Logbook · 7 places

What to see and do in Alcalà de Xivert

What to see and do in Alcalà de Xivert (El Baix Maestrat, Castellón): 7 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 2 Monuments · 1 Nature · 1 Activities · 1 Historical milestones · 1 Food and drink

How far each place is from the centre of Alcalà de Xivert

Towns near Alcalà de Xivert

Spain › Valencian Community › Castellón › El Baix Maestrat › Alcalà de Xivert

What to see and do in Alcalà de Xivert

Alcalà de Xivert
Village
Alcalà de Xivert is a municipality of El Baix Maestrat, in Castellón, with 7,349 inhabitants, between the Costa de Azahar and the inland Maestrazgo, between two mountain systems, Les Talaies d'Alcalá and the Sierra de Irta, running parallel to the sea. It was called simply Alcalá between the 13th and 18th centuries, later Alcalá de Xivert because Xivert had been the head of the district, and it adopted its current Valencian form in 1996. Its municipal area extends to the Serra d'Irta Natural Park, with the Irta lighthouse at Alcossebre and the Capicorb tower, built in 1427 to give warning of corsairs. In 1234 the Order of the Temple agreed with the Muslims of the castle of Xivert a charter of settlement that allowed them to keep their houses, law and mosque, and from its orchards comes the tomata de penjar, holding the CV Quality Mark since 2008.
Mountain range of Irta
Nature
A natural park declared on 16 July 2002, extending across the municipalities of Alcalà de Xivert, Peníscola and Santa Magdalena de Pulpis, in the north of Castellón, with 7,743 hectares of land and 2,448 of sea: one of the few stretches of unspoiled coast remaining in the Valencian Community. Two parallel mountain ranges, separated by the Estopet valley, reach 572 metres at the Campanilles peak and descend over 12 kilometres of cliffs, coves, ledges and reefs, with the Torre Badum as the most notable formation. The Mediterranean scrub, with dwarf palm and sabina, shelters birds such as the Audouin's gull, the shag or Eleonora's falcon, and the territory preserves Templar castles, 16th-century watchtowers and 17th-century hermitages.
Festivities of Alcalà de Xivert
Activity
Alcalà de Xivert celebrates its patronal festival in honour of San Juan Bautista at the end of August, with bulls and cultural events, and its patron saint the Virgen de los Desamparados, with a procession on the second Sunday of May and the following one.
Tower of Capicorb
Monument
Coastal watchtower that was part of the defensive system of Xivert castle, together with the Torre Ebrí and la Badum, within the castle's alert and watch network. It was ordered to be built on 28 April 1427 by the commander of the Order of Montesa, friar Luis Despuig, at the mouth of the San Miguel river, next to the coastline, to warn of corsair attacks. It has a rectangular plan of 9 by 8.5 metres, is 13 metres high, and has walls two metres thick reinforced with ashlar at the corners. On the ground floor is the original door, round-arched, with a window above it on the intermediate floor; at the top the corbels of the old corsera and gun loopholes are preserved. A spiral staircase in the north-east corner connects the floors.
Lighthouse of Irta
Monument
The Irta lighthouse is located at Alcossebre, within the municipal area of Alcalà de Xivert, in the Serra d'Irta natural park, and is reached from the Fuentes beach; it is managed by the port authority of Castellón de la Plana. It was built as part of the 1985/89 Maritime Signals Plan, to a design by the architect Rita Lorite, one of only two women who have designed a lighthouse in Spain, together with the author of the Nules lighthouse, and it has been active since 28 December 1993. It is the starting point for several coastal routes along the cliffs and coves of this little-developed Mediterranean stretch.
Xivert's settlement charter to its Muslim residents
Historical milestone
The Order of the Temple agreed in 1234 with the Muslim population of the castle the conditions for them to go on living in the municipality, with their houses, their law and their mosque: a rare document of coexistence after the conquest.
Hanging tomato
Food and drink
A native thin-skinned tomato that is hung in strings and keeps fresh for months, grown in the district for more than a century; its producers obtained the Marca de Calidad CV in 2008 and devote a fair to it in autumn.