Alcoi
The capital of L’Alcoia with a population
of 60,000, Alcoi is an industrial town, famous
for its fantastic fiesta. The festival of the
Moros y Cristianos, played out each year in
towns and villages across the Alicante province,
is practiced nowhere with more fervour than
in Alcoi. For four days in April, the town is
transformed into a medieval pageant as its citizens
reenact a battle between the Moors and the Christians
in full costume. The members of the 28 Moorish
or Christian armies spend the whole year preparing
for the fiesta which is one of the greatest
in Spain. Each of the armies has an individual
traditional costume design and the costumes
are always spectacular. The festival climaxes
with the final battle when hundreds of blanks
are fired and, naturally, fireworks are set
off. There is a festival museum in the town
where costumes worn in previous fiestas can
be seen.
Numerous bridges span the river and the ravines
of Alcoy, some of them testimony to the sophistication
of modern engineering, giving the town its nickname:
city of bridges. The Church of Santa Maria and
the town hall in Alcoy were both designed by
the famous architect Santiago Calatrava. The
town is surrounded by mountains where lovers
of the countryside and mountain sports have
the opportunity to indulge themselves.
- Alcoi is 54km from Alicante and 104km from
Valencia.
- It is linked to Alicante by the N340, a
road that winds its way through the Sierra
de Aitana meaning that road access is not
fast.
- The nearest golf course is Bonalba, 40km
away on the N340.
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