Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

of eastern Spain, in the southern part of the

Valencian Community The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wi ...

. It is the second most populated Valencian province. Likewise, the second and third biggest cities in the Valencian Community (

Alicante Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in ...

and

Elche Elche ( ca-valencia, Elx) is a city and municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2014 data, Elche has a population of 228,647 inhabitants,Murcia Murcia (, , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country. It has a population of 460,349 inhabitants in 2021 (about one ...

on the southwest,

Albacete Albacete (, also , ; ar, ﭐَلبَسِيط, Al-Basīṭ) is a city and municipality in the Spanish autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha, and capital of the province of Albacete. Lying in the south-east of the Iberian Peninsula, t ...

on the west,

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

on the north, and the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

on the east. The province is named after its capital, the city of

Territory, population and resources

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

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

and

), with 1,838,819 inhabitants. Cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants in the province are

(334,757 inhabitants),

Elche Elche ( ca-valencia, Elx) is a city and municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2014 data, Elche has a population of 228,647 inhabitants,Torrevieja Torrevieja (; ca-valencia, Torrevella ) is a seaside city and municipality located on the Costa Blanca in the province of Alicante, in the southern part of the Valencian Community, on the southeastern Mediterranean coast of Spain. Torrevi ...

(101,792),

Orihuela Orihuela (; ca-valencia, Oriola ) is a city and municipality located at the feet of the Sierra de Orihuela mountains in the province of Alicante, Spain. The city of Orihuela had a population of 33,943 inhabitants at the beginning of 2013. The mu ...

(86,164),

Benidorm Benidorm is a town and municipality in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, Valencia, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Benidorm has been a tourist destination within Spain since 1925, when its port was extended and the first hotel ...

(71,034),

Alcoy Alcoy ( ca-valencia, Alcoi) is an industrial and university city, region and municipality located in the Valencian Community, Spain. The Serpis river crosses the municipal boundary of Alcoy. The local authority reported a population of 61,135 res ...

(61,552),

Elda Elda is a city and municipality located in the province of Alicante, Spain. , it has a total population of 55,618 inhabitants, ranking as the 7th most populous city in the province. Elda joins together with the town of Petrer to form a conurba ...

(55,168), and

San Vicente del Raspeig San Vicente del Raspeig ( Spanish) or Sant Vicent del Raspeig ( Valencian), or simply San Vicente / Sant Vicent, is a municipality located in the '' comarca'' of Alacantí, in the province of Alicante, Spain, inside the conurbation of Alicante ...

(53,126).Relación de unidades poblacionales
Instituto Nacional de Estadística The province has the largest ratio of foreigner population among all Spanish provinces. The total of 446,368 foreigners are registered in the province, which represents 23.6 percent of the total population.Uno de cada cuatro vecinos es extranjero en el 40% de los municipios alicantinos
May 16, 2009. Diario Información, provincial newspaper Out of 141 municipalities that make up the province, foreign population is above 25% in 54 municipalities, and above 50% in 19 municipalities. The latter include

San Fulgencio San Fulgencio is a village in the province of Alicante and autonomous community of Valencia, Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ...

(80%),

Rojales Rojales is a village in the province of Alicante and autonomous community of Valencia, Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra ...

(74%), Benitatxell (69.8%),

Algorfa Algorfa () is a village in the Costa Blanca area of Spain, near the coast and surrounded by Mediterranean pine forest and citrus groves. Algorfa lies on the banks of the river Segura and is approximately 10 minutes drive to the nearest blue flag ...

(69.7%),

Llíber Llíber is a village in the province of Alicante and autonomous community of Valencia, Spain. The municipality covers an area of . Geography Llíber is a municipality of Comunidad Valenciana, Spain. It is located in the north-east of the Provin ...

(67%), Teulada (65.5%), Daya Vieja (64.4%); San Miguel de Salinas (64.3%),

Calp Calpe () or Calp () is a coastal municipality located in the ''comarca'' of Marina Alta, in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, Spain, by the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of and a population density of . The city lies at the foot ...

