Mug Shot — «Alicante - Casa Carbonell»

City: Alicante Country: Spain Edition: 2008 Icon Edition Belongs to: 334 users (29 trading, 203 seeking)

Alicante is a city in Spain, the capital of the province of Alicante and of the comarca of Alacantí, in the south of the Valencian Community. It is also a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city of Alicante proper is approx 350.000, ranking as the second-largest Valencian city. The area around Alicante has been inhabited for over 7000 years, with the first tribes of hunter gatherers moving down gradually from Central Europe between 5000 and 3000 BC. By 1000 BC Greek and Phoenician traders had begun to visit the eastern coast of Spain, establishing small trading ports and introducing the native Iberian tribes to the alphabet, iron and the pottery wheel. By the 3rd century BC, the rival armies of Carthage and Rome began to invade and fight for control of the Iberian Peninsula. The Carthaginian general Hamilcar Barca established the fortified settlement of Akra Leuka, where Alicante stands today. The port of Alicante has been reinventing itself since the industrial decline the city suffered in the 1980s with most mercantile traffic lost to Valencia's harbour. In recent years, the Port Authority has established it as one of the most important ports in Spain for cruises, with 72 calls to port made by cruise ships in 2007 bringing some 80,000 passengers and 30,000 crew to the city each year. The moves to develop the port for more tourism have been welcomed by the city and its residents, but the latest plans to develop an industrial estate in the port have caused great controversy.

Casa Carbonell is one of the most prominent and remarkable buildings in Alicante. Just a stones throw from Playa del Postiguet it stands at the impressive address of Number 1 on the Explanada de España and one cannot miss this building. This is known locally as "Casa Carbonell" or "Carbonell House". It was said to have been built upon the orders of a textiles manufacturer Enrique Carbonell from Alcoy and the impressive architecture reflects the wealth of Alcoy textiles manufacturers during World War One. Casa Carbonell was built by Juan Vidal Ramos between 1922 and 1925.

photo by lucky robles
edited by argicgr and mobydick74

  Alicante, Spain, MIT

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