Royal Order

cudia, found a stone. When he removed it, the face of the bust was revealed.

The sculpture was leaning slightly to the right, facing southeast, on two stone slabs. Its location and position reveal that it was intentionally concealed, since, to protect it, a semicircle of protection slabs was built to demar ­ cate the necessary space to house the sculpture.

The Dama de Elche measures 56cm high, 49cm wide and 37cm deep at the base. She weighs 65kg.

A gala ceremony is set to take place in the Rotonda del Parque on August 4 to mark the 125th anniversary of the discovery of the Iberian bust.

Take a seat

ELCHE has now installed chairs and shade outside the Citizen Service Offices in Plazas de Baix and Francesc Cant. The mayor, Pablo Ruz, said: “It’s about alleviating the wait for people who are queuing out of necessity. It’s not an extraordinary measure but a moral duty.”

Open door

THE Neonatology Unit of the Torrevieja University Hospital has now resumed its open­door policy for parents. Parents are now able to access the unit 24 hours a day after the rules were changed during the pandemic.

EU grant

ROJALES City Council is delighted to confirm it has now received a grant of €27,000 for the acquisition of five electric vehicles. The funds have been awarded from the European Union under the NextGeneration EU Fund.

Access denied

THE Ministry for the Ecological Transition has denied permission for the solar plant which was requested to be built on some eight hectares of the impact buffer zone of the Lagunas de La Mata and Torrevieja Natural Park, in the municipality of Torrevieja.

Dream studies

THE University of Alicante is set to offer an undergraduate degree in Medicine in September. This will allow 86 students to fulfil their dream of studying these vocational studies in a public university with accredited scientific and academic solvency.

Less crime

ELCHE is the only city in the south of the province that manages to contain the rise in crime. An Interior report on criminal offences in the last three years show crime rose between 11 and 25 per cent, except for in Elche where it fell by 7.4 per cent.

Anna Ellis IS your car due an ITV?

Some people are having to wait almost a month for ITV inspections in Alicante and Elche.

The company blames the delays on a backlog of inspections due to the time of year and hopes that the new mobile stations will help to reduce waiting times.

At the moment, the online appointment service in Alicante does not appear to have a single appointment slot for the next four weeks.

The problem of saturation is very present at the moment in the province’s ITV stations. “These are the weeks before the summer holidays begin,” said Josep Albert Quilis, Director General of the Sociedad Valenciana de ITV (Sitval), the public company that has taken over management of the