(62.8%),

Els Poblets Els Poblets (), also known as ''Setla, Mira-rosa i Miraflor'', is a municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is situated in the north of the province of Alicante. The population is 3,708 (INE 2007). Geography Els Poblets is located ...

(61.6%), Alcalalí (60.8%),

Benijófar Benijófar () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Vega Baja del Segura in the Valencian Community The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the four ...

(58.5%), L'Alfàs del Pi (56.6%), Orba (55%),

Xàbia () or () is a coastal town and municipality in the '' comarca'' of Marina Alta, in the province of Alicante, Valencia, Spain, by the Mediterranean Sea. Situated on the side of the Montgó Massif, behind a wide bay and sheltered between two rock ...

(54%),

Torrevieja Torrevieja (; ca-valencia, Torrevella ) is a seaside city and municipality located on the Costa Blanca in the province of Alicante, in the southern part of the Valencian Community, on the southeastern Mediterranean coast of Spain. Torrevi ...

(53.5%), Murla (52%), Fondó (51.7%), and

Benidoleig Benidoleig () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Marina Alta in the Valencian Community, Spain. Benidoleig is located in the Girona Valley of the Marina Alta area in Spain's Costa Blanca The Costa Blanca (, , literally meaning "White Co ...

(50%). From the 50 provinces of Spain, Alicante is the only one with three

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually ...

s—Alicante–Elche, Elda–Petrer and Benidorm—even though only one of them (Alicante–Elche) is ranked within the Spanish top ten metropolitan areas.El boom demográfico lleva a la provincia a ser la única con tres áreas metropolitanas
March 10, 2007. Diario Información, provincial newspaper It has an area of , 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

Vega Baja del Segura Vega Baja del Segura (in Spanish) or Baix Segura (in Valencian) is a ''comarca'' in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, Spain. To the north its neighbouring ''comarcas'' are the Baix Vinalopó and Vinalopó Mitjà. Its southern limits ...

area; the most elevated points in the province are

Aitana Aitana (, ) is a mountain massif that is part of Prebaetic System in the eastern end of the Iberian Peninsula. Administratively, the mountainous area is located in the Marina Baixa, Alcoià and Comtat comarcas in the northern part of Alicante ...

(1,558 m),

Puig Campana Puig Campana (, literally translated in English as Bell Peak) is a mountain forming part of the Prebaetic System in the southeast of Spain. With an altitude of , it is the second-highest peak in the province of Alicante. Puig Campana is located ...

(1,410 m), Montcabrer (1,389 m), Carrascar de la Font Roja (1,354 m), Maigmó (1,296 m),

Serra de Crevillent The Serra de Crevillent ( es, Sierra de Crevillente) is a mountain range in the Baetic System, southern Spain. It spans the region of Murcia and the province of Alicante. The highest peak is Sant Gaietà at 835 meters, near the town of Crevillen ...

(835 m) and El Montgó (753 m). All of these peaks are a part of the Subbaetic Range. The coast extends from the cape,

Cap de la Nau The Cap de la Nau () or Cabo de la Nao (), literally Cape of the Ship, is a headland located central-eastern coastal Spain on the Gulf of Valencia, Mediterranean Sea. In English, it is also known as Cape Nao. Geography Cap de la Nau is in the m ...

, in the north to almost reaching the

Mar Menor Mar Menor (, "minor/smaller sea") is a coastal saltwater lagoon in the Iberian Peninsula located south-east of the Autonomous Community of Murcia, Spain, near Cartagena. Its name is the opposite of the Mediterranean, which is the (greater/lar ...

(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

Vinalopó The Vinalopó is a small river flowing through the Alicante province, of Spain. It flows from north to south and, with a length of 81 km., it is the longest of the rivers which flows for its entire length within the limits of this province. ...

Serpis The Serpis () is a short coastal river in the provinces of Alicante and Valencia, in Spain. The river starts at the feet of the Carrasqueta, a mountain area southwest to Alcoi, by the confluence of the Polop and Troncal streams. In its initial pa ...

