Torrevieja History
Costa Blanca, Spain
Torrevieja History!
Torrevieja is full of history, from the Roman pier at La Mata to wonderful churches. Surrounded by the famous salt lagoons of Torrevieja and La Mata, designated as National Parks ( over 250 different bird species have been sighted here ), they export the salt worldwide.
Torrevieja as a town dates from the early 18th century when it was a fishing village built around one of the watchtowers that flanks the Costa Blanca coastline. This watchtower was called the "Old Tower" or la Torre Vieja, because of the bad condition that it was in, and this is where the village took its name from. From the very beginning, the people of Torrevieja have carried out three main professions; sailors, fishermen and salt workers.The men from Torrevieja were ship builders and great sailors who transported wine, salt and flat roof tiles to America and the Phillipines. They had a long tradition of exporting salt to Cuba, and that is how the typical songs form La Habana came to us from the sailors of Torrevieja. These men used to do what we call "night fishing," where an artificial light was used to attract fishes like red mullets to the nets. The salt works started to be developed in the 18th century when large amounts of salt were discovered in the lagoon. Today, the salt works in Torrevieja are considered to be the most important in the world, after the Dead Sea.
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Torrevieja History, Costa Blanca, Spain