History of Novo Sancti Petri, Spain tourist guide

Novo Sancti Petri History

Sancti Petri is a small abandoned fishing village, located just north of La Barrosa beach. It’s directly across from small island of Sancti Petri.

Chiclana´s history main time began in 1303 when king Fernando IV donated this, then uninhabited place to Alonso Pérez de Guzmán with the intention to populate it. The Dukes of Medina Sidonia, successors of Pérez de Guzmán would be the town´s lords until the 19th century.

The discovery of America led to a true uprising of the Bay villages, including chiclana, when production and export of wines from this region began. In the 17th and 18th centuries, this development became more evident with the transfer of the centre of the Fleet (1680) and the Hiring Bureau (1717) to Cádiz. The urban and rural landscapes changed notably. The Church of San Martín , the church and convent of Jesus Nazareno and San Telmo as well as the ancient country church of san Sebastian which converted into a parish church, are all from these centuries.

The second half of the 18th century shaped the Old City of Chiclana as beautiful civil building of the 19th century. Chiclana was the birthplace of the eminent speaker and outstanding naturalist Antonio Cabrera as well as the famous politician and financial expert Mendizabal, also the playwright Antonio García Guitierrez, author of El Trovador who had, the greatest success in the romantic theatre.

Over the years, in bullrings all over Spain, the masters of Chiclana bullfighting, José Cándido, Jerónimo josé Cándido, Francisco Montes Paquiro and José Redondo El Chiclanero stand out.

After the French Occupation Chiclana needed a time of recovery that lasted until the second half of the 19th century. The well-off people and the nobility once again chose the town for their vacations and cures at the Braque and Fuente Amarga spas.

At the same time, Chiclana´s wines experienced a renaissance. It is because of the important increase in the wine industry that king Alfonso XII granted Chiclana the title of City in 1876.

During the 20th century specially in its second half, Chiclana reached its hisghest demographic growth, together with spectacular economic development based on a diversification of activities in all sectors, but particularly in the secondary and tertiary. Currently Chiclana has he highest number of hotel beds in the province of Cádiz due to an effort that sensibly combines this booming economy with environmental protection.