, and the river

Segura Segura (, ; la, Thader; ar, شقورة, Shaqūrah, or ) is a medium-sized river in southeastern Spain. It has its source in the Sierra de Segura. Course The river begins at Santiago Pontones ( province of Jaén), passes Calasparra, C ...

. Other minor seasonal creeks (some completely dried out in summer) are

Girona Girona (officially and in Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in 2020. Girona is the capit ...

, Algar, Amadorio and Ebo. There are saline wetlands and marshlands along the coast such '' El Fondo'' and the former wetlands and now

salt evaporation pond A salt evaporation pond is a shallow artificial salt pan designed to extract salts from sea water or other brines. The Salt pans are shallow and large of size because it will be easier for sunlight to travel and reach the sea water. Natural sal ...

s in Santa Pola and Torrevieja. All of them are key

Ramsar Site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

coastal dunes A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...

are present in the

Guardamar Guardamar del Segura () or briefly Guardamar is a municipality of the province of Alicante located at the mouth of the river Segura in southern Valencia (autonomous community), Spain. It is a Mediterranean resort, with a large pine forest abutting ...

area which were planted with thousands of pine trees during the 19th century in order to protect the ville from the dunes advancing, which has created now an area of remarkable ecologic value. The climate is strikingly diverse for such a reduced area. Three major areas can be cited: * Most of the province belongs to a

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi ...

. It roughly goes along the coastal plain from

La Vila Joiosa La Vila Joiosa () is a coastal town and municipality in the Province of Alicante, Valencian Community, Spain, by the Mediterranean Sea. The town is known to the locals simply as La Vila. It is the historic and administrative capital of the ''co ...

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 A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side. Evaporated moisture from water bodies (such as oceans and large lakes) is ca ...

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

Matorral 300px, Springtime in Chilean matorral a few kilometers north of Santiago along the Pan-American Highway Matorral is a Spanish language, Spanish word, along with ''tomillares'', for shrubland, thicket or bushes. It is used in naming and describin ...

Scrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It ...

s including

thyme Thyme () is the herb (dried aerial parts) of some members of the genus '' Thymus'' of aromatic perennial evergreen herbs in the mint family Lamiaceae. Thymes are relatives of the oregano genus ''Origanum'', with both plants being mostly indigen ...

esparto Esparto, halfah grass, or esparto grass is a fiber produced from two species of perennial grasses of north Africa, Spain and Portugal. It is used for crafts, such as cords, basketry, and espadrilles. '' Stipa tenacissima'' and '' Lygeum spart ...

, juniper and the like. *Proper

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

is present in the northeastern areas around

, 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 A microclimate (or micro-climate) is a local set of atmospheric conditions that differ from those in the surrounding areas, often with a slight difference but sometimes with a substantial one. The term may refer to areas as small as a few squ ...

with an average of up to 900mm of precipitation due to

orographic lift Orographic lift occurs when an air mass is forced from a low elevation to a higher elevation as it moves over rising terrain. As the air mass gains altitude it quickly cools down adiabatically, which can raise the relative humidity to 100% and cr ...

, 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 . :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

Continental Mediterranean climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

. These are the innermost part of the province (for example Villena) and some closer to the sea but at a higher elevation (for example Alcoy). Here winters are cool to cold and a few days of snow are not unusual; summers are mild to hot and rains at about 500 mm average and slightly more evenly distributed through the year than in the previous mentioned areas. The innermost part of this domain is more quite dry while the mountainous part reach slightly higher precipitation figures which allow

Kermes Oak ''Quercus coccifera'', the kermes oak, is an oak bush in the '' Ilex'' section of the genus. It is native to the Mediterranean region and Northern African Maghreb, south to north from Morocco to France and west to east from Portugal to Cyprus ...

woods to thrive, such as the one in ''La Carrasqueta'' or in the Mariola range, both near Alcoy.

