Arrivals Alfaz del Pi / El Albir
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A bit of history... The origin of l´Alfàs del Pi is closely attached to agriculture and a wateraware culture. The name of L´Alfàs is Arabian in origin, meaning fertile land or cultivated land. In the mid 16th century our town was a small village part of the barony of Polop, it´s name then was Alfàs de Polop. Back then, the baroness Beatriz Fajardo de Mendoza began the construction of an irrigation system, the Reg Major de l´Alfàs, that would increase the agricultural richness of her lands. This irrigation channel, that gathers it´s waters from the Ponoig, passes through the towns of Polop, la Nucía, l´Alfàs del Pi and Benidorm. Along it´s route a large number of waterwheels were set up, some of them are still standing, as well as fountains and laundry sites. This network of irrigation channels, that are still running 345 years after their construction, allowed for a remarkable growth of agricultural production and of the population settled down in the area. Finally, in 1836, l´Alfàs became independent from Polop, changing it´s name to l´Alfàs del Pi, in honour of the pine tree planted in the main square that symbolizes this act of independence. Since the 250 inhabitants registered in 1836, l´Alfàs has become a town with over 21.000 inhabitants. It is one of the most touristic towns of Alicante along the Costa Blanca with over 90 nationalities coexisting with a international perfect quality of life. Even so, it´s town center still has spots that take us to a small Mediterranean village with an agricultural based economy. The Baldons, Calvari, the Gall or Baix streets with their narrow walkways and traditional houses or the plaza Mayor with the pine tree and the hurch of San José recall a time in which life was based on agricultural cycles and time was measured with the ringing of church bells.
Beach One of the most spectacular places in l´Alfàs del Pi is, without doubt, it´s coastline. The racó de l´Albir is located inside the Altea bay area, between the slopes of Serra Gelada and the impressive Ifach rock. From it´s particular beach made of pebbles you can enjoy one of the most spectacular sights of the Alicante coast. L´Albir beach is 550 m long and it´s seabed, including the protected area of the Serra Gelada Natural Park, displays a grand variety of animal species as well as an extensive field of Mediterranean Tapeweed, a fundamental plant for the sea´s ecosystem. Its waters are therefore the perfect scenario for scuba diving. Other sports that can be practiced in l´Albir are windsurf, water skiing, canoeing or sailing. To enjoy the sights of the beach and of the bay we can walk along the Paseo de las Estrellas, the beachfront, where a tribute is paid to the artists awarded at the l´Alfàs Film Festival. At one end
of the beachfront walk, next to the cliffs, we can find the impressive sculpture of an anchor made by the artist Jorge Castro. In this area, where we can find the tourism office, numerous cultural activities are organized during the summer season as part of the Estiu Festiu festive program. Along the beachfront, we can also find the Feria de Artesanía each summer, the artisan´s fair, and for the children there are various play parks as well as workshops organized at the beach library.
Serra Gelada Serra Gelada is a mountainous elevation that separates the bays of Benidorm and Altea. It is a unique space where culture and nature have coexisted for centuries, bringing us one of the most spectacular landscapes of the Valencian Community. The numerous and important environmental values it possesses have resulted in its protection as a natural space in 2005. The mountain range and its coastline are included in the Serra Gelada Natural Park, a unique park of the Valencian Community as it is the first sea - land natural park in this community. Shared by the towns of l´Alfàs del Pi, Benidorm and Altea, most of this park is in fact located at sea.
The marine area displays vast biological diversity enhanced by a field of Mediterranean Tapeweed. On the land part, the hanging fossil dune deser ves special attention, a formation that dates back to over 100,000 years ago. The vegetation located in the park is characterized by the diverse landscapes which have allowed for the appearance of endemic species such as fumewort or dune juniper. The sea and land nature of the Park also allow us to find a grand variety of animal species. Without doubt the most significant animal to be found is the bottlenose dolphin, sightings of which are occasionally organized by guided tours. The present shape of this space is marked by the interaction between culture and nature. Among the numerous elements of our heritage that we can find in the park, there is the Albir lighthouse located next to another significant structure declared as a Interesting Cultural Asset (Bien de InterĂŠs Cultural, B.I.C., in Spanish) the Torre Bombarda, a watchtower that was used between the 16th and the 18th century to guard the coast.
