Alicante

Alicante is a significant city and municipality located in the Valencian Community of Spain.

It serves as the capital of the province of Alicante and functions as a historic Mediterranean port. As of 2024, the city has a population of 358,608 people. This makes it the second-largest city in the Valencian Community. It is also the tenth-largest city in all of Spain. When combined with Elche and other nearby municipalities, the area forms a large conurbation. This urban area contains nearly 1 million inhabitants.

The geography of the region is defined by its position on the Iberian Peninsula. Alicante sits on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea in the southeast. While much of the terrain is flat, several orographic features rise from the ground. These include the Serra Grossa, the Tossal, and the Benacantil hills.

The territory is quite arid and lacks permanent water streams. Instead, the landscape contains intermittent ramblas, which are stream beds that only flow sometimes. The municipality also includes the small island of Tabarca, located 8 nautical miles to the south. A unique feature is the City Hall Building. The stairs at its base mark the zero point for measuring height across Spain. This is due to the very small tidal variations of the Mediterranean sea at this location.

Human history in this area spans over 7,000 years. The first inhabitants were hunter-gatherer tribes from Central Europe. By 1000 BC, Greek and Phoenician traders arrived on the eastern coast. They introduced the native Iberian tribes to the alphabet, iron, and the pottery wheel. In the mid-230s BC, the Carthaginian general Hamilcar Barca established a fortified settlement. This site is believed to be the location of modern Alicante. Later, the Romans ruled the region for over 700 years. During this period, the town was known by its Latin name, Lucentum. After the fall of Rome, the Visigoths controlled the area until the Arab conquest in the 8th century. The Moors ruled until the 13th-century Reconquista.

Throughout the medieval period, Alicante became a vital Mediterranean trading station. It exported many goods, such as rice, wine, olive oil, oranges, and wool. However, the city faced significant social and economic shifts. In 1492, the local Jewish community was expelled. Between 1609 and 1614, King Felipe III expelled thousands of Moriscos. This loss of skilled artisans and laborers led to the bankruptcy of the feudal nobility. The city faced further decline after the War of the Spanish Succession in the early 18th century. It survived by producing shoes and growing almonds and oranges. The economy saw a sharp recovery at the end of the 19th century due to international trade.

The 20th century brought both political change and conflict. During World War I, Spain remained neutral, which allowed Alicante to profit from local industry. In 1931, the city celebrated the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic. This was followed by the Spanish Civil War in 1936. Alicante was the final city loyal to the Republican government to be occupied by General Franco's troops in 1939. The city suffered through vicious air bombings during this time. One notable event occurred on 25 May 1938, when an Italian bombing at the Mercado killed over 300 civilians. At the end of the war, the British ship SS Stanbrook rescued thousands of Republican families.

A major transformation began in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The tourism industry started to reshape the city. Large buildings and complexes were constructed in areas like Albufereta and Playa de San Juan.

The benign climate became a primary draw for tourists from northern Europe. This growth spawned many new businesses, including restaurants and bars. To support this, the old Rabasa airfield closed. Air traffic moved to the modern El Altet Airport to handle more charter flights. Since the 1980s, the Port of Alicante has been reinventing itself. While it lost some industrial traffic to Valencia, it has become a major hub for cruises. In 2007, the port saw 72 cruise ship calls, bringing 80,000 passengers and 30,000 crew members to the city.

The climate in Alicante is classified as a hot semi-arid climate. It is one of the driest cities in Europe, with an average annual rainfall of only 320 mm. The city enjoys more than 3,000 hours of sunshine every year. Summers are hot and sultry because of high humidity from the Mediterranean. This humidity increases the heat index, making the air feel stuffy. Winters are mild, and temperatures below 0°C are very rare. The last recorded snowfall was in 1926. Rainfall is often irregular, with only about 35 rainy days per year. However, when it does rain, it can be torrential. In September 1997, 120 mm of rain fell in just six hours, causing severe flooding.