History and politics

The

Iberians The Iberians ( la, Hibērī, from el, Ἴβηρες, ''Iberes'') were an ancient people settled in the eastern and southern coasts of the Iberian peninsula, at least from the 6th century BC. They are described in Greek and Roman sources (amo ...

were the oldest documented people living in what today is the Alicante province. Belonging to these there are several archaeologic sites from which is specially 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

Phoenicia Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...

ns (in Guardamar) and

Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...

(along the coastal section to the north of the Alicante city) settled stable trading colonies and interacted with the former (see

Lady of Elche The ''Lady of Elche'' (in Spanish, ''Dama de Elche'' in Valencian, ''Dama d'Elx'') is a limestone bust that was discovered in 1897, at ''La Alcudia'', an archaeological site on a private estate two kilometers south of Elche, Spain. It is curren ...

for the most renowned archeological piece of this period). After a brief Carthaginian period, the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

took over. Romanization in this part of Iberia was intense, the

Via Augusta The ''Via Augusta'' (also known as the ''Via Herculea'' or ''Via Exterior'') was the longest and busiest of the major roads built by the Romans in ancient Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula). According to historian Pierre Sillières, who has super ...

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

Visigothic The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is kno ...

ruling, the area was taken by Islamic armies and became a part of Al Andalus. From the 13th century, kings like

Ferdinand III of Castile Ferdinand III ( es, Fernando, link=no; 1199/120130 May 1252), called the Saint (''el Santo''), was King of Castile from 1217 and King of León from 1230 as well as King of Galicia from 1231. He was the son of Alfonso IX of León and Berenguel ...

James I of Aragon James I the Conqueror ( es, Jaime el Conquistador, ca, Jaume el Conqueridor; 2 February 1208 – 27 July 1276) was King of Aragon and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276; King of Majorca from 1231 to 1276; and Valencia from 1238 to 12 ...

Alfonso X of Castile Alfonso X (also known as the Wise, es, el Sabio; 23 November 1221 – 4 April 1284) was King of Castile, León and Galicia from 30 May 1252 until his death in 1284. During the election of 1257, a dissident faction chose him to be king of Ger ...

James II of Aragon James II (Catalan: ''Jaume II''; Spanish: ''Jaime II;'' 10 April 1267 – 2 or 5 November 1327), called the Just,, an, Chaime lo Chusto, es, Jaime el Justo. was the King of Aragon and Valencia and Count of Barcelona from 1291 to 1327. He ...

reconquered the cities that

Moors The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or ...

occupied. What today is the Alicante province was initially split between the Crown of Castile and the

Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon ( , ) an, Corona d'Aragón ; ca, Corona d'Aragó, , , ; es, Corona de Aragón ; la, Corona Aragonum . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of ...

by means of the

Treaty of Almizra The Treaty of Almizra (or Treaty of Almiçra) was the third of a series of three treaties between the Crown of Aragon and Crown of Castile meant to determine the limits of their expansion into Andalusia so as to prevent squabbling between the Chri ...

, however later on the whole territory became under the control of the Kingdom of Valencia, which was a component Kingdom of the Crown of Aragon. Alicante contributes with 12 deputies in the Spanish Parliament and with 36 deputies in the

Corts Valencianes The Corts Valencianes (), commonly known as ''Les Corts'' (), are the main legislative body of the Generalitat Valenciana and therefore of the Valencian Community. The main location of the Corts is in the Palace of the Borgias in Valencia; howe ...

, the regional Parliament of the

Economy

The main industries in Alicante province are, in the primary sector,

intensive agriculture Intensive agriculture, also known as intensive farming (as opposed to extensive farming), conventional, or industrial agriculture, is a type of agriculture, both of crop plants and of animals, with higher levels of input and output per unit of ag ...

, especially in the fertile Vega Baja del Segura, Camp d'Elx (Elche's countryside) and

vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineya ...

s in the inner part of the province (Monforte, Novelda, Pinós), also near the coast in the Marina Alta area.

Fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

is important all along the coast, with important fishing harbours such as Santa Pola, Calp or Dénia. Industry has been historically important in the textile sector around Alcoy. Footwear still remains as the flagship industrial sector of the province, which occurs in Elche, Elda, Petrer and Villena, both

labour-intensive Labor intensity is the relative proportion of labor (compared to capital) used in any given process. Its inverse is capital intensity. Labor intensity has been declining since the onset of the Industrial Revolution in the late 1700s, while its inv ...

footwear and, specially, textile are at a low ebb due to harsh competition from fast pace growing economies in Asia. The traditionally important toys industry around the Ibi and Onil area is another one competing internationally with those same areas. A sector which has gained preeminence during the last 20 years is marble quarrying and processing, it happens mostly in the Novelda and Pinós area. Still, what the province is known for is its massive tourism sector. The

Costa Blanca The Costa Blanca (, , literally meaning "White Coast") is over of Mediterranean coastline in the Alicante province, on the southeastern coast of Spain. It extends from the town of Dénia in the north, beyond which lies the Costa del Azahar (or ...

'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

File:Altea3.jpg, La Mare de Déu del Consol in Altea File:Montgó.jpg, Montgó massif from Cap de Sant Antoni,

File:Castillo de Denia.jpg, The Castle in

Dénia Dénia ( es, Denia) is a historical coastal city in the province of Alicante, Spain, on the Costa Blanca halfway between Alicante and Valencia, and the capital and judicial seat of the ''comarca'' of Marina Alta. Denia's historical heritage ...

File:CastMoraira01.jpg, The Castle in

Moraira Moraira () is a small upmarket Spanish coastal town, part of Teulada (also known as Teulada-Moraira) municipality, in the Marina Alta ''comarca'', 80 km north of Alicante and 100 km south of Valencia. The town is located adjacent to the ...

File:La vila joiosa.jpg, Beachfront in

Villajoyosa La Vila Joiosa () is a coastal town and municipality in the Province of Alicante, Valencian Community, Spain, by the Mediterranean Sea. The town is known to the locals simply as La Vila. It is the historic and administrative capital of the '' c ...

File:Sonnenaufgang penon de ifach.jpg, View of the Ifach atoll in

File:Elche el palmeral.JPG, The

Palmeral of Elche The Palmeral or Palm Grove of Elche ( es, Palmeral de Elche; Valencian: ''Palmerar d'Elx'') is the generic name for a system of date palm orchards in the city of Elche, Spain. The Palmeral was planted in Roman times and underwent modifications ...

File:Explanada de España Alicante 1.jpg, The Esplanade of Spain promenade in

File:Claustro catedral Orihuela.JPG, The Cathedral in

File:Pantano_de_Guadalest.jpg, The Guadalest Reservoir File:Aitana02.jpg, The

, the highest peak of Alicante's Prebaetic System File:Maigmó vista Norte.jpg, The Maigmó Peak File:Vista de Penáguila.jpg,

Penàguila Penàguila (, Spanish: ) is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Alcoià, Alicante, Valencia, Spain. Geography Located at the foot of the Sierra de Penàguila in Pre-Baetic Valencian domain, the municipality extends from Morro Ull (1050 m), ...

in the ''comarca'' of

Alcoià Alcoià ( es, Hoya de Alcoy) is a ''comarca'' in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' ...

File:Guadalest (Alicante).jpg, The touristic town of Guadalest File:BarrancSinc Alcoi.jpg, Barranc del Sinc in the Serra Mariola. File:Santuari fontroja.jpg, Font Roja shrine. File:Playa Paraíso, Villajoyosa, España, 2014-07-03, DD 01-02 PAN.JPG, Paradise Beach in

Traditional subdivisions

Traditionally, Alicante province is divided into nine ''

comarca A ''comarca'' (, or , or ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, ...

s'' or ''comarques'' (in

Valencian Valencian () or Valencian language () is the official, historical and traditional name used in the Valencian Community (Spain), and unofficially in the El Carche comarca in Murcia (Spain), to refer to the Romance language also known as Catal ...

