Town of Javea Alicante, Spain tourist guide

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Javea Town - Xabia

To talk of Tosca stone is to talk of Javea. Everywhere the old quarter oozes that ancient flavour, rustic and monumental at the same time, given to it by the working of the golden sand stone, forged by the sea which bathes its coasts, Muntayar, natural, rugged, so many times recreated in the lines of the poet or the brush strokes of the artist. The heart of still retains its defensive power with machicolations over beautiful porches, arrow holes, and openings for mortars. It is usual setting for classical concerts with the special acoustics lent to it by its Elizabethan Gothic style vaults. At the side of the church is the market, a beautiful Neo-Gothic building which is constructed on the site of the old Augustine convent and the Town Hall - a plain building constructed on a necropolis, thrown into relief by the semicircular arches which also decorate its rear façade.

Together they form the historical artistic centre of the old town where also preserved on one of the buildings opposite the church porch, is the balcony from which Saint Vicente Ferrer preached, as one can see from the beautiful tiled mosaic situated on the wall.

The golden colour of Tosca stone also dominates the architecture of the surrounding winding streets within the old town walls, made up of narrow passages and whitewashed facades, with front porches and awning supports.

The Gothic doorways of the Carrer Major and Sor María Gallart stand out particularly. Only a few metres from the Town Hall can be found the Palau d´Antoni Banyuls, home of the Soler Blasco archaeological and ethnographical museum. In this Renaissance style building the gallery displays a clear Castillian influence.

Around the old town a new modernist style of architecture can be seen, a consequence of the economic growth resulting from the production and export of raisins to American and north European markets. Of note are the houses of Senyoreta Josefina Bolufer and the Primicies.