Village
Xixona, cradle of Spanish turrón, is a municipality in the comarca of L'Alacantí, 28 kilometres from the capital, famous for making turrón de Jijona and turrón de Alicante. It has 7669 inhabitants and its town centre sits on the slopes of the Peña Roja, at 443 metres above sea level. The mountainous municipal territory, within the Subbetic System, reaches 1226 metres at the Penya Migjorn and drops to 190 on the banks of the Montnegre river; through it runs the Carrasqueta pass, at 1020 metres, a natural route to Alcoy. The dry Mediterranean climate produces an almost semi-desert landscape. The earliest signs of human settlement date back to the Bronze Age, and in Iberian times the place was known as Uxonig, valley of iron.
Monument
The Museo del Turrón de Xixona preserves mementoes of the Sirvent Selfa family, founders of the El Lobo and 1880 turrón brands, two of the historic firms that helped make the municipality a world reference today in the making of this sweet.
Monument
Remains of the castle and walls of Xixona, evidence of the Muslim past of the comarca of L'Alacantí: the Almohad fortress, known as the castle of the Torre Grossa, was built between the late 12th and early 13th centuries and was the original nucleus around which the present-day town grew, of which only ruins remain today.
Curiosity
Xixona is considered the cradle of Spanish turrón, with a confectionery industry of centuries-old tradition linked to the almonds and honey of the region. Turrón de Jijona is made with roasted almonds, honey and egg white, ground to form a smooth, uniform paste that is cooked a second time in cauldrons called boixets, stirring it until a homogeneous texture is achieved before pouring it into moulds; it then needs to rest for at least 24 hours, since the ground almond releases its oil. Its pasty texture distinguishes it from turrón de Alicante, which is harder. Production is protected by the Consejo Regulador de Jijona y Turrón de Alicante, which oversees its Protected Geographical Indication, and it is one of the most widely consumed Christmas sweets in Spain.
Activity
Xixona's patronal festival is held in the second half of August in honour of San Bartolomé and San Sebastián, with the main days falling on the weekend nearest the 24th.
Monument
Archpriestly church of the Virgin of the Assumption, in the center of Xixona/Jijona, which preserves a 13th-century Gothic façade from an earlier temple. The current body of the building was constructed between the 16th and 17th centuries. Its square-plan stone bell tower stands out, topped with a pyramidal spire of green and white glazed tile. A fire in 1971 destroyed its original Baroque decoration, and the altar was later rebuilt according to the taste of the period.
Monument
The Ermita de San Sebastián de Xixona, on Calle del Raval, dates from 1601 and arose as a new focus of worship that spurred the growth of that district during the Early Modern period.
Nature
The Carrasqueta pass, in the municipal area of Xixona, rises to 1,020 meters above sea level and is crossed by the N-340 road, the old road to Alicante, a city no more than 15 kilometers away in a straight line. Surrounded by pine forests and holm oaks, it is famous for its winter snowfalls, which, together with thick fog, sometimes make it hazardous in winter. On weekends it receives a large influx of motorcyclists, drawn by its winding route.
Nature
The Els Plantadets municipal nature site, within the municipality of Xixona, covers 254 hectares protected since 2006: a holm oak pine forest (originally planted, now naturalized) with Mediterranean scrubland of rockrose, juniper and mastic, and wildlife including fox, badger, genet, wild boar and aoudad, as well as a notable diversity of birds.
Nature
Natural spot in Xixona, one of the places of scenic interest in the comarca of L'Alacantí.
Curiosity
In Xixona, as in much of the Valencian Country, Easter celebrations bring together two traditions that go hand in hand: eating the mona, the Easter sweet, and flying the catxerulo, a handmade kite made of reeds and onion-skin paper that begins to be flown from Holy Week onward, coinciding precisely with the mona's afternoon snack. It is a custom typical of Valencian folklore, with a different name depending on the region, which in Xixona is lived as part of the spring festive calendar.
Nature
A network of more than a hundred listed traditional springs in the municipal district of Xixona, among them the Font de Grau, which historically supplied the town and its market gardens.
Nature
A limestone massif of 1,210 metres in golden and orange tones dominating the landscape north of Xixona, with steep drops and a profile recognisable from much of l'Alacantí.
Curiosity
An old snow well 11 metres deep, restored in 2006, recalling the historic trade in snow and ice from the mountains of Xixona, tied to the origins of its ice-cream tradition.
Historical milestone
Since the 19th century, every autumn the turrón makers of Xixona left the village carrying their goods to sell at Christmas fairs and markets across half of Spain. Many ended up opening permanent horchata and ice cream shops, and from that grew a trading network that reached as far as France and Belgium.
Food and drink
Two geographical indications cover the turrón of the comarca: that of Jijona, soft and ground, and that of Alicante, hard and with the almond whole. Both start from marcona almond and honey and are made between September and December in the town's workshops.
Food and drink
From here came generations of ice cream makers who opened a stall in summer all over Spain and returned in winter to work the turrón. From that double trade were born the slice of ice cream served between wafers and a good part of the country's historic ice cream shops.