Montgó Massif, which shelters Xàbia, is the highest summit of the region standing at a height of over 750m. The Parque natural del Macizo del Montgó was declared in 1987, stretching across the area of La Plana to the cape of Sant Antoni. Cape San Antonio is located nearby. File:Xàbia from Cap de Sant Antoni.jpg, Xàbia from Cap de Sant Antoni File:Molins del cap de sant antoni.jpg, Cap de Sant Antoni windmills File:Cala de la Granadella, Jávea, España, 2014-07-01, DD 37.JPG, Granadella beach

Transport

The port has a gravel beach and marina, known as Duanes de la Mar. Whilst the history of the harbour stretches back to the 15th century, the first jetty was built in 1871 and it became an important gateway for the export of raisins. The raisin trade collapsed at the end of the 19th century, and the settlement became only a fishing harbour. The modern harbour was built in the 1950s and 1960s. The nautical club has been in the central area of the harbour since 1963. The landmark is the church of Mare de Déu de Loreto, built in 1967 in the shape of an oval boat keel, to resemble a fishing vessel bursting through the waves.

Notable people

David Ferrer David Ferrer Ern (; ; born 2 April 1982) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 3 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in July 2013. Ferrer won 27 ATP Tour singles titles, including a ...

(born 1982), tennis player * Sergio Hernández (born 1983), racing car driver * Tomàs Morató i Bernabéu (1887–1965), politician *

Adrián Ortolá Adrián Ortolá Vañó (born 20 August 1993) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Ligue 2 club Dunkerque. Club career Villarreal Born in Xàbia, Province of Alicante, Valencian Community, Ortolá joined local Vill ...

(born 1993), footballer *

Xavi Torres Xavier "Xavi" Torres Buigues (born 21 November 1986) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder. Brought up at Barcelona, he went on to amass La Liga totals of 156 games and six goals over eight seasons, with that ...

(born 1986), footballer *

Cristóbal Balenciaga Cristóbal Balenciaga Eizaguirre (; ; 21 January 1895 – 23 March 1972) was a Spanish fashion designer, and the founder of the Balenciaga clothing brand. He had a reputation as a couturier of uncompromising standards and was referred to as "th ...

(1895-1972), fashion designer

References

External links

* *
Official Xàbia website

English News and Features about Jávea
(English) {{DEFAULTSORT:Xabia Municipalities in the Province of Alicante Seaside resorts in Spain