Village
Crevillent is a municipality in the Region of Valencia, in the province of Alicante, at the foot of the Sierra de Crevillent, in the Bajo Vinalopó comarca, at an altitude of 129 metres and 35 km southwest of the city of Alicante. Its proximity to Elche places it within the Alicante-Elche metropolitan area, and it has 30,921 inhabitants. It is known for its carpet industry, which has earned it the nickname City of the Carpet, and it holds two Fiestas of International Tourist Interest: the Moors and Christians and Holy Week. The territory preserves traces of human occupation from the Upper Palaeolithic, 18,000-20,000 years ago, through to Iberian culture and the Roman period. The municipal area stretches from the 838-metre peak of the sierra down to the lagoons of the El Hondo natural park, almost at sea level.
Nature
The Serra de Crevillent, with the Sant Gaietà (835 m) as its highest point near Crevillent itself, acts as a natural boundary between the Baix Vinalopó — the comarca to which Crevillent belongs — and the Vega Baja del Segura to the south, and the Medio Vinalopó on its northern side.
Curiosity
Crevillent is internationally known for its textile and carpet-making industry, a centuries-old tradition of the El Baix Vinalopó comarca. Its origins go back to the craft of esparto and rush weaving, established by the late nineteenth century, which gave way to carpet manufacturing with the introduction of mechanical looms in the 1920s. At its peak, the municipality had more than 80 factories and accounted for up to 76% of the sector's national exports. In 1977 the Unión Nacional de Fabricantes de Alfombras, Moquetas y Afines (UNIFAM) was founded in Crevillent, with its headquarters in the town.
Activity
Crevillent's patronal Moors and Christians festival is held in late September and early October in honour of Saint Francis of Assisi, whose feast day is 4 October. In its current form, the festival began in 1965 and is made up of twelve comparsas, six on the Christian side and six on the Moorish side, coordinated through the Asociación de Fiestas. Besides the parades of both sides, the Embajadas are performed, theatrical acts that re-enact thirteenth-century historical events and which, unlike other similar festivals, conclude with a pact of vassalage rather than a military conquest; these Embajadas were declared Bien Inmaterial de Relevancia Local (an intangible asset recognised for its local significance) in 2010. The festival has held National Tourist Interest status since 2005 and International status since 2017.
Nature
The Sierra de Crevillent extends across the municipalities of Crevillent, Hondón de las Nieves, Hondón de los Frailes, Albatera and Aspe, in the province of Alicante, and reaches its highest point at the peak of La Vella, at 836 metres. Formed of calcareous materials of Jurassic, Cretaceous and Miocene age, its north-facing slopes have sparse pine woods and abundant esparto grass, traditionally used for mats, while the lower areas are terraced with carob, almond and fruit trees. The sierra preserves archaeological sites such as Raya del Bubo and the Xorret cave, and its history is linked to the 19th-century bandit Jaime el Barbudo.
Curiosity
The carpet industry of Crevillent grew out of esparto- and rush-weaving craftsmanship, established by the late 19th century. The introduction of mechanical looms in the 1920s marked a qualitative leap in production, and the municipality came to have more than 80 factories, accounting for up to 76% of the sector's national exports. In 1977 the National Union of Manufacturers of Carpets, Rugs and Related Products (UNIFAM) was founded there. The emergence of foreign competition later plunged the sector into a deep crisis, although some companies have survived by specialising and exporting.
Activity
The Moors and Christians festival of Crevillent is held every year in this town in the province of Alicante in honour of Saint Francis of Assisi, the town's patron saint, around the first weekend of October, with parades, historical re-enactments, religious events, music and gunpowder. In its current form, begun in 1965, twelve comparsas take part, six Christian and six Moorish, declared of National Tourist Interest in 2005 and International in 2017. Its most characteristic element is the Embajadas (Embassies), theatrical re-enactments of events that took place in Crevillent in the 13th century as recorded in the chronicle of James I of Aragon, which end not with the military conquest of one side but with the capitulation of the Muslims before the king; they were declared an Intangible Asset in 2010.
