Info of Javea
Xàbia (Valencian IPA: [ˈʃaβja], Spanish: Jávea IPA: [ˈxaβea]) is a coastal town located in the comarca of Marina Alta, in the province of Alicante, Spain, by the Mediterranean Sea. Situated behind a wide bay and sheltered between two rocky headlands, the town has become a very popular small seaside resort and market town.
Xàbia is situated in the north of the province, the Mediterranean Sea is found at the entire of its east coast. Flat agricultural land stretches for miles inland, cut by small streams and used primarily for growing citrus & olive trees. 90 km to the east is the island of Ibiza, which can be seen on a clear day. A boat service is offered to Ibiza from Javeas' neighbouring town, Dénia. Xàbia is the largest place geographically in the Cap de la Nau, the headland that encompasses Xàbia, "Cap Négre" and "Cap Martín".
The Montgó, which shelters Xàbia, is the highest summit of the region at over 750m tall. From the Xàbia side, it is said to resemble an elephant. The Natural Park of Montgo was declared in 1987, it stretches across the area of La Plana to the Cape of Saint Antoni.
Xàbia has good road connections to regional capitals. Both Alicante and Valencia airports are just over an hour's drive away. There are regular and direct coach links to both Alicante and Valencia as well as a daily service to Madrid. The nearest rail station is at Gata de Gorgos, about 10 km inland, with a regular service to Alicante.
The town can be split into three distinct areas: the old town, the port and the Arenal.
Old Quarter
The old town was once a walled town to protect the inhabitants from marauding pirates that once sailed this coast and there is still evidence of the presence of these fortifications; stone crosses mark the original gates in three locations. In the centre of town, mostly built in original Tosca stone hewn from the rocky shore, sits the Church of Sant Bartolomé which dates back to the late 14th century but there is evidence that some of the structure may date back a further 300 years. The church suffered extensive damage during the Spanish Civil War and its southern and western walls remain pockmarked with bullet and shell holes. It was listed as a National Historic and Artistic Monument in 1931 and remains a centrepiece of Xàbia's 'old quarter'.
The modern municipal market sits opposite on the northern side of the church and stands on the site of the convent of "Agustinas Descalzas" (the barefoot Augustine nuns). Built in 1946, and recently refurbished, the market retains the style of the area and sells fresh fruit and vegetables, locally-caught fish, and meat from the local area.
There is also a historical and ethnographical museum ("Museo Historico y Etnografico Municipal J.B. Soler Blasco Xàbia") and an established art gallery in the old town, Atelier 1 with regular art exhibitions are held in the gallery at the town's library.
There is range of bars and restaurants which serve local and international cuisine.
Puerto — Aduanas del Mar
The port also has a number of restaurants (some on the sea front), a gravel beach and marina. Whilst the history of the harbour stretches back to the 15th century, the first jetty was built in 1871 and it became an important gateway for the export of raisins. The raisin trade collapsed at the end of the 19th century and the settlement became a mere fishing harbour. The modern harbour was built in the 1950s and 1960s. The nautical club has been in the central area of the harbour since 1963. The landmark is the church of Nuestra Señora del Loreto, built in 1967 to represent the heart and feelings of Xàbia's fishing quarter. Its shape is that of an oval boat keel and it was built to resemble a fishing vessel bursting through the waves.
Arenal
The sandy beach area is an arc of wide white sand flanked by a promenade of shops, bars and restaurants. During the summer evenings there are a number of stalls selling handmade crafts. Many of the bars offer live music and stay open until the early hours. Sand artists and street entertainers work along the Arenal beach during the summer months. The 'Punta del Arenal' behind the Parador Nacional Hotel was once an important Roman settlement where the fish sauce garum was produced. On the other end of the small bay once stood the Fontana Castle, built in 1424 and destroyed by the English during the Peninsular War in the early 19th century; the ruins of the castle now lie under modern apartment buildings but some of the castle's surviving cannons sit outside the Church of Sant Bartolomé in the old town.
The Montgó Natural Park
The Montgó Natural Park was founded on 16 March 1987. It covers approximately 21.5 km² situated between Xàbia and its neighbours Jesus Pobre and Dénia. Standing at 753 m high, the summit of Montgó is the second highest peak so close to the sea in the Mediterranean; on a clear day the island of Ibiza can be seen.
Traces of the earliest human presence in this area date back 30,000 years, from the upper Paleolithic. They were small nomadic groups which occupied the Foradada cove and ravines facing the sea at Cabo de La Nau. These were hunter/gatherer communities.
Around 5,000 BC the first agriculture and livestock communities developed with the appearance of pottery and polished stone. Arrowheads, fragments of various vessels, carved stone and bone, as well as remains of human burials from this period have been found in the Cave of Montgo, and in the Cova Barranc de Migdia where schematic paintings are also found. Metal utensils dating from the Bronze Age (3,000 BC) have also been found in the Cave of Montgo and the Cave of Barranco de Migdia. The villages were situated on small hills, like the one where Xàbia's chapel of Santa Llucia is located.
The indigenous Iberian culture began to develop in the 8th century BC. At the top of Benimaquia,(western-most tip of the Montgó) is an Iberian settlement of seventh century BC. Here Phoenician amphorae have been found. Findings of pottery, coins, ornaments in the area of the Coll de Pous (Western end of the Montgó) and the Peña del Aguila with its defensive walls,(on top of the ridge) confirm the presence of the Iberians until 1st Century BC. The Romans continued to use the Montgó as a place for observation and surveillance to protect the increasingly important trading port of Dianum (Denia), which was already a sizeable town in the first century AD. Remains from excavations can be seen in the Xàbia archaeological museum.
A range of abandoned windmills crown La Plana, most of which date back to the 18th century.
The park besides its archaeological importance has flora which includes a large number of Iberian endemic plants. The Moorish Caliph Abd-ar-Rahman III who, at the beginning of the 10th century, made a special journey from Córdoba,to collect over a hundred medicinal herbs from the slopes of Montgó.
Source: Wikipedia
