Lucentum: the Roman city that gave Alicante its name

Three kilometres north of the centre, where La Albufereta begins to open out to the sea, there is a low hill called Tossal de Manises. Thirty-eight metres above the Mediterranean, five hectares of golden stone, dry lavender and walls that have stood in place for two thousand years. This is where Lucentum stood, the Roman city that lent its name to Alicante.

One hill, three cities

Before Lucentum there were Iberians. The Contestani tribe chose this spot in the 4th century BC to build a fortified settlement: the first Tossal de Manises. The position was no accident. It dominated the natural cove of La Albufereta, a small coastal lagoon that served as an anchorage and was drained in the early 20th century. The Roman city later grew over the Iberian village, and much later, an Islamic cemetery predating the 11th century was set down over the Roman ruins. One single hill, three layered skins.

The city of light

The name Lucentum is attested in writing and epigraphy during the reign of Augustus, in the late 1st century BC. It comes from the Latin lucere, to shine, and describes the white promontory that stood out over the sea for sailors approaching the coast. It is the same root that gives Ákra Leuké in Greek, and the MARQ explores it in its Cities of Light exhibition, which documents how the names of Alicante have taken turns: Ákra Leuké, Lucentum, Laqant, Alacant. Four ways to call the same place.

Forum, baths, walls

What you see today as you walk up is the Roman urban grid from the 1st century BC to the 1st century AD. Lucentum held the rank of municipium under Augustus, which meant local autonomy and Roman law. That translates into stone: a forum with three porticoes, two thermal complexes with their frigidarium, tepidarium and caldarium rooms, a main street flanked by statue pedestals, a sewage system and at least one temple. Then add the wall, which encloses 2.2 hectares with towers and an outer rampart in several stretches. The most spectacular construction is the eastern gate, defended by a solid tower and a bastion: the ceremonial entrance to the city.

Abandonment and oblivion

The decline began at the end of the 1st century AD. Nearby Ilici, today's Elche, had grown faster and was capturing trade. Lucentum slowly emptied. By the 2nd and 3rd centuries it had been abandoned. The stones remained in place, but the city itself had died. Much later, in Islamic times, the dead were buried over the ruins: the cemetery that archaeologists identify as predating the 11th century. And the name Laqant, phonetically derived from Lucentum, travelled five kilometres south and settled on the new city beside the castle of Santa Bárbara: medieval Alicante.

Rediscovered by a count

In the 18th century, Antonio Valcárcel Pío de Saboya, Count of Lumiares, identified the ruins of Tossal de Manises with the Lucentum of ancient texts. His intuition took almost two centuries to consolidate. In 1961 the site was declared a Historic-Artistic Monument. The first systematic excavations had begun decades earlier, but the major campaigns that recovered today's urban grid are recent. The site now reports to the MARQ, the provincial archaeological museum, run by the Provincial Council of Alicante.

How to visit

The walk up the Tossal takes ten minutes from the Lucentum tram stop, on the TRAM line that connects the centre with San Juan beach. The full route, about 1,100 well-signposted metres, takes 70 to 90 minutes at a calm pace. You enter through the eastern gate, cross the forum, drop down to the baths, pass into the northeastern quarter and return along the wall. There are explanatory panels, and on guided-visit days a MARQ technician walks the group through. Standard hours are Tuesday to Saturday, 10:00 to 14:00 and 15:30 to 17:30. Check the MARQ website before going, because afternoon and holiday schedules shift with the season.

Reviviscit Lucentum

Each spring, usually between May and June, the MARQ stages Reviviscit Lucentum: two days in which the site becomes a Roman city again. Reenactors from Hispania Romana and Legio Prima occupy the wall, set up a military camp, stage a pompa, deploy Iberian and Punic warriors, run gladiator combats and open workshops on cooking, dress and crafts. It is the best way to visit Lucentum with children: the site stops being stone and turns into a living city for a weekend.

Why this matters if you are house hunting

La Albufereta, where Lucentum sits, is one of the most cared-for coastal districts of the city. It runs along the beach, has direct tram service to the centre and to San Juan beach, and mixes 1970s blocks with villas and homes from more recent developments. Buying here means having three thousand years of human layers literally next door: the site is visible from some upper-floor flats, and from the beach, looking north, you can pick out the silhouette of the Tossal crowned by its walls. When an area carries this density of history, it usually carries better planning and more green space too.

The light that lingers

Lucentum kept silent for two millennia and came back into view. Ákra Leuké, city of light, Lucentum, Laqant, Alicante: the name changes, the idea holds. A white promontory you can see from the sea, and from which you can see the sea. You climb up on a late afternoon, sit on a block of the eastern wall, let the sun slide along the Mediterranean, and you understand why the Iberians chose this spot, why the Romans kept it, why the Arabs lent its shadow to medieval Alicante. The light has not moved.

If history brings you to Alicante and you want a home looking out over La Albufereta, Cabo de las Huertas or the centre, ESYS VIP can help you explore our properties. If you would rather ask first, contact us.