What to See in Alicante - Top Sights and Attractions

Peak with a historic fortress on top. Mount Benacantil is a mount that dominates the urban part of Alicante, and is the characteristic image of the city. The mount name appears as Banu-l-Qatil in the work of Muslim geographer Al-Idrisi in the 12th century, but it is possible that this is an error of transcription because it does not make sense in Arabic. Compared with other names in the Valencian Community, the mount name is more likely to be derived from the word "benna", an Arabic transcription of "pinna", which is "rock" in Latin; combined with the adjective "laqanti", which comes from "Laqant," the Arabic name of the city. Therefore, a half Roman, half Arabic toponym, "Benna Laqanti".

The rock mount is covered by pine trees and bushes on the north side, while on the south side, which overlooks the Mediterranean Sea, there are only rocks. In the intermediate areas there are bushes and grasses that are quite characteristic for the dry Mediterranean climate.

The mount is famous for the rock formation on its south-western slope, known as la cara del moro ("the moor's face").(view image)

The medieval fortress of Alicante, the Castle of Santa Bárbara stands on the top of the mount. On the slopes of the mount there are Park Ereta, neighborhoods of Santa Cruz, San Roque, San Anton and Raval Roig, and antique apartments. In recent years it became a botellón place.

Avenida Jaime II, which is a continuation of Avenida de Alfonso el Sabio, crosses the northern foot of the mount, and so does a tunnel of Alicante Tram.^[3]

Museum in Alicante, Spain. Alicante Museum of Contemporary Art is a municipal museum in Alicante, Spain. It exhibits 20th-century and contemporary art. Created in 1976 thanks to Eusebio Sempere, and reopened in 2011 after a major renovation, the museum now consists of three permanent collections of about 800 art pieces. The museum is located in Asegurada building, the oldest civil building remaining in the city.

There are three permanent collections at the museum on display:

• Collection of 20th-century art includes works by Joan Miró Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, Juan Gris, Julio González and others. It was collected by Eusebio Sempere through arduous purchases and work exchange and was generously donated to the city on 1976.
• Juana Francés Collection is composed of paintings, sketches, and other graphic works by Alicante-born Juana Francés. The collection was bequeathed to the city of Alicante by the artist, and was acquired upon her death in 1990.
• Eusebio Sempere Collection consists of various works by Eusebio Sempere from gouaches on paper to sculptures. The collection has been acquired by the city since 1997.

Not all works from the collections are on display. Only one third of the Eusebio Sempere Collection is shown at a time with rotation every three to four months.

The museum building, in turn, is another example of modern art by Spanish architects Sol Madridejos and Juan Carlos Sancho. The modern building incorporates the original Casa de la Asegurada, which is the oldest civil building in Alicante that was built in 1685. Constructed originally as a granary it has also served throughout the history as jail, powder storage, school of commerce, and once as a temporary seat of City Hall. The original building is a notable example of Alicante's baroque architecture.^[4]

18th-century palace and Spanish art museum. Gravina Museum of Fine Arts is a museum in the city of Alicante, Spain, located in the Palacio del Conde de Lumiares, a four floor building constructed between 1748 and 1808 and declared a historical monument.

The museum is devoted to painting and sculpture of Alicante from the sixteenth century to the early decades of the twentieth century. In the museum there are nearly 500 works from funds of the provincial council, including a sculpture by Francisco Salzillo, and a portrait of Ferdinand VII by Valencian painter Vicente López Portaña. The museum has also several works of the most important regional painters of the nineteenth century: Antonio Gisbert, Joaquín Agrasot, Lorenzo Casanova, and Fernando Cabrera Cantó. These works reflect the major trends of the nineteenth century: historicism, customs, portraits, landscapes.^[8]