): *

Comtat Comtat ( es, Condado de Cocentaina) is a ''comarca'' in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto ...

: 28,391 inhabitants (2009); its capital is

Cocentaina Cocentaina (, ) is a locality and municipality in the comarca of Comtat, in the province of Alicante, Spain. The village is located between the mountainous Serra de Mariola national park and the Serpis river. Cocentaina is ideally situated for ...

; textile industry and agriculture. *

: It is subdivided into two clearly differentiated ''subcomarcas'': ** Valls d'Alcoi or Valle de Alcoy: 69,224 inhabitants; its capital is

; olive trees and textile industry; Moros y Cristianos festivals. ** La Foia de Castalla or Hoya de Castalla: 43,930 inhabitants; its capital is

Castalla Castalla (Valencian and Spanish: ) is a town located in the comarca of L'Alcoià, in the province of Alicante, Spain. Castalla is located in a mountainous area, 35 km from Alicante. Location Castalla Castle sits on a hill overlooking the va ...

; its most populous city is Ibi; industry of toys. * Marina Alta: 199,273 inhabitants; its capital is

; it is the most rainy ''comarca''; tourism. *

Marina Baixa Marina Baixa () or es, Marina Baja is a ''comarca'' in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is bordered by the ''comarques'' of Comtat on the northwest, Marina Alta on the northeast, Alacantí and Alcoià on the west and the Mediterranean Sea on th ...

or Marina Baja: 191,388 inhabitants; its capital is

; eminently tourist; beaches and mountains. * Alto Vinalopó or Alt Vinalopó: 54,061 inhabitants; its capital is

Villena Villena () is a city in Spain, in the Valencian Community. It is located at the northwest part of Alicante, and borders to the west with Castilla-La Mancha and Murcia, to the north with the province of Valencia and to the east and south with the ...

; agriculture and footwear; Moros y Cristianos festivals. *

Vinalopó Mitjà Vinalopó Mitjà ( es, Vinalopó Medio, lit. "Middle Vinalopó") is a ''comarca'' in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado) ...

or Vinalopó Medio: 173,324 inhabitants; its capital is

; footwear industry,

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

, wines and

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus '' Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years a ...

s. * Baix Vinalopó or Bajo Vinalopó: 290,481 inhabitants; its capital is

Alacantí Alacantí (in Valencian and local Spanish)—also known in Spanish as and —is a ''comarca'' in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is bordered by the ''comarques'' of Marina Baixa and Alcoià to the north, Baix Vinalopó The Baix Vinalopó ...

: 476,123 inhabitants; its capital is

; services and tourism; highly urbanised ''comarca''; Bonfires of Saint John festival. *

or Baix Segura: 390,817 inhabitants; its capital is

; its most populous city is

; agriculture and tourism.

Museums

Alcoy: *

Archaeological Museum Camil Visedo The Archaeological Museum Camil Visedo of Alcoy, Spain, Alcoy (Alicante province, Alicante), in Spain, is located in a building of Valencian Gothic and Renaissance styles that was the town hall between the 16th and 19th centuries and which later ho ...

* Museu Alcoià de la Festa * Firefighters Museum of Alcoy * Shelter of Cervantes Alicante: *

Alicante Museum of Contemporary Art Alicante Museum of Contemporary Art (Spanish: ''Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Alicante'', ''MACA'') is a municipal museum in Alicante, Spain. It exhibits 20th-century and contemporary art. Created in 1976 thanks to Eusebio Sempere, and reopene ...

* Archaeological Museum of Alicante * Gravina Museum of Fine Arts

Celebrations

* Moors and Christians of Alcoy * Bonfires of Saint John *

Mystery Play of Elche The ''Misterio de Elche'' (), in English the ''Mystery Play of Elche''Mystery play of Elche
- ''UNESCO'' o ...

Territory, population and resources

Geography and climate

History and politics

Economy

Gallery

Traditional subdivisions

Museums

Celebrations

See also

Notes

References

External links