Serra Gelada Another unique element is the ochre mine located in a small cove that still displays remains of its exploitation during the 19th century. To these structures we should also add the dry stone strips of land and walls, evidence of a lifestyle that today has practically disappeared. We must also consider the immaterial heritage related to this cultural landscape, the traditions, the stories and legends that the elders of l´Alfàs del Pi still hold on in their memory. In the Serra Gelada Natural Park there are three routes designed with different degrees of difficulty so that we can discover their spectacular landscapes. The most accessible and most visited route is the road to the lighthouse, a route that follows the path built in 1963 for servicing the outpost. Along this route you can enjoy impressive views of Altea bay with the Ifach rock on the horizon. You can also get to know some of the environmental and cultural values of the mountain that are described on the information panels placed along various points of the route.
The Albir Lighthouse The Albir lighthouse is a unique historical building built in 1863 as a landmark of the northernmost tip of Serra Gelada. The building was inhabited by two lighthouse keepers until the sixties when the need for the constant presence of a keeper was unnecessary. Even though the lighthouse beacon has never stopped shining, the lack of maintenance brought forth a constant degradation of the structure until the l´Alfàs del Pi Town Hall rebuilt the building in 2011.
In the rooms where the two keepers once lived, a exhibition centre has been designed that takes us on a tour through nature and the history of Serra Gelada. Inside, visitors can get to know about pirates and corsairs, soldiers, miners, fishermen, sailors, lighthouse keepers, farmers..., people whose lives have been linked to this land and the sea. Presently, the Albir lighthouse is the only of its kind in the Valencian Community that has a joint use, as a maritime beacon and also a cultural centre.
Torre Bombarda During the 16th century, the border of the kingdom due to sairs. For this reason, Phillip the Mediterranean coast and
valencian coastline was the most dangerous the frequent attacks of Berber pirates and corII promoted a centralized defence system for the Balearic Islands based on watchtowers.
The towers, known back then as “Atalayas” were built in strategic places to protect ports, coastal towns, rivers and lagoons where the enemy could supply themselves with water. The Torre Bombarda, or Bombarda Watchtower, is located in a perfect spot for watching over Altea´s bay and the cliffs of Serra Gelada. If they saw enemy ships, the soldiers stationed in the watchtower would warn the castle in Altea by lighting a bonfire so as to prepare for defence, while two guards would move to the nearest towers (the tower in Cap Negret, Altea, and the Caletes tower in Benidorm) to alert of the attack. An archaeological dig has recently taken place at the Torre Bombarda along with the restoration of the structure so as to halt further deterioration that has taken place throughout the years. With these improvements the watchtower is protected and visitors can enjoy one of the most significant monuments in l´Alfàs del Pi.
Open Air Museum In all cultures water is a synonym of purity, health and wellness. In Roman times this concept´s expression was found in thermal baths, facilities for bathing but also a place to rest and for social meetings. In Roman times baths were an important event of the day usually taking place in the afternoon before dinner. More than a luxury, baths were considered a necessity that contributed to a rewarding physical and mental rest after a hard day of work. The populations that didn´t know or didn´t use baths were considered “barbarian” and were thus kept aside from civilization. The thermal baths therefore represented the lifestyle of Ancient Rome. In 1979, construction work close to Albir Beach brought to light the skeletal remains of a burial from Roman times. During the eighties and nineties of the 20th century, archeological excavations have unearthed a site of great scientific and patrimonial value made of an extensive necropolis, a mausoleum and a villa. The complex has been dated from between the 4th and 7th century A.D.
