Callosa d'en Sarrià ( is a Valencian town and municipality located in the comarca of Marina Baixa, in the province of Alicante, Spain, lying in the valley of the river Guadalest, 50 km from the city of Alicante. Callosa d'en Sarrià has an area of 24.8 km2 and according to the 2003 census, a total population of 8,060 inhabitants. The economy of Callosa is chiefly based on tourism and agriculture: it is the main producer of loquat in Spain. The most important monuments in the town are the Catholic archipresbyteral church of Sant Joan Baptista (Saint John), built in the 18th century, and the Fortress of Bèrnia, built in the 17th century at the top of a nearby mountain to defend the city from pirates and Moriscos.
Toponymy
The rivers Guadalest and Algar cross the town, which is surrounded by the mountains of Aitana, Bèrnia and Xortà. It has a Mediterranean climate with temperatures averaging 17 °C in January, with a high of 24 °C in summer and a low of 9.5 °C in winter.
Callosa is located 10 km from the coast at the intersection on the C-3318 that connects Benidorm with Pego and the road from Benidorm to Alcoi through Guadalest. From Alicante, Callosa may be reached via the AP-7 or the N-332 in Benidorm, then by the CV-70 and then by the CV-715 in La Nucia.
Bordering towns
Callosa borders the municipalities of Altea, Bolulla, Guadalest, Xaló, La Nucia, Polop and Tàrbena.
History
Deposits have been discovered belonging to the Neolithic (5,000 BC), Chalcolithic, Bronze Age, Iberian and Roman eras. These settlements formed the basis for the establishment of Muslim hamlets in different parts of the municipality.
The origin of Callosa (meaning probably "land hard, dry" in Latin) is an ancient Muslim farmhouse, after the Christian reconquest by the king James I of Aragon in the 13th century, the property was acquired by Admiral Bernat de Sarrià in 1290 during the reign of Alfonso III of Aragon, becoming its first feudal lord. Hence, since then the city was renamed Callosa d'en Sarrià and became the center of the manor, which extended over part of the current district of Marina Baixa.
Afterwards it was acquired by different noble families and other entities, among which were the Sarrià (1290–1335), the Crown of Aragon (1335–1445), the Bou (1445–1560), the Moncada (1560–1767) and the Count of Orgaz (1767). Today, the noble title of the people belongs to the family of Valldaura Crespí.
The city retains the old town part of its medieval urban structure, bounded by a line of walls of the intramural Callosa, which still can be entered by one of its original gates: El Portal.
Demography
Callosa has 7.888 residents (INE 2010). A 30.4% of the census are foreigners, mainly from Latin America (mainly Ecuador and Bolivia) and the European continent.
Economy
Callosa has a highly competitive agriculture based on loquats and medlars, introduced in Spain in the 19th century by the Callosan Juan Bautista Berenguer y Ronda. Farmers are partners in a cooperative that handles the marketing of fruits, intended mostly for exporting; their main destinations are France and Italy.
Recently the City Council managed the "denominación de origen" (DO) and thus, the Council of the Designation of Origin of loquats from Callosa d'en Sarrià, with a view to establish quality standards for the loquat produced in Callosa and its region.
The tourism sector has experienced a significant rise in recent years.
Monuments and sightseeing
Fonts de l’Algar
The Fonts de l’Algar (Algar Waterfalls) are at 3 km from the centre of Callosa, heading towards Bolulla, and Tàrbena. The Algar waterfalls form a natural park with an elevated grade of conservation of the ecological richness, and at the same time it has tourism and environment education services.
Fortalesa de Bèrnia
The Fortalesa de Bèrnia (Fortress of Bèrnia) was built in 1562 by the royal engineer Giovanni Battista Antonelli. It was a magnificent and clear exponent of the military architecture in the Renaissance epoch. King Philip II of Spain ordered its construction to face the Ottoman incursions on the coast. In 1612, because of its inefficiency and because it was far from the coast, it was demolished by order of Philip III of Spain. At the Fort you can still see the arches, the fosse, the bastion, the well and the wall remains. The wall measured 100 meters long and 100 meters wide. It has been considered as a Property of Culture Interest since 1997. The explanatory panels show the ancient running and use of the Fort.