Activity
The Holy Week of Crevillent, celebrated from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, has its origin in the last third of the 17th century, when only the Wednesday and Good Friday processions were held; it is believed that its emergence was prompted by the arrival of brotherhoods after the expulsion of the Moriscos between 1609 and 1614. The Duke of Arcos donated the Camposanto hill for the Way of the Cross, in 1768, and in the 19th century the guilds progressively added pasos (processional images), such as the Samaritan Woman, the Flagellation or the Christ of Victory. The Civil War destroyed much of these images, replaced from 1940 onwards with new ones, many the work of Mariano Benlliure. Declared a Festival of National Tourist Interest in 1992 and International in 2011, its processions are among the most notable in Alicante.
Monument
The parish church of Nuestra Señora de Belén, the largest in the diocese of Orihuela-Alicante, began construction in 1772 under the direction of the architect Miguel Francia and was not consecrated until 29 June 1828. It has a Latin-cross plan topped by a crossing dome of ochre tiles; on its façade stand out, on the left, the square-plan bell tower, in the centre an open atrium formed by three semicircular arches and, on the right, a smaller dome, also of ochre tiles, over a side chapel. Inside it houses sculptural works by Mariano Benlliure.
Monument
Hermitage in Crevillent built on a former Islamic settlement, according to tradition commissioned by the Duchess of Arcos, wife of the lord of Crevillent, around 1672 or 1673. It stands in the San Cayetano mountain park, which takes its name from it. It was restored and reopened in 2009, and a comprehensive rehabilitation of the park and its historic features is planned.
Monument
Old historic mill in Crevillent, evidence of the industrial heritage of the comarca of El Baix Vinalopó.
Nature
The Rambla del Castellar is the main urbanised thoroughfare of Crevillent, a natural watercourse integrated into the town's layout. It is presided over by a blue obelisk 37 metres high, at whose base appear the coats of arms of Holy Week, of the Moors and Christians, of Crevillent's musical tradition and of the municipality itself, symbols that sum up the town's identity.
Curiosity
Sculptural group by Mariano Benlliure kept in the church of Nuestra Señora de Belén in Crevillent, regarded as one of the finest sculptural groups of Spanish Semana Santa.
Activity
Festival of Crevillent (Alicante) in honour of San Cayetano, celebrated around the hermitage of the same name, located in the San Cayetano mountain park. According to tradition, the hermitage was commissioned in 1672 or 1673 by the Duchess of Arcos, wife of the lord of Crevillent, and it gives its name both to the park and to the festival held there.
Monument
The historic core of Crevillent, with narrow streets of Morisco origin around the church of Nuestra Señora de Belén. The old town, known as the Morería quarter, retains a marked Islamic character in streets such as del Peine or San Francisco, which keep their layout of Muslim origin. The church of Nuestra Señora de Belén, which gives the area its name, was built in the 18th century and opened in 1829. The whole reflects the transition of the urban core from its Morisco past to the later Christian repopulation.
Activity
Traditional festivities of Crevillent in honour of San Antonio Abad, with the blessing of animals.
Historical milestone
After the Christian conquest of 1244, Crevillent kept a Muslim government of its own as a vassal lordship, an exceptional case in the southeast of the peninsula. That autonomy lasted until 1318, when the place passed to the administration of the Kingdom of Valencia.
Historical milestone
Crevillent was an almost entirely Morisco settlement when the expulsion of 1609 was decreed. Its population, some 1,800 inhabitants, was reduced to a third, and the later resettlement with colonists from northern Valencia fixed the present-day language.
Historical milestone
Jaume Alfonso Juan, born in Crevillent in 1783, went from banditry to guerrilla warfare against the French and afterwards returned to his band. Captured years later, he was executed in 1824 and became fixed in the popular ballad tradition of the southeast.
Food and drink
Flatbreads of thin dough baked in a wood-fired oven and covered with vegetables, tomato, pepper or tuna. They are eaten cold, cut into portions, and accompany the pilgrimage festivals and country meals the town holds in spring.
Food and drink
Bread sliced, toasted over embers and drizzled with olive oil, eaten with barrel-cured sardines, tender broad beans and onion. It is the obligatory meal of Crevillent's Easter, when families go out into the countryside with the bread and the oil already prepared.