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the Villa Romana Museum and the Albir Lighthouse register a 40% increase in the number of visits in summer

The number of visits to the Albir Lighthouse and the Villa Romana Open Air Museum has increased by more than 40% during the months of June, July and August. This is evident from the data provided by the Councillor for Cultural Heritage of the Town Hall of l'Alfàs del Pi, Sandra Gómez. "It is important to highlight the importance that the heritage offer of l'Alfàs del Pi is gaining as a tourist attraction and a pole of attraction for visitors to the municipality," she said.

 

Specifically, during the three summer months, a total of 73,597 visitors were recorded on the route to the Albir Lighthouse, one of the routes in the Serra Gelada Natural Park that registers the greatest number of visitors due to its accessibility and because it has the only cultural lighthouse in the entire Valencian Community, converted into an Interpretation Centre. These figures represent an increase of 41.20% compared to the same period last year.

 

"As there is no automated control system, visitor registrations on the red route of the natural park are only carried out while there are staff at the information point, so the actual number of visitors is much higher," said the Councillor for Cultural Heritage of l'Alfàs, Sandra Gómez.

 

The Albir Lighthouse Interpretation Centre opened its doors in October 2011. It currently houses photographic exhibitions that reflect what life was like for the old lighthouse keepers when the lighthouse was inhabited, and also describe the importance of the flora and fauna of the natural park.

 

The route to the Albir Lighthouse has been part of the Spanish Blue Trails network since 2013. A spectacular route of just 2.5 kilometres that runs through the first maritime-terrestrial natural park in the Valencian Community: the Serra Gelada, with a protected area of ​​more than 5,500 hectares. The route to the Albir Lighthouse, the second most visited in the Generalitat's Network of Natural Spaces, is ideal for hiking, a route that is completely accessible for people with mobility problems.

The itinerary allows visitors to enjoy spectacular views of the Mediterranean Sea, the cliffs, the Caletas del Metge and the Mina… A route that perfectly combines nature and history, with the mines of Phoenician origin and later Roman exploitation from which ochre was extracted, the cistern, the Bombarda Tower or the Faro de l'Albir Interpretation Centre, opened to the public in 2011 by the l'Alfàs Town Council.

 

Nearly 5,000 visitors to the Villa Romana Museum in summer

As for the Villa Romana de l'Albir Open Air Museum, a total of 4,945 visitors were recorded in June, July and August, 1,440 more than in the summer months of the previous year, which represents an increase of 41.08%.

 

The Museum opened its doors in April 2011 and has already accumulated more than 90,000 visits. It is a pioneer in the application of technological resources in the interpretation of heritage and also has an Audiovisual Room in which 45 pieces of significant value are exhibited. Since 2021 it has been awarded the Blue Centre distinction.

 

It is a key site for the study of rural settlement from the 4th century onwards in the north of the province of Alicante. “The thermal baths, which can be visited in this museum, are among the best preserved in the province,” stressed the Councillor for Cultural Heritage.

 

Furthermore, Sector V of this site has just been added to the Museum's visitable area, following a 5-month excavation work that has brought to light the torcularium or production area of ​​the villa, where the cella vinaria was located , the room where the dolia (vessels) were kept during the wine fermentation process, confirming the agricultural and commercial vocation that this villa had between the 2nd and 4th centuries AD.