Climate History Economy

The region of Alicante is located on the eastern coast of Spain and is part of the Costa Blanca. Alicante is 81km (50 miles) N of Murcia, 40km (25 miles) S of Benidorm, 172km (107 miles) S of Valencia and 417km (259 miles) SE of Madrid. The city of Alicante is on the coastline between Benidorm and Elche.

Alicante is a city in Spain with a population of 325,797 (2007), where people of both traditional and modern thoughts live in peace. According to remain, first settlers in Alicante where thought to be from there from third century B.C. Today, Alicante is a popular tourist centre thanks to its beaches and excellent facilities available. 

Alicante and its Climate

Alicate enjoys a mild climate all year round. The city benefits from around of 2,800 hours of sunshine with an average temperature of 19.3ºC. With fresh air and sunny days, Alicante is an ideal place to live. As it enjoys more sunshine, the number of rainy days is limited to just 20 per year. Even during the winter time the temperature doesn’t fall below 16° C. The best time to visit this place is between May and October as the weather is warm and sunny. Alicante has a time difference of GMT + 1 hour. The temperature can get up to 40°C in August. It is too hot and crowded during this busy season.

Alicante and its  History

Pre Historic Alicante

The land of Alicante has been inhabited for over 7000 years with the first tribes travelling from Central Europe around 5000 to 3000 B.C. Some of the tribes in Alicate settled around the slopes of mount Benacantil on which today stands the castle of Santa Bárbara. The highlight of this mountain was that it was close to the sea, but yet offered security from invaders due to its height. According to some historians, the Iberians (native Spanish) secured the hilltop by fortifying it. Some group of people settled in the Benalúa area, where later on the Roman city of Lucentum was built which is the predecessor of the city of Alicante. Some settlements have also been found in Albufereta and in the Serra Grossa.

By around 1000 BC Greek & Phoenician traders had started visiting the eastern coast of Spain for the purpose of trade, & played a major part in the introduction of iron, the alphabet, & the pottery wheel. By 600 BC the armies of Carthage & Rome began to penetrate the peninsula & fight for dominance. The Carthaginian general Hamilcar (father of the legendary Hannibal) founded the fortified settlement of Akra Leuke, on the site of the modern city of Alicante. The Carthaginians conquered much of the land around Alicante, but in the end were no match for the Romans. They proved to be the primary force & ruled here for over 700 years. By 500 AD Rome was in decline, & Alicante was more or less under the control of the Goths. 

Alicante under invansion

The Moors (Arabs) who ruled southern Spain until 1100 AD built the present day city, under the protection of the castle. In 1246 Alfonso the 10th captured the city for the Castilian crown. Later on in 1308, Jaime II incorporated Alicante in the Kingdom of Valencia. Alicante was granted its own city charter under the reign of Ferdinand the Catholic in 1490. 100 years later it became a natural port of Castile, thus initiating the development of its sea trade. Due to peace and prosperity Alicante flourished and attained the rank of Spain's third largest trading port, exporting wine, oranges & olive oil.

Like other cities and ports, invaders have also attacked Alicante and all the invasions have been made through sea. During the reign of Charles II in 1691, the French Armada attacked Alicante for seven consecutive days. Thus the war came to be known as the War of Spanish Succession (1701-14). During the war, Alicante sided with the Bourbons and therefore suffered an attack from the English troops, resulting in the destruction of castle of Santa Bárbara. It became the provisional capital of the Kingdom of Valencia during the War of Independence (1804-14), which is also known as the Peninsular War. Major General Suchet occupied Valencia proper at that time.

It was only during the 19th century that Alicante started to prosper and expand. With the arrival of railway in 1858, it got linked to other major cities that were located in the centre of the peninsula. Due to this the city got a cosmopolitan make over and became one of Valencia’s major port welcoming maritime traffic. 

Modern history

The Spanish revolution started around the first quarter of 20th century. King Alfonso XIII had to give up the throne, due to failed military dictatorship and civil unrest. In 1931, Spanish Republic was declared. A left-wing coalition of communists and socialists won the subsequent elections by a narrow margin, but subsequently lost the next one in 1933 to the conservatives and liberals. They could not accept their defeat easily leading to a revolution led by the Republican Army. Communism in Spain came in to existence due to an uprising by General Sanjurjo and General Mola in 1936, who were supported by Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. After the accidental death of both Mola and Sanjurjo and three years of war, Franco's armies were victorious. Alicante was one of the last cities loyal to the legitimate government.

The next 20 years proved to be unpleasant for Alicante under Franco's police state. Due to severe frosts in 1941 and 1946 local orange farmers suffered huge losses. After Franco died in 1975, King Juan Carlos I succeeded him leading Spain to democracy. Valencia at last was permitted autonomy after a gap of four centuries.

Recent history

Today, Alicante is the second largest city in the Land of Valencia with a population of 322,673 (2007) & derives much of its income from tourism, & exporting fruit produce & salt.

Alicante and its Economy

Alicante is one of the fastest-growing cities in Spain. Its economy is based upon tourism in the beaches from Costa Blanca coast, wine production, services and administration. It exports wine, olive oil, fruit and it has light industries including food processing, leather, textiles and pottery.

Alicante's provincial economy is strong, ranking as Spain's fourth largest province in terms of its Gross Domestic Product and number of inhabitants, plus its highly active University. These strengths have given rise to a well-consolidated tradition in the field of organizing congresses, conventions and professional meetings of all kinds.

The city is prospering and growing rapidly. It is headquarter for one of the offices of an European Union. It is also known as the 'The City of Light' as its original Roman name was 'Lucentum' which means light. Apart from this, there is plenty of local warmth, with local hospitality and cordiality rating high, plus a multifaceted entertainment and cultural line-up that attracts people to this city at any time of the year.

Alicante also offers good transportation. Its airport has connections to all parts of Spain and Europe. Alicante also has a bus station and a central train station that offers daily connections to Madrid, Valencia, Barcelona and Seville. Bus services cover virtually every part of Spain.