La Nucia

La Nucia
Coat of arms
Coordinates: 38°37′2″N 0°7′23″W / 38.61722°N 0.12306°W / 38.61722; -0.12306Coordinates: 38°37′2″N 0°7′23″W / 38.61722°N 0.12306°W / 38.61722; -0.12306
Country	Spain
Autonomous Community	Valencia
Province	Alicante
Comarca	Marina Baja
Government
– Mayor	Bernabé Cano García (PP)
Area
– Total	21.36 km2 (8.2 sq mi)
Elevation	226 m (741 ft)
Population (2008)
– Total	16,958
– Density	793.9/km2 (2,056.2/sq mi)
Website	http://www.lanucia.es/

La Nucia (Valencian pronunciation: [la nuˈsi.a]) is a municipality in the comarca of Marina Baixa, Alicante, Valencia, Spain. It borders the municipalities Altea, Callosa d'En Sarrià, Benidorm, Polop and L'Alfàs del Pi.

La Nucia is located in a fruit valley between Benidorm and Callosa d'En Sarrià, 3 km from the coast of Altea. The urban center is on a promontory overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, 51 km north of Alicante and 8 km north of Benidorm.

The municipality includes the following housing estates: Barranco Hondo, Coloma, Bello Horizonte, and El Tossal.

History

Street in La Nucia

The name derives from the Arabic word Naziha ("delicious"). It was given by the king James I of Aragon to Beltran de Bellpuig. At the beginning of the seventeenth century, it formed part of the barony of Benidorm and belonged to Alfonso Fajardo, Baron of Polop, of the house of Fajardo de Mendoza.

La Nucia became an independent municipality in 1705, after splitting from the barony of Polop. The parish church, dedicated to La Immaculada Concepció (Immaculate Conception), was constructed in the 18th century.