The Open Air Museum Villa Romana de l´Albir, declared the first of its kind by the Valencian Government, was officially opened on the 26th of March 2011. Since the opening there have been guided tours for groups, schools and resident associations and, as part of the Estiu Festiu summer festival, the facilities have held live concerts and other cultural activities that have seen large numbers of people attending these events. In the museum you can visit the villa´s thermal baths as part of an accessible and educational tour without architectural barriers and informative panels with texts in Spanish, Valenciano and English. These baths are only a small part of the site that still hasn´t been fully explored therefore, occasionally, you can see archeologists working to discover more remains of the villa´s original facilities. The visit continues with the mausoleum, a funeral home that contains the burial sites of an important family, possibly the owners of the villa.
Museums A GREAT CULTURAL L´Alfàs del Pi offers a complete network of cultural areas and spaces, open and alive, scattered throughout the town, where cultural and artistic exhibitions of great quality are presently on display. FUNDACIÓN FRAX The Fundación Frax, the Frax Foundation, is a cultural entity for promoting culture, art and science in every form and, particularly, in those that contribute to promoting tourism as a enhancing element for improving the economy and culture of the Valencian region. Their museum, opened on the 17th of November in 2009, is located on the sea front in Playa Albir, part of a building with a unique and modern architecture. It has one of the most important exhibition halls in the Valencian region, the Pedro Delso Hall, with a surface area of 1500 m². The museum also has other multipurpose galleries and a auditorium with a capacity for 150 people.
T he Fra x Found a tion ha s it s own interesting collection of works of art with distinguished artists such as Picasso, Emilio Varela, Sempere and Díaz Ferrer. There is also a complete programme of temporary exhibitions from renowned artists such as Ramón de Soto, Agostino Ferrari, Javier Chapa, Pepe Azorín or Rafael Calduch. They also have a powerful programme for promoting and distributing the work of y oung a r tists through tem porar y exhibitions, awards and scholarships. Periodically, their facilities also hold conferences, classes and workshops for different groups of residents.
Culture Town of Festivals / Cultural Activities For years l´Alfàs del Pi has periodically celebrated a series of festivals on different themes. With this cultural agenda, the town offers various touristic events with a large range of activities available to both residents and visitors.
Mostra de Teatre:
An activity that takes place in March. The latest theatrical plays from Madrid and Barcelona´s professional theatres are represented here.
L´Alfàs del Pi Film Festival:
The most important festival in town. In 2013, this festival holds its 25th edition, becoming a prime event which gathers here in July the most important people in Spanish cinema – actors, actresses, film directors and producers. During the festival, films produced throughout the year are shown at the local Cine Roma, the Casa de Cultura, Cine en la Playa (cinema by the beach) along with a short film competition. During the festival, the Faro de Plata award (the Silver Lighthouse award) is given to outstanding people that have contributed to the world of cinema, among the award winners are Luis García Berlanga, Jorge Sanz, Miguel Bosé, Carmen Maura, Ana Belén, Jose Luis López Vázquez, Bigas Luna, Raul Arévalo, Francisco Rabal, Jorge Sanz, the Ministry of Culture, the Spanish Film Academy, etc.
Estiu Festiu:
When the Film Festival finishes, another begins. This festival that takes place every weekend during the months of July and August along the Paseo de las Estrellas at Playa Albir (Albir Beach). This festival offers a wide range of cultural activities including music, theatre, dance and cinema.
L’Alfàs en Jazz:
During the month of September, Jazz spills out onto the streets. The 17 previous editions of this event have seen emblematic musicians such as Lou Benett, Pedro Iturralde, Teté Montoliu and groups such as The Bourbon Street Stompers, Bernard van Rossum Quartet and the Chamaleon Jazz Group play their music.
