Alicante Step by step - Universidad de Sevilla

DISCOVERING THE CITY AND ITS ENVIRONS
The Ibero-Roman City of Lucentum
There’s nothing like going back to the origins of a city to understand its present-day features,
so a visit to the hill known as Tossal de Manises facing Albufereta Beach is a must, especially
if you are interested in archaeology. Here, hemmed in by tall apartment buildings, are the
remains of Lucentum, listed as a National Historical and Artistic Monument since 1961.
This Ibero-Roman municipium covers 30,000m 2 , of which only 6,500 have been excavated.
Its network of streets totals 1.3km, but only 200m of these have actually been studied to
date. This archaeological site was first investigated by Antonio Valcárcel Pío de Saboya,
Earl of Lumiares, in the second half of the 18th century. The finds here include ceramic
materials dating from the late 5th to the early 4th centuries BC, and sections of the ancient
city walls (3rd-2nd centuries BC). Lucentum was at its height in the first century of the
Christian era. Viewable here are remains of its streets, pavoirs, typical homes and thermal baths.
The Island of Tabarca
Located eleven miles south of Alicante, this guitar-shaped island is actually a geographical
prolongation of Cape Santa Pola with a total area of 30 hectares, a length of 1800m and
a maximum width of 450m.
The island has a curious history, having been mentioned by the Greek historians Strabo
and Ptolemy, and believed to be the island that St Paul disembarked on, giving his name
to the settlement established here before it became a refuge for Berber pirates in the
Middle Ages. In 1760, King Carlos III ordered a fortification to be built here and it was
later colonised with 600 Genoan fishermen released from the Tunisian port of “Tabarka”
near Algeria, giving a new name to the island, hitherto called simply “Isla Plana” (Flat
Island) or “Planesia” due to its flatness. The Genoans were released following an agreement
made by the monarch on 8 December 1768. They settled the island with their families,
and for this reason people on the island of Tabarca today still preserve surnames of Italian
origin (Parodi, Ruso, Chacopino...).
The fortified enclosure, listed as a National Historic Artistic Complex in 1964, is an
interesting example of a fortified city following 18th-century urban designs. Still viewable
are its gateways, the governor’s house – now converted into a hotel –, the Church of St
Peter and St Paul, concluded in 1779, as well as St Joseph’s Tower, located outside the
urban perimeter and dating from the second half of the 19th century. The absence of
automobiles, its clear transparent water, and the traditional fishermen’s cuisine all make
Tabarca a delightful place to visit, with boats leaving daily from Alicante Harbour, the
fastest of which only take 45 minutes to reach the island.
The Old Quarter
Now it is time to get acquainted with the older part of Alicante, the part of the city that
really inspires visitors because of its traditions and heritage, far removed from the modern,
dynamic area looking out to the sea.
Behind the concathedral and the city hall, there are small streets climbing the hill, such
as San Nicolás and San Agustín, where we can discover old squares such as Plaza de
Quijano or Plaza del Carmen, see beautiful polychrome façades on many buildings, with
their peculiar balconies and bay windows. If we keep climbing, we enter a section of the
city where the human voice seems to dominate over mechanical sounds in the Santa Cruz
quarter, with typically narrow streets – San Roque, Diputado Auset, San Rafael –, with ceramic
tiles showing images of the saints and the Holy Visage, its whitewashed houses, its wrought
iron window grilles and flower-covered balconies, and crowning the hill is a chapel whose
balconies provide us with a panorama of the bustling city lying at our feet.
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