History of Benidorm, Alicante
- Fact: According to Legend, the little Island of Benidorm is formed from a piece of rock missing from Puig Campana. It is said that brave Roland severed this with his sword during the expeditions of Charlemagne.
- Fact: Until the tourist industry began in the 1960s, Benidorm was a small fishing village, now it is reported to have more skycrapers than New York.
The once deserted city
Evidence of an Iberian settlement shows that people settled in Benidorm as early as 3rd to 1st centuries BC but the name Benidorm, comes from Arabic and was inherited from the town’s Moorish occupation.
The Moors had conquered much of Southern Spain, creating a new civilization before they were driven out by the Christians. The remains of their ancient castles can be visited throughout the Valencia region.
In Benidorm’s Old Town it’s evident how important the city was as an early fishing town; the great rock was used as a fortress to warn against attacks by Berber pirates from Morocco.
Pirate attacks were all too common; they would set fire to houses and take people away as slaves, so you can appreciate the importance of the watch towers, still to be seen along this coast.
It’s hard to imagine a deserted Benidorm but in the 15th century this is exactly how it was. The people had been driven from the city on mass by pirate attacks; this lasted until the end of the 16th century.
A fascinating piece of history lies in the discovery of a statue of the Virgin, Virgen del Suffrage, on a burnt out ship on Ponient beach in 1740.
The statue was seen as a miracle; there was no other way to explain how it survived totally unmarked by the fire. The Virgen became a symbolic patron saint to Benidorm and is celebrated in the annual Fiesta.
