The Iberian Lowestoft

As the railway made Cleethorpes, so the passenger aeroplane made Benidorm. It stands out, like Torremolinos, as symbol, like Blackpool, for all that is sophisticate and urbane in holiday fun.  But first, some pre-1950s History.


The usual Iberian and Roman remains have been found as well as some Moorish farms. In 1325 the local Feudal Lord, Admiral Bernardo de Sarria, established a town and castle.  The place was done for in 1410 and 1448 by Barbary pirates. Although not totally depopulated, although another corsair attack, in 1503, certainly didn’t help matters. In 1715 Benidorm boasted 216.  By 1800 it had risen to 2700, mostly because of the fishing industry.  Fishing remained key to the town’s prosperity till its decline after the 1940s.



The 1950s saw the arrival of northerners, in search of sun that made more than a fleeting appearance.  They brought in much needed foreign exchange but also an attitude to bikinis which was at variance with that of the Church.  Enter Pedro Zaragoza Orts.  



Pedro Zaragoza Orts was working in a bank when he entered into politics in 1950. He joined the Falagne and began the reorganising of urban planning. He encouraged tourism.  He allowed bikinis.  He was denounced by the Guardia Civil and the Archbishop of Valencia tried to excommunicated.  Not to be dismayed, he stuffed his closes against the cold and got on a vespa, riding to El Pardo to see Franco. He persuaded El Caudillo that,, all in all, Spain could put up with a bit of semi naked female flesh  and ended up as Director General of Tourism Businesses and Activities at the Ministry of Information and Tourism.



In case you may wish to think that our Peter was a regular chap - he did vote against the move  to democracy and resisted the offer of positions during the Transition.  He died in 2008, aged 85.


The population of Benidorm was about 3000 from the 1850s to 1950s,  In the 60s it went to 6000; 12,000 by 1970; reaching 68,000 in 2011.  Some of them live in the 68 82m+ skyscrapers.  30 are above 100m and Intempo, at 202m, is the 5th tallest in Spain.



We end today at La Cartuja restaurant.  It has a Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/LaCartujaBenidormOficial/  Siarhei gives words of warning.  ‘Delicious, good level of service for a place of this size, closer to 9 pm there is a big queue at the entrance, so it is better to book in advance.’













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