the radiant saint still holds the shell with which he baptized Jesus
a tapestry with the coat of arms of Alicante in the Salon Azul
El Triptico by Gaston Castello depicts the building of the city hall around 1750
the wall of the state room is plastered with paintings of all the city mayors
the statue of Saint John the Baptist, created in 1973 by Salvador Dali
the nicely decorated entrance features Alicante's coat of arms above it
exactly at noon on Easter Sunday the statues of Jesus and Mary meet in front of city hall
the city council meets in the Salon del Plenos
there is a small chapel in Rococo style
the stairwell is richly decorated with paintings
Alicante's city hall, the Ayuntamiento
In 1691 a bombing by a French Armada damaged
the city and destroyed the old city hall from 1490. It took 70 years to rebuild, but the result was an elegant construction
in the typical baroque style of the 18th century.
The main entrance faces the
Plaza del Ayuntamiento where each year the
locals watch the countdown to New Year, while swallowing 12 grapes, one at every bang of the ancient clock tower.
Inside
the hall stands a large gilded sculpture of Saint John the Baptist, created in 1973 by the great
Salvador Dali himself.
Embedded
in the first step of the red marble staircase is the
Cota Cero,Spain's
official sea level altitude reference.
Upstairs you find
several elegant rooms and a small chapel. The Salon Azul is very popular for weddings and the Salon del Plenos is still in use for
meetings of the city council.
The last time we visited Alicante's city hall was in October 2021.
from the Santa Barbara castle you have a nice view of the city hall
Alicante's city hall faces Plaza del Ayuntamiento. Note the gates below the towers.
the yellow mark is the Cota Cero, the official sea level mark of Spain
this painting from an unknown artist depicts the execution of local hero Pantaleon Bone in 1844
from the balconies it rains religious confetti cards
the Salon Azul is popular for weddings on Saturday
