Village
Altea is a municipality in the comarca of La Marina Baixa, in the province of Alicante, with around 24,600 inhabitants, with a white historic centre and cobbled streets by the sea. Its name may come from the Greek Althaia, “I heal”, or from the Andalusi Arabic attalaye, “watchtower”. It belonged to the taifa of Dénia and was conquered in 1244 by James I, who granted it a founding charter in 1279; after several periods of depopulation, the present town received a new charter in 1617. In 1705 the Anglo-Dutch fleet supporting Archduke Charles landed in its bay, an event that earned it the two-headed eagle on its coat of arms. The 18th century brought an agricultural and commercial boom that took the population to 5,000 inhabitants. It holds the title of cultural capital of the Valencian Community.
Monument
The old town of Altea, popularly known as El Fornet, sits on a hill next to the church of Nuestra Señora del Consuelo, whose blue-tiled dome has given the town the nickname of the dome of the Mediterranean. Its cobbled streets and white houses adorned with flowers descend gently towards the sea, forming one of the prettiest corners of the town, with numerous viewpoints and a medieval urban layout. The settlement was repopulated in the Middle Ages after several periods of abandonment during the 14th and 15th centuries, and received a new founding charter in 1617 that gave its urban layout its definitive shape.
Activity
Altea's patronal festival, held in the last week of September, honours the Santíssim Crist del Sagrari and San Blas with processions and Moors and Christians parades, as well as a flower offering to the Virgen del Consuelo, the city's patron saint.
Monument
Museum of the parish of Altea with a collection of sacred art including paintings, sculptures and liturgical objects.
Nature
The Serra Gelada Natural Park, declared on 29 July 2005 by Decree 129/2005, protects 5,655 hectares across the municipalities of Benidorm, l'Alfàs del Pi and Altea. Its highest point is the Alt del Governador, at 430 metres above sea level, and its rugged coastline features cliffs of more than 300 metres. It is home to seabirds such as the European storm petrel, the shag and Audouin's gull, as well as the peregrine falcon and Cory's shearwater; the dominant vegetation is Aleppo pine, and beneath its waters lie meadows of Posidonia and Cymodocea. At its north-eastern end stands the Albir lighthouse, and the area preserves a hanging fossil dune of notable geological value.
Nature
A massif of the Prebaetic mountain range that stretches around eleven kilometres from west to east, perpendicular to the coast, spread across the municipalities of Alcalalí, Jalón, Benisa, Calpe, Altea, Callosa d'En Sarrià and Tárbena. Its summit, in the municipality of Jalón, reaches 1,128 metres and serves as a geodetic vertex; it is home to varied wildlife, including foxes, badgers, wild boar and birds of prey. On the southern slope, Philip II ordered the Bernia Fort to be built in 1562 to prevent Morisco uprisings and defend the coast against Berber pirates; it was dismantled in 1612-1613 following their expulsion. Of the fortification, at 803 metres above sea level, sections of wall, vaulted structures, moats and towers survive, with views as far as Altea, Benidorm and peaks such as the Puig Campana.
Activity
Patron saint festivities of Altea (Alicante) in honour of the Santísimo Cristo, also known as the Cristo del Sagrario, held on the fourth weekend of September, at the end of summer. They are accompanied by the Moors and Christians festival, held on the same dates.
Historical milestone
Francisco de Palafox granted in 1617 the carta puebla that created Altea la Nova on the hill beside the sea, with grid streets and a walled enclosure. The new centre replaced the scattered hamlets that had been left empty after the Morisco expulsion.
Food and drink
It was born in the ports of the comarca as a use for leftovers: first the rock fish is boiled and with that broth the rice is then made, reaching the table on its own and with allioli. The fish is served apart, with potato and its own sauce, as a second course.