Torrevieja | Spain | About

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. It grew after 1802 mainly due to its becoming the headquarters for salt production in the area.
Torrevieja is surrounded by salt lakes and as a result the climate is meant to be very healthy especially for people with arthritis. The salt lakes are protected and form the habitat for numerous protected species of bird such as the greater Flamingo and Montagu’s harrier and the salt is also commercially extracted providing one of the Torrevieja's main industries.
The production of salt along this part of the coast has been significant for centuries, the Romans realised its importance and in fact used the ‘white gold’ as a currency during their occupation of the area. For many centuries the main salt production took place at La Mata and it was actually so valuable and important that it is reputed to have funded the expeditions of Christopher Columbus.
In 1802 Carlos IV ordered the removal of the administration of salt from La Mata to Torrevieja and the town grew from this time as an important town for salt production and export. In 1820 Torrevieja gained its independence from Orihuela which was a significant turning point for the town, a setback however came in 1829 when a huge earthquake devastated the whole region and much of the town was destroyed.

Due to the trade in salt Torrevieja formed many alliances with foreign countries especially those of South America, Cuba in particular and this is reflected in its world famous Habaneras Choral Song Competition held every August, reminding us of the days when travelling sailors brought back new songs and dances from a far away Cuba.

Salt is still important for Torrevieja, although nowadays even more important is tourism and property development. The town has grown rapidly over the last 20 years or so, and this is due mostly to the modern phenomenon of North Europeans wishing to own their own home in the sun. The former single storey houses of Torrevieja have now mostly been torn down and replaced by blocks of apartments, with a high percentage being owned by non-Spanish residents. This has also resulted in major development along the surrounding coastline and new resorts have appeared where there was formerly nothing ie at Playa Flamenca.

Any visitor to Torrevieja is bound to visit the promenade, from the marina up to Playa del Cura along which there is a wide variety of bars, restaurants and ice-cream parlours, together with a daily ‘craft market’ and an excellent funfair. Torrevieja has many attractive parks, gardens and squares where you can sit down and just relax under the shade and an indoor market offers fish, meat and fresh vegetables. The new Habaneras shopping centre is very popular with visitors and the water park Aquopolis is popular with the children but is only open during the Spanish school holidays (June to September). Torrevieja is also a great place for fiestas and celebrations and there always seems to be an excuse to dress up and parade through the streets.

Torrevieja is almost becoming a city it is expanding so rapidly and as a result facilities are very good with three excellent hospitals. There are also private and national health clinics with many doctors and dentists of all nationalities.