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 ...
and
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
: ) is a coastal town located in the
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, ...
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 ...
, Spain, by 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 the ...
. It has an area of and has a population of 30,000 inhabitants of whom 10,000 are residents of the nearby town of Gran Alacant.
The town has an important
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 ...
known as the ''salines'' which remains in business, additionally, most of it is recognized as the Natural Park of Salines de Santa Pola, an important Ramsar site. The town was settled over the ruins of a
Roman
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 ...
village called ''Portus Ilicitanus'' (literally, ''Harbour of
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,Alicante province, and also from the
Basque autonomous community
The Basque Country (; eu, Euskadi ; es, País Vasco ), also called Basque Autonomous Community ( eu, Euskal Autonomia Erkidegoa, links=no, EAE; es, Comunidad Autónoma del País Vasco, links=no, CAPV), is an autonomous community of Spain. It ...
,
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
and the UK, just to mention some. The nearby island of Tabarca (part of Alicante) can be visited by ship.
The new town of Gran Alacant, north of Santa Pola along the Alicante bay, accounts for about one third of the population of the district. Next to it is the Carabasi area, a nature reserve. Gran Alacant lies only a few kilometres from
Alicante Airport
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 th ...
and a few hundred metres from the town of Los Arenales which is located in the Elche district.
In June 2009, the Valencian Government announced that the Alicante Tram system will be extended southwards via Alicante Airport and El Altet, to stations in Gran Alacant and Santa Pola and then onwards to
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 abuttin ...
and
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.
Torrevieja ...
before terminating in
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 ...
.
Etymology
The name is derived from Saint Paula, itself derived from Saint Paul the apostle, who arrived at Tabarca island, as tradition holds. However, it is likely that the name comes from Latin "palus", thence "pauls", finally "pol".
History
The first settlements in the area remount to the third millennium BC, proof of which have been tools and paintings from the Neolithic found in the Cueva de las Arañas del Carabassí, as well as remains found from hunter-gatherers of the Palaeolithic in the Cueva de las Teresitas.
During the fourth century BCE, a small walled settlement was built near Vanalopó river. It served mainly as a Greek-Iberia economical hub.
During the first century CE, near the former site a port was built, serving the city of Illici, named Portus Illicitanus ( el, Ἰλλικιτάνος Λιμήν) (cited by
Claudius Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importa ...
in
Geography
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, an ...
).
This port proved paramount for the development of the region's maritime commerce, together with Cartagena's.
In 460 AC, emperor Majorians flotilla set sail to attack north African vandals, but was burnt at that same port.
From the Roman settlement a necropolis is still in place, as well as a fish-salting factory and the Roman House of Palmeral. Their remains are described as back as 1621 by Cristòfol Sanz, although they were excavated during the 20th century.
Economics
Economical activity in this region is based on agriculture, craft-making and fishing. 1.3% of the population was dedicated to agriculture in 2003, and that's only successful when coupled with artificial watering systems, needed for the 200 hectares of orange trees (102ha), mandarin trees (74ha), and pomegranate trees (18ha), together with 230ha used for vegetables such as melons, shallots, broccoli, etc.
Languages
According to article 35 of law n° 4/1983 (23 November), Santa Pola's official language is Valencian, together with Spanish (Spanish Constitution, article n°3, 1978). INE's latest census shows that 90% of the population speaks Valencian. There has been an increased positive trend in the influx of new language influences, in part due to immigration patterns in the region. This has caused suburbs such as Gran Alacant to have a significant population of English speakers.
Gallery
File:Santa Pola. Castillo. Puerta este 3.JPG, Door to Castle of Santa Pola
File:Torre de Tamarit, en las Salinas de Santa Pola.jpg, Tamarit Tower
File:Santa Pola. Salinas. Puesta de Sol 1.JPG, Sunset at las Salinas
File:Santa Pola. Castillo. Museu del Mar.JPG, Castle of Santa Pola, Maritime Museum