Balconades:
Taking advantage of the beauty found in the old town area of l´Alfàs and Altea, during the months of September and October we can see the streets become art galleries. The balconies of the houses display works of art painted by altruistic artists and local painters that decorate the streets with a rather unique look and array of colours.
Mozartmanía:
Another of the most traditional festivals of the town, heading for its 21st edition. Every October classical music orchestras from all over the Valencian region are invited to l´Alfàs to pay tribute to two fundamental musicians: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig Van Beethoven, creators of classical symphonies.
Spanish-Norwegian Week:
Considering that l´Alfàs del Pi has the second largest Norwegian colony in all of Europe, with over 2,300 Norwegian residents in our town, the month of November sees the celebration of the Spanish Norwegian Week. This event manifests the spirit and brotherhood between Norway and Spain. This celebration continues with Norway´s National Day, celebrated every 17th of May, commemorating the approval of the Norwegian Constitution in 1814.
Festival Jajajajaja:
Christmas Laughter: during the Christmas holidays, this festival is a time and place for the children to enjoy cultural activities such as music, theatre and games. This festival coincides with the local traditional manger and Christmas tree decorating competitions.
Gastronomy Tradition on the table
Gastronomy is one of the elements that best defines a culture. The way that dishes are conceived, the ingredients that are used and the social rituals associated to food are aspects that tell us of the lifestyles of a town, of a culture. L´Alfàs del Pi clearly has a Mediterranean gastronomy as the town shares recipes, ingredients, crops, celebrations and traditions with other coastal areas. The Mediterranean diet, declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010, is both ample and varied, l´Alfàs del Pi´s gastronomy has the characteristics of its own particular idiosyncrasy.
Without a doubt, rice is the basic ingredient of our traditional cuisine. It is prepared in many ways according to the traditional cookbook: “arròs a banda” (rich with fish), “arròs amb cebà” (with onion), “empedrat” (pebbled rice) or “arròs amb fesols” (rice with beans), the latter a dish that constituted the main sustenance for the people of the countryside. Another typical recipe of l´Alfàs is “puntxero amb pilotes” (stewed meatballs) a type of stew that is eaten on Christmas Day and on the 10th of November, the day of the local Saint. “Pilotes de dacsa” (corn balls), a stew made with balls of corn flour, and “olleta de blat” (wheat stew) are other traditional dishes present in l´Alfàs´ kitchens. “Coca” (traditional pie) deserves special attention as a fundamental part of our gastronomy that can be found in all the town´s bakeries. They are baked with a cover, such as “coca farcida” (filled with tuna, tomato and peppers) and “coca” with chard and tuna, or uncovered such as the typical “coca a calda”, a wheat flour base with fresh tomato, sausage, bacon and sardines laid on top. To complete our culinary adventure we have traditional sweet desserts such as “buñuelos de calabaza” (pumpkin fritters), “pastissos de moniato” (sweet potato pie) and “almendrados” (almond cakes). All these are typical Christmas sweets but for Easter we can go for a walk in the countryside to eat a “tonya” and a “mona” (a large/small sponge cake) with an boiled egg set in the centre. The local custom is to break the hard boiled egg against someones forehead while a traditional rhyme is said out loud quote.
“Here it itches,here it stings, here I eat the sponge cake and here I break the egg” Ací em pica, ací em cou, ací em menge la mona i ací et trenque l’ou.
Celebrations Tradition, devotion and fun The statue of the “Santísimo Cristo del Buen Acierto” (The Holy Saint of Good Skill) arrived in l´Alfàs del Pi on the 26th of March, 1857. This baroque sculpture of undoubtable artistic quality had remained at the Remedio convent in Valencia until the early 20th century. After the disentailment the statue came into the possession of Pascual Baldó Orozco, a carmelite monk born in l´Alfàs who, selflessly, donated the statue to his village. Nowadays, the l´Alfàs Jubilee fiestas are celebrated from the 7th to the 10th of November in honour of the Santísimo Cristo, for whom the people of l´Alfàs feel great devotion, and the full pardon that was given by order of Pius IX to those that worship the Saint on the Jubilee. The “Fiestas Mayores” (the main fiestas) has been one of the most important events of our town for the last 150 years. During these days in November the people of L´Alfàs, along with a multitude of visitors, celebrate a wide variety of cultural, religious and entertaining events.
