Pilar de la
Horadada
Pilar de la Horadada is a town of the Province of
Alicante, in the southeast of Spain. Located 66km south of
Alicante, the city is the southernmost in the Communidad
Valencia. 1km north of the regional border (with the
Province of Murcia The town and its neighbouring villages
(Pinar de Campoverde and Torre de la Horadada) are home to
thousands of British, German and Northern European
expatriates. San Javier Airport (Murcia) is within close
proximity.
Paroquial Church of "Nuestra Señora del Pilar", placed in
the centre of the town. It was built in 1981 on the same
site as its predecessor.
The bell tower of the original structure stands to this
day. Its avocation is to the Blessed Virgin (Virgin del
Pilar). In this building there are lots of examples of
religious art, especially works from the local artists D.
José Maria Sanchez Lozano and Manuel Ribera Girona.
Watch Tower (15th Century), built to protect habitants of
the town against the Mediterranean pirates. It is situated
on the beach, in the nearby village of Torre de la
Horadada.
Río Seco, Pinar de Campoverde: a local river, without
water for the majority of the year. The area is home to a
lot of native animals and plants.
Protected Zone of Sierra Escalona: place protected in
order to preserve native animals, particularly, the birds.
Archaeological Ruins of THIAR: old Roman town on the Via
Augusta, between ILLICI (Elche) and Carthago Nova
(Cartagena), two of the most important Roman cities in
Spain.
The beaches of Pilar de la Horadada are spread along five
kilometres. They are long with fine and white sand; these
beaches are relatively safe places and swimming is
permitted in mild conditions.
Under the sea, one can see the marine biodiversity and the
poseidonia. The quality of these beaches is recognised by
F.E.E.E with its Blue Flags and by local authorities.
Festivals in honour to the Blessed Virgin: from the 29th
September until the 30th October.
We can emphasize in the major day evening (11th October)
with its big floral tribute, the 12th with the Solemn Mass
and the procession and "Las carrozas" (1 week later).
Summer festivals: 30th July - Independence from the
Orihuela Council (1986).
The town has been the location of many battles because of
its location at the historical frontier between two
kingdoms: the Kingdom of Murcia (Castilla) and the Kingdom
of Valencia. Pilar de la Horadada was a town with dry
farming’s and few houses known as Campo de la Horadada.
After various centuries of agricultural economy, its
tourism breakthrough came with its independence from
Orihuela in 1986. Co-operative societies such as 'Surinver'
and 'Teresa Hermanos' use many of the local fields for
vegetable growing. Pilar de la Horadada is placed between
the sea and the mountains and has a typically
Mediterranean climate.
Pinar de
Campoverde
Pinar de Campoverde (Pine of the Green Field literally) is
a small village located at the foot of the Sierra de
Escalona mountain range, nine kilometres from Pilar de la
Horadada, in the province of Alicante, Spain. The town has
around 3000 inhabitants and is ten kilometres from the
Mediterranean coastline.
The town has only developed since the mid 1980s when many
British, German, French and Scandinavian expatriates
settled in villas. Originally, the area had been a large
pine forest, next to the Río Seco River and had little
agricultural importance until much of the wooded area was
cleared for orange and lemon groves.
The name Pinar de Campoverde or Pinar de Campo Verde
derives from the fact that the area was once pine woodland
(Pinar) and its impression on its first residents was a 'green
field' (Campo Verde)
Since the recent advent of tourism, the majority of the
population are expatriates, mainly from the United Kingdom
and Germany. This gives the village the nicknames (amongst
the native residents) La Colonia Guiri or 'the tourist
colony' and Little England (amongst the British).
The traditional centre of the town is based on the 2km
long Avenida del Pino which runs from the main Pilar de la
Horadada-Orihuela road to the municipal sports fields (Polideportivo)
at the Río Seco. This strip has numerous bars and
restaurants, a municipal swimming pool, realties and
shops. The 'New Town' area, located to the west of the
village was first founded in 1999 and is almost
exclusively for foreigners ( although there are a few
Spanish families ).
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