Abanilla

Sister cities

• Villeurbanne

History

There has been presence of human beings since the Paleolithic. Lithic workplaces corresponding to that era were found in the Southern half of the municipality. This current municipality was also inhabited by people during the first centuries of the Ancient Era (from the 5th century to the 3rd in this case) by Iberians. There is a former settlement in the Northwest end it also occurs in Fortuna and Jumilla and another one in the south. There were also people inhabitance and structures corresponding to the period when Romans ruled the Iberian Peninsula. A Roman road (via romana) traversed Abanilla and there are remains of it. Another site dating back from that era is a former Roman villa. A war with conquer purposes begin in the Iberian Peninsula in 711. Muslim peoples intended to rule the peninsula and conquered large part of it from the starting year to 726. The nobleman Theodemir did an agreement with the governor Abd al-Aziz ibn Musa in 713 which name is Treaty of Orihuela. The treaty lead Abd al-Aziz to rule territory between Vinalopó and Segura rivers. Consequently, Abanilla had dependency on Orihuela during the Muslim Iberian Peninsula era. A structure that originated in that period is the alcazaba (Arab fortification) of the town. There had been an increase in population in the 18th century and there were over 7,000 inhabitants in that century. New dwellings and buildings were necessarily built beyond the town-surrounding wall. Many important buildings of the municipality were constructed during this century.

Geography

Abanilla occupies a surface area of 236.6 km2 and is situated 222 metres above sea level. They collected rodent fossils and used dental patterns to identify these to be of the Muroidea subfamily Arvicolinae. Using stratigraphic and sedimentological features in the limestone, the scientists were able to date these fossils to the Early Pleistocene subepoch. Points of interest in Abanilla include the Old Town (containing the monument to the Corazón de Jesús), the Fuente de Algarrobo (Fountain of the carob tree), the Santuario de Mahoya (Sanctuary of Mahoya), and the Iglesia Parroquial de San José (Parochial Church of St. Joseph). Other sights worth visiting include the source of the River Chícamo and the mountains of Abanilla and Quibas. Buildings of monumental significance in Abanilla include the La Iglesia de San José (the Church of San José) (18th century), El Sagrado Corazón (Sacred Heart) in Abanilla Town and Barinas, La Casa de la Encomienda, La Casa Cabrera, La Casa Pintada, El Monumento a las Fiestas de Moros y Cristianos (the Monument to the Festivals of the Moors and Christians) and La casa del francés (the French's house). There is a destroyed medieval enceinte in Abanilla. Local communities within the Abanilla municipality include the following. * Barinas, a rural town located 11 km from Abanilla town, at an elevation of 379 m. * Macisvenda, located 10 km from Abanilla town, a crossroads of the roads to La Algueña, El Cantón, Hondón de los Frailes and Hondón de las Nieves. * Other communities include Mahoya, El Cantón, Cañada de la Leña, El Partidor, El Tollé, Los Baños de Fortuna, Casa Cabrera, Casa Pintada, Los Carrillos, La Umbría, Collado de los Gabrieles, Ricabacica, El Algarrobo, Campules, Balonga, Mafraque and El Olivar.