AREA: 32 sq.kms. with
more than 2,000 hectares under cultivation and 1,000 of vineyards.
POPULATION: 13,000
approx. according to the last census but this increases to as many as
40,000 during the tourist season.
HEIGHT: Rising
to 185 m. above sea level.
DISTANCES: Alicante
80 kms. Valencia 108 kms. Barcelona 438 kms Benidorm 40 kms.
About
Moraira-Teulada: Historical Summary
The history of
Moraira-Teulada has been traced back almost to the beginning of the history of
civilised man.
Remains
of the first settlers (Upper Palaeolithic 15,000 to 20,000 BC) were
discovered in a Cave (Cova de la Cendra) on the Cap d´Or (the headland
that protects Moraira and El Portet beaches).
At
the Cova de Les Rates and El Morro de Castellar are rupestrian
paintings depicting life in the bronze age.
Much later there were Iberian settlers and ceramic remains have been discovered to support this on
the Cap d´Or where the lookout tower would have guarded the Bay of Moraira.
Later still the Moors
occupied the area and
left their mark on the culture and economy of the area.
The signs of this
early society can be noticed the architecture, agriculture, irrigation systems and town planning. Many
Moraira-Teulada areas have been handed down from the Moorish era, e.g. Benimarco, Benimeit, Pouet
del Morro, Moravit, Tabaira, Alcassar etc.
The
Christian conqueror Jaime I expelled the Moors in the 13th century and then people from
Catalonia
and Aragon settled there, bringing with them the Valencian language.
The Lords of Llúria, Serría and
Gandia founded the town of Teulada in 1386 and they were the owners. Later
ownership was handed over to the Barons of Ariza and Teulada and in the nineteenth century it was claimed by the
Spanish crown.
Moraira
was plagued by the attention of Barbary pirates during the 16th century,
the Town of Teulada
was fortified and a lookout tower (now restored) was built on the Cap d´Or.
It is said that Moraira was named after the heathen princess
"Ira, la Mora" (- hence "mora ira") and this could be
true.
The tale that her
remains are buried under the old castle on Moraira
beach most certainly is not.
Moraira castle
has now been restored and is a historical museum.
The fact is that it was
planned by Juan Bautista Antonelli, during the reign of Felipe II to protect the
bay of Moraira from the Barbary invaders in the 16th century but, according to a
plaque at the entrance, it was not complete finished until 1742.
It is also known that it was
badly damaged by the British on July 20th 1801,
even though it was armed with four bronze cannons.
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 Moraira
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The Local Authority has
prevented the development, characteristic of other Spanish coastal resorts,
by exerting strong planning control since the beginning and the only
buildings higher than two stories have been built in Moraira village centre.
The
Moraira developments are mainly detached villas with private swimming pools and the typically Spanish "pueblo-style"
developments.
