Province of Alicante

Alicante^[a] (Valencian: Alacant)^[b] is a province of eastern Spain, in the southern part of the Valencian Community. It is the second most populated Valencian province. Likewise, the second and third biggest cities in the Valencian Community (Alicante and Elche, respectively) are located in this province.

Alicante is bordered by the provinces of

According to the 2018 population data, Alicante ranks as the fourth most populous province in Spain (after

From the 50 provinces of Spain, Alicante is the only one with three metropolitan areas—Alicante–Elche, Elda–Petrer and Benidorm—even though only one of them (Alicante–Elche) is ranked within the Spanish top ten metropolitan areas.^[4] It has an area of 5,816.5 km² (2,245.8 sq mi), and so it has a population density of 313.8 inhabitants/km².

Geography and climate

The province is mountainous, especially in the north and midwest, whereas it is mostly flat to the south, in the

The coast extends from the cape, Cap de la Nau, in the north to almost reaching the Mar Menor (Minor Sea) in the south. With regard to water sources, due to the dry rain regime there are no major rivers, but mostly ramblas (dry rivers), which fill in with water when torrential rains occur.

The only remarkable streams are the

There are saline wetlands and marshlands along the coast such El Fondo and the former wetlands and now salt evaporation ponds in Santa Pola and Torrevieja. All of them are key Ramsar Sites which make the Alicante province of high relevance for both migratory and resident seabirds and waterbirds.

Important

• Most of the province belongs to a
  La Vila Joiosa through the southernmost border (cities included here are, amongst others, Alicante, Elche, Orihuela and Torrevieja). Summers are very long, hot to very hot and very dry, winters are cool to mild and its most prominent feature is very scarce precipitation, typically below 300mm. per year and most likely to happen during spring and autumn. The reasons for this lack of precipitation is mostly the marked rain shadow
  effect caused by hills to the west of the Alicante province (and, to a lesser degree, those in the northern part of the province which, in turn, enhance the inverse Orographic lift effect around Cap de la Nau). Most of its few rainy days happen during Autumn and Spring.

The predominant vegetation in this part of the province is

Scrublands including thyme, esparto, juniper

and the like.

• Proper Mediterranean climate is present in the northeastern areas around Cap de la Nau, mostly to its North but also to its South, in diminishing grades until disappearing slightly north of Benidorm. It roughly goes along the coastal plain from the northern border of the province through the Benidorm area. The north slopes of the mountains in the Marina Alta have a remarkably wetter microclimate with an average of up to 900mm of precipitation due to orographic lift, with most of the precipitation occurring in Autumn and Spring. The precipitation in this area is an average four times the one of the semiarid South, with this big precipitation gap occurring in a matter of just 100 km (62 mi).

The vegetation of this part is an enriched version of the Matorral shrubland and also Mediterranean pine woods.

• The Alicante province also has a mostly dry Mediterranean to
  Mariola range
  , both near Alcoy.

History and politics

The Iberians were the oldest documented people living in what today is the Alicante province. Belonging to these there are several archaeologic sites from which is especially known the one in La Serreta (near Alcoy) because the longest inscriptions remaining in the undeciphered Iberian language were found there.

Along the coast and contemporarily to the Iberians, the seafaring Phoenicians (in Guardamar) and Greeks (along the coastal section to the north of the Alicante city) settled stable trading colonies and interacted with the former (see Lady of Elche for the most renowned archeological piece of this period).

After a brief Carthaginian period, the Romans took over. Romanization in this part of Iberia was intense, the Via Augusta communicated this part of the Empire to the metropoli and so several cities thrived, from which the one known as Ilici Augusta (now Elche) even reached the status of colonia.

After a brief period of

Alicante contributes with 12 deputies in the

Still, what the province is known for is its massive tourism sector. The Costa Blanca's generally mild and sunny weather attracts millions of tourists from other European countries such as the Netherlands, the UK and Ireland, Germany, Belgium, Norway or France and also from other parts in Spain like Madrid. Thousands of families from other places own a second home in the Alicante province which they use for their vacation time.

Gallery

Traditional subdivisions

Traditionally, Alicante province is divided into nine comarcas or comarques (in Valencian):

• Comtat: 28,391 inhabitants (2009); its capital is Cocentaina; textile industry and agriculture.
• Alcoià: It is subdivided into two clearly differentiated subcomarcas:
  • Moros y Cristianos
    festivals.
  • La Foia de Castalla or Hoya de Castalla: 43,930 inhabitants; its capital is Castalla; its most populous city is Ibi; industry of toys.
• Marina Alta: 199,273 inhabitants; its capital is Dénia; it is the most rainy comarca; tourism.
• Marina Baixa or Marina Baja: 191,388 inhabitants; its capital is Benidorm; eminently tourist; beaches and mountains.
• Moros y Cristianos
  festivals.
• Vinalopó Mitjà or Vinalopó Medio: 173,324 inhabitants; its capital is Elda; footwear industry, marble, wines and grapes.
• Alicante Airport
  in municipality of Elche.
• L'
  Bonfires of Saint John
  festival.
• Vega Baja del Segura or Baix Segura: 390,817 inhabitants; its capital is Orihuela; its most populous city is Torrevieja; agriculture and tourism.

Museums

Alcoy:

• Archaeological Museum Camil Visedo
• Museu Alcoià de la Festa
• Firefighters Museum of Alcoy
• Shelter of Cervantes

Alicante:

• Alicante Museum of Contemporary Art
• Archaeological Museum of Alicante
• Gravina Museum of Fine Arts

Celebrations

• Moors and Christians of Alcoy
• Bonfires of Saint John
• Mystery Play of Elche
• Moros y cristianos

See also

• List of municipalities in Alicante
• Alicante (Spanish Congress Electoral District)
• Suma Gestión Tributaria (Alicante Administration Body)
• Route of the Castles of Vinalopó

Notes

1. ^ Spanish pronunciation: [aliˈkante]
2. ^ Valencian pronunciation: [alaˈkant]

References

1. ^ Population Figures referring to Municipal Register 1 January 2015 - Instituto Nacional de Estadística
2. ^ ^{a b c} Uno de cada cuatro vecinos es extranjero en el 40% de los municipios alicantinos May 16, 2009. Diario Información, provincial newspaper (in Spanish)
3. ^ Relación de unidades poblacionales Instituto Nacional de Estadística
4. ^ El boom demográfico lleva a la provincia a ser la única con tres áreas metropolitanas March 10, 2007. Diario Información, provincial newspaper (in Spanish)

External links

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Alicante.

• Excma. Diputación Provincial de Alicante