Levante City Wall (16^th Century)

This wall is one of the rare examples of early Renaissance military architecture. Its construction was overseen by two engineers Cervelló and Aldana, in the service of King Philip II.part of the city wall that surrounded and protected the entire village until the 18^th Century. The end of the Berber pirate attacks allowed construction to occur outside the walls. The lower part of the wall is very wide and the inclination that you see was to prevent the enemy projectiles from hitting directly and thus reducing the damage. In the two towers you can see big holes which are called embrasures. They contained pieces of artillery called “sacres“. The apse of the church-fortress makes up one of the towers.

Next: Proceed down the slope and cross onto the promenade.

Sculpture of Doctor Esquerdo

Dr Esquerdo was born in 1842 in la Vila Joiosa, in the bosom of a humble family. He introduced modern psychiatry into Spain and founded the first sanatoriums in Carabanchel, Madrid and behind Paradís beach in la Vila Joiosa, of which today there is no trace. He was also famous for his involvement in politics as the national leader of the Republican Party. The City of Madrid, where he spent much of his professional life, paid him homage with a statue similar to this one in the Provincial Hospital, and by naming one of its most important streets after him. Pedro Estany Capella made the sculpture in 1915.

Raval

The construction of the houses outside of the city wall, called raval in the Valencian language, began in the middle of the 18^th Century when the danger of Berber pirate attacks came to an end. Together with the old quarter, it is one of the very few examples of the tradition of multi-coloured Mediterranean façades. It is the most emblematic image of our town.

Below the Sant Pere square, which you see on your left, lie the remains of the Roman port.

Next towards the Cala: along the promenade towards the port.

Next towards the centre: cross the road and walk up the street on your left.

Photo: Nora Lie

The Beach of the Vila

The beach was used as an anchorage and a quay from the Iberian Age, 6^th Century BC, until the construction of the current harbour in the 1920′s. The ships anchored in front of the beach and the coming and going of merchandise and people, like in the majority of Mediterranean ports, was handled with small rowboats. Many of these big sailing ships were built in la Vila Joiosa’s own shipyards and were sailed by men from the Vila. The maritime commerce, the shipyards, the fishing and the making of nets gave work to many of the inhabitants of the whole of the surrounding area and marked the rhythm of our town.