The Roman
Portus illicitanus, Santa Pola, is a populous, happy seaside town with almost
15 km of fine sandy beaches.
Santa Pola
is closely tied to the sea. In ancient times it was the port of Elx and with
the passing of time it came to have the largest fishing fleet in the whole
Mediterranean. Its proximity to the sea has determined its economy, culture,
cooking and identity as a town.
Another
place of interest in Santa Pola is Las Salinas. These salt flats began to be
exploited at eh end of the last century.
They occupy
880 hectares and produce up to 100.000 tons of salt a year. They are now a
nature park where different types of migrating birds spend the winter and are
the habitat of the albatross and the heron.
Its
maritime nature is completed by the quality and variety of the beaches, where
step aerobics can be practiced and sports such a beach valley-ball and beach
football can be played. Nudism is allowed on Tamarit beach. The Sierra of Santa
Pola protects the bay from the strong Levante wind and make the climate gentle,
with an average annual temperature of 17º.
Las Salinas
is situated to the west of the town. To the east is the Sierra of Santa Pola,
mostly covered with pines, which was on the point of being deforested in the 18th
century because the trees were being cut down to build the town on the Island
of Tabarca. Here is the best watch-tower in the locality, Torre I Pep.
In the town
itself there are recreation areas like the Palmeral Park and the Glorieta,
notable building such as the Renaissance fortress-Castle which was formerly
used as the Town Hall, around which one of the night-life areas is to be found.
Santa Pola in Social Network:
