Alicante- city of cultural heritage

Last week we visited El Barrio de Santa Cruz. This is a small part of Alicante This photo was taken by Ksenia in El Barrio de Santa Cruz showing our whole group with lots of history, culture and heritage. The unique area makes you feel as though you have been transported to another country like Greece because of the blue and white buildings that make up this area. It is located on the hills by the Castillo de Santa Barbara, meaning that many people discover this location on their way down from the castle, making it a undiscovered gem of Alicante.   This photo was taken by Ksenia, showing Lina, Silvia and Catherine History El Barrio de Santa Cruz, is one of the oldest areas of Alicante and holds a lot of history. The history of this area is strongly linked to religion.   For instance the Brotherhood of the Holy Cross which has been operating in the area for centuries and play a large role in the Holy Week parades of Alicante. During the Spanish Civil War the f...

Last week we visited El Centro Cultural, Las Cigarreras. It is architecturally amazing, with many buildings within. It contains a theatre, a small cinema and a gallery. Moreover throughout the year they put on various events and exhibitions. This photo shows one of the old warehouses that has been converted for the cultural centre History This photo taken by Catherine shows Silvia enjoying one of the pieces of art work Las Cigarreras, which means cigar maker, used to be a cigarette factory, employing thousands of people over two hundred years. This means that it holds valuable significance for many citizens of Alicante. This means that when the production of tobacco moved to surrounding areas, something had to be done with the old factory. The history of tobacco in Spain dates back to the discovery of the America’s in 1492. But it had been a major part of Native American culture for many centuries before then. Production was important to most of Southern Spain inclu...

Photo by: Silvia Coronel We say that museums are keepers of our past, but museum that we are going to tell you about is more about creating a future with more understanding, and more culture than you can imagine.  History Museum of University of Alicante was one of the first museums to be built in an university campus in Spain. It was officially opened in December 1999. This museum is that times real masterpiece due to its architectural design.  Museum is designed by Alfredo Paya and built to look like it is floating on the water. The base of it, is made from glass (to look more invisible) and the whole area is surrounded by water. As museum is very close to the highway the aim was to build something a part from the noise and give a different impression. All the surroundings make museum look like an island for it self.  The main aim of MUA is to use the space for fostering and sharing culture. To bring people together to enjoy art, music, theatre, phot...

Photo by; SienteAlicante When you hear tapas, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? Ham, cheese, olives, Al-i-oli, patatas bravas? For those who are at least a little familiar with the expression - these ingredients would be most likely the first ones to pop in to your mind. However Tapas are much more than that! And in this post we will gladly tell you the mysterious legends behind tapas along with the wine traditions in Alicante province. The origin of tapas:  For the past few years the idea of ordering small plates to share has become worldwide trend in many restaurants. But do you know the the story behind tapas? So to begin with lets start with the definition. "A small portion of food served to accompany a drink" - this is how Royal Spanish Academy describes tapas. Even though the exact historical and cultural details of origin of tapas are uncertain there are various legends and speculations. We will tell you few the most popular ones, but its...

Connecting cities and villages in early days now the station is best known as  "Casa  Mediterráneo   "  - used for social events for locals and tourists. Even though  Benalúa  Station or also called Murcia Station is no longer used for traveling purposes it still has a significant historical and cultural value for Alicante and its citizens.  History Benalúa Station 1888 https://www.archdaily.com You may ask what makes this station so special and different from other abandoned stations in Spain? Just imagen a city in XIX century where electricity is a luxury, there is no asphalt so people are traveling in horse-drawn carriages but even then - city is in its highest growth in which port is  one of the greatest commercial traffic of the Spanish Mediterranean. In order to ease the transportation of merchandise and passengers the constructions of a Railway Station connecting two very important cities; Alicante and Murcia begins. This connec...

  Photos by Ksenia Zaripova, Catherine Redgrave and Silvia Coronel in Villafranqueza  Our group visited Villafranqueza the 18th of March. It was one of the best cultural experiences in Spain.  History                                                                                                                                                                  From the historical point of view the festivals are a popular tradition to commemorate the battles, combats and fights between Muslims and Christians during the period known as Reconquista ...