Apart from the “fiestas patronales” (fiestas in honour of the patron saint), l´Alfàs del Pi also celebrates other traditional fiestas. The “Fiesta de la Creueta” (fiesta of the Cross) takes place the first weekend of May and, respecting a tradition shared throughout Spain, the town´s cross in Calle Ferrerías (in the town centre) is decorated with flowers. Village dances, children´s games and religious events take place around the cross, welcoming the arrival of spring. The fiestas in l´Albir take place the last weekend of August, fiestas that say farewell to the summer season in a popular and entertaining way. Then in the month of December the celebration of the “Fiestas de la Purísima” (fiesta for the Virgin Mary) are organized by a group of young people from l´Alfàs in honour of the Immaculate Conception.
Sports Due to the extraordinary climate of l´Alfas del Pi many elite athletes come to the magnificent sport facilities of our sports centres, particularly in the winter. Its excellent athletic track has recently been renovated with the same surface used in various olympic stadiums such as Beijing, Berlin and Barcelona. The sports centre also offers various football fields of natural and artificial grass, an indoor pavilion and a cricket and golf practice course. L´Alfàs del Pi is a perfect place for sport, either elite, amateur or casual, to be used as a training base throughout the year. Serra Gelada gives us the possibility of doing other physical activities in a natural environment such as hiking along designated trails, nordic walking or mountain biking. A few kilometres away we can find various mountainous ranges such as the Sierra de Aitana with a height of 1,500 m, the Sierra de Mariola, la Serrella and Sierra Bernia. Note also the well known Puig Campana, barely 15 km from l´Alfàs del Pi, where you can enjoy and experience conditions similar to higher mountains. Of all the sporting events held in l´Alfàs del Pi, we emphasize the 10 most beautiful miles of the Costa Blanca. Since 2008 this popular race takes place on the last Sunday of October or the first Sunday of November and attracts a large number of runners. The route is 10 miles (17 kms) long, starting in the l´Alfàs del Pi sports centre and passing through El Albir, going up the Serra Gelada Natural Park and to the lighthouse. Afterwards the route returns back to the sports centre and the finishing line. This race, with its unique characteristics, will become part of the annual calender of both elite and amateur runners.
Markets Each week two markets are organized in l´Alfàs del Pi, where we can find a great variety of products. From clothes, shoes and complimentary items to fruit, vegetables, condiments or a wide range of typical products of our land. To stroll through the stalls of these markets is a good way to discover various products that are parts of traditional Mediterranean cuisine. In L´Alfàs del Pi´s town centre there is a market every Friday, in Avenida Constitución, with approximately 190 stalls, basically selling clothes, complimentary items and food. In L´Albir the market is organized every Sunday along Calle Isaac Albéniz and is made of over 160 stalls that offer a large amount of curiosities. The surroundings of this market has other interesting offers for enjoying Sunday such as cafes and restaurants with open air terraces, museums or walks close to the sea and surrounded by nature, that make your visits to l´Albir even more interesting and entertaining.
Ací em pica, ací em cou, ací em menge la mona i ací et trenque l’ou.
More Info Town Hall Local Police National Police Guardia Civil Emergency Fire Brigade Roadside Assistance Ambulance Hospital Health Centre Town Health Centre Albir Social Services Alicante Airport Altet Animal Aid Justice of the Peace Municipal Sports Centre SUMA (Tax Office) Taxi OMIC Consumer Information Office Social Center for Seniors Church Culture Center Post Office Alfàs Post Office Albir Tourist Info Alfàs Tourist Info Albir
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