From the top of a bell tower
You can always see the neighbouring bell tower.
Translation of a song by Lluís Llach
Benissa is a municipality located in the southern part of the region, being almost the southernmost of all. It has the largest area in the whole of La Marina Alta, with an extension of 69.7 km2, and lies at an altitude of 254 metres above sea level. Benissa currently has 11,462 inhabitants, known as Benissers and Benisseres.
HISTORY
The municipality of Benissa has a vast extension with a heterogeneous orography. It features 4 km of coastline, located between the Crag of Ifac and El Portet de Moraira, made up of small coves and cliffs. In the centre, the rural areas with non-irrigated land stand out and, inland, there are some high mountains, like Bèrnia or the Ferrer mountain range (Serra del Ferrer).
The discovery of certain small cave paintings indicates that the earliest settlements date back to the Neolithic, at least, while the Roman period is thoroughly documented by the remains of coins and amphoras that have been discovered at the bottom of the sea, along the coastline.
However, to discover the origin of the name Benissa (bani Isa) it is necessary to study the Muslim period, because the term is of Arabic origin, just like many other parts of Benissa, such as Benimallunt, Ràpita or Alfama. Benissa —along with Teulada, Dénia, Calp, Pego, Xàbia, Murla and Ondara– was one of the population centres that remained eminently Christian. When Jaume I conquered these territories back into Christianity, new villages for the new Christian population were founded. Benissa is considered, along with Murla and Ondara, a mixed Christian village; it has suburbs or Moorish quarters to separate the Christian and Muslim populations. The Christian hearths constituted the majority of Benissa, while the Muslim population that remained was located in scattered rural communities: Benimallunt (11 houses), Albinyent (11) and Benimarraig (4).
It should be noted that during the 15th and 16th centuries, Benissa was attacked on numerous occasions by Barbary corsairs. After the expulsion of the Moorish population in 1609, its lands were repopulated by people that came from the Pyrenees, Catalonia and Aragon and, to a lesser degree, from the Balearic Islands and in particular from Llucmajor. The walls that surrounded the village are from this period. Some remains of these walls are still preserved.
FESTIVITIES
GASTRONOMY
Horari d'atenció: de dilluns a divendres de 9.00 a 14.00 h .
With the funding of:
MACMA. Seu Mancomunitat Comarcal de la Marina Alta
C/ Blasco Ibáñez, 50 baix - 03760 - Ondara
Tel. 965757237 - Email: macma@macma.org
Cultura i Patrimoni:
659 219 476 - macma@macma.org
Joventut. Xarxa Jove Marina Alta:
680 516 149 - xarxajove@macma.org
Esports. Xarxa Esportiva Marina Alta:
635 636 023 - xarxaesportiva@macma.org
Servei Mancomunat d’Arxius:
620 85 22 83 - arxius@macma.org
Secretaria:
96 575 72 37 - secretaria@macma.org