Crevillent is situated in the province of Alicante in south eastern Spain. The town sits at the base of the Serra de Crevillent mountain range and Crevillent homes approximately thirty thousand residents. The local Valencian spelling of the town name is Crevillent, while the Spanish town name is the slight variation of Crevillente.

Crevillent is a mostly mountainous area with several regions consisting of cave houses that have been excavated in the sides of hills. In the 1960s there were around 900 cave homes, constituting approximately thirty percent of all property in Crevillent.

Crevillent’s location gives it an arid climate, with dry and hot summers, reaching thirty seven degrees Celsius. Winters have an average temperature of around 12 degrees, with the occasional cold spell causing it to drop to a chilly 3 degrees. Rainfall is low, with the highest risk occurring in the months of autumn.

Along with a thriving tourism industry, the main economy in the area dates back to the middle ages and comes from the manufacture of carpets. Today carpet making still ranks highest in the towns production and exports. The most visible trade in the town is the Friday market, taking place every Friday and has widespread popularity in Alicante and Murcia due to its specialised clothing, footwear and pottery traders.

The gastronomy of Crevillent is typically Spanish… with a twist; paella is a favoured dish and is often served with rabbit, snails or tripe. Some traditional dishes are “gachamiga” (made from flour, cod and garlic), “arros caldos” (a rice broth with beans and vegetables) and “cocida con pelotas” (a stew of chickpeas, potatoes, vegetables, spicy meatballs, breadcrumbs and spice).

Crevillent has seen a great deal of urban development in recent times and its infrastructure has improved immensely. Access to the town is easy, being just 30 kilometres from Alicante and around 45 kilometres from Murcia to the north, both providing main airports.

The facilities available in the area provide a variety of diversions available to those living in Crevillent, including sports, such as skating and tennis, and cultural events such as dance and music at the Chapi theatre. In addition, Crevillent is home to the Unio Musical Society, which dates back to 1860. Crevillent’s musical heritage has produced some singers of international renown, including Jose Antonio Sempere and Antonio Gandia.

Crevillent’s landscape is rich and varied, popular with walkers as there are some breathtaking views to be found in the surrounding areas. Near to Crevillent visitors can also find the El Hondo nature reserve and reservoir, used by migratory birds including flamingos and imperial herons.

More cultural discoveries in Crevillent can be found in several museums within the town:

The Fiesta Museum is home to an exhibition of costumes and uniforms that were donated by the participants of the Moors and Christians festivals. The festivals consist of many parades that date back to 1588 and commemorate the battles between the two civilisations from the 8th until the 15th century.

The Julio Quesada Museum hosts over one hundred pieces of work by the famous water colour Artist of the same name.

Municipal Archaeological Museum is home to a selection of historical artefacts collected from the varying civilisations that have settled in Crevillente over time. Dating back to Palaeolithic times, the museum gives an excellent account of Crevillent’s diverse history. The first floor of the museum also houses the office and laboratory of Dr Franciso Mas Magro, the famous Crevillentine Nobel prize candidate.

The Easter Museum, recognised as a national tourist interest, provides an outstanding exhibition of the ornate Easter processions and allows visitors to see the works of art over four floors and from varied perspectives. Many of the most famous Valencian artists, such as Antonio Riudavets and Mariano Benlliure, have their works on show to provide the museum’s visitors with an insight into the last days of Jesus Christ.

As well as pieces of his work at the Easter Museum, Mariano Benlliure’s work can also be seen at the Monographical Mariano Benlliure Museum. One of Valencia’s most renowned artists, his work can be found across the globe and here many of his sculptures can be found.

Also of historic interest are Crevillent Castle and Crevillent’s defensive walls. Both monuments are mostly destroyed but the remains of some of the walls and foundations can still be seen today.

Unsurprisingly, Crevillent has become a very popular place to live and property in the area is in high demand. Property prices in the area are generally higher than those in Alicante as a whole, partly due to the predominance of large villas and country properties. The best website to find Crevillent property for sale is http://Kyero.com, they have a wide range of agents advertising villas and country houses in the area.

The official Crevillent website is also a good source of information but is only available in Spanish, if you are fluent it can be found at crevillent.es. However, you can also find some English language information from the Valencia official tourism site, it has a dedicated town page for Crevillent.

Local news can be read online too, but again is mainly available in Spanish, two sites that are kept up to date are Creviweb and Crevillent Noticias. English language news can be more commonly found in publications that serve the wider region of the Costa Blanca or by using freely available translation services such as that available from google translate.

Google’s particular translation services allows for sample text or entire websites to be translated, so for example typing in the URL (www.something.es) of a Spanish language website will result in a fairly accurate translation in your own language.

Author Bio: Niels is community manager at a leading Spanish portal, currently working from a property in Crevillente, Spain

Category: Travel
Keywords: spain, crevillent, crevillente, alicante