The nature of a market and sailor town have defined the particular architecture of the Old Town of Villajoyosa, with typical floors of the Reconquest, with three parallel streets leading down to the sea and others that go up. The main feature of this beautiful village are its cheerful colorful houses, each painted in different colors such as pink, blue, green, red…
Villajoyosa is proud of treasuring an artistic historical site of great value, with a beautiful and labyrinthine network of streets and lanes that run through this part of town plagued with landmark buildings, Roman ruins and medieval walls. One of the most important monuments of the city is the Iglesia-fortaleza de la Asunción, one of the three church-fortresses of the province of Alicante and declared Asset of Cultural interest.
A little history of the old town of Villajoyosa
The oldest archaeological remains found in the city date back to the bronze age and are remains of an ancient Iberian settlement. But it was not until the time of the Roman Empire when the city was an important economic and social growth becoming a major city of Hispania. Inheritance of that glorious era are the ruins of Allon, as he was known to this population in Roman times, it is in the heart of the old town, where after an excavation came to light the remains of a well-preserved ancient Roman Spa. The various rooms, pipes and slaves as well as several necropolis with graves can be seen in them.
In the Middle Ages, this was an uninhabited region when Jaime II of Aragon decided to found a city in the 1300s to repopulate the area and protect it from the Barbary pirates, who at that time were pillaging and terrorizing the coastal populations. In the 16th century, seeing that pirate attacks were continuous and relentless, Philip II had built new walls and a system of defensive towers around the coast to protect the city.
Foto cedida por: © Diego Delso / © Relleu
Popular places to visit in Villajoyosa
