Tag Archives: Castle of Santa Barbara

ALICANTE History and best places to visit

HISTORY: The last quarter of the 20th Century meant a few historic landmarks for Alicante, such as the visit of King Juan Carlos I of Spain in 1976 and the inauguration of AlicanteUniversity in 1979. Moreover, the city’s open and pro-European attitude was consolidated when the city was chosen as the site for the Office for Harmonisation in the Alicante University in 1979Internal Market (OHIM)) in 1993.  The city commemorated the 5th century of the concession of the charter as a city and in 1989 the commemoration of the arrival of the Santa Faze (Holy visage) relic. The John Bonfire Festivity also appeared in this century and secondary and tertiary activities became more and more important.

CASTLE OF SANTA BARBARA: The castle occupies the summit of MountBenacantil, a peak rising up from the beach to a height of 166m.

The Castle has three differentiated enclosures:Castle of santa Barbara. Car Hire Alicante.

1. The highest part is known as the small tower, since the old HomageTower is found here and also the basements from the 11th to the 13th centuries.

2. The intermediate enclosure belongs to the most important premises concluded in 1580: King Phillip ll’s Room…

3.The lowest enclosure dates from the 18th century where we have the Bon Repos Reveille currently used as a parking site with a monument to the illustrious Alicante military man Felix Berenguer de Marquina, Captain General of the Philippines and Viceroy of New Mexico.

It is know as Santa BarbaraCastle since prince Alonso of Castille, the future Alonso X The Sage conquered it from the Arabs on the 4th December, 1248, festivity of Santa Barbara.

CITY HALL: Alicante City Hall is a baroque palace from theayuntamiento Alicante. Car Hire Alicante 18th century. It is unique building flanked with towers on both sides and divided in three different heights ended up in a balustrade. Inside the building we must point out the Blue Room, a royal chamber for the Queen of Spain Isabel II in 1858, with a side chapel presided over by Lucas Espinós.

 

CO CATHEDRAL OF SAINT NICHOLAS OF BARI: The ensemble is presided by a powerful dome with a vaulted roof in negative through which light comes iConcathedral of Saint Nicholas of Bari.Car Hire Alicanten.

A Latin cross church with slightly accused arms, side chapel linked between them and an apse in the head formalised by a radical series of the nave’s chapels. The Chapel of the Communion was  started half a century after the Collegiate was finished and it is a small Greek cross temple, covered by barrel vaults pm the sides and a dome over a circular section tambour inside and octagonal outside.