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Dénia (; ) is a historical coastal city in the province of Alicante, Spain, on the Costa Blanca halfway between Alicante and Valencia, and the capital and judicial seat of the comarca of Marina Alta. Denia's historical heritage has been influenced by Iberian, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Islamic, Napoleonic and Christianity civilizations. , it had a population of 49,700, although this is more than doubled by tourism during the summer months.
From 636696, under Visigothic rule, it was the seat of a bishop suffragan bishop to Toledo. After the Muslim conquest of Iberia and the dissolution of the Caliphate of Córdoba, Dénia (, ) became the capital of a Taifa kingdom that reigned over part of the Valencian coast and Ibiza. Slavic peoples Muslim slaves, saqālibah, led by Mujahid ibn Yusuf ibn Ali, profited from the progressive crumbling of the Caliphate's superstructure to gain control over the province of Dénia. The saqālibah managed to free themselves and run the kingdom, which extended its reach as far as the islands of Majorca and its capital . The saqālibah taifa lost its independence in 1076, when it was captured by Ahmad al-Muqtadir, lord of Zaragoza, under which it remained until the Almoravid invasion in 1091. The Muslim Arabs originally built the castle fortress, and the French, who occupied the city for four years during the Peninsular War, rebuilt it in the early 19th century. The town was reconquered by the Christians in 1244. This caused a decline for the city, which remained nearly uninhabited after the exile of most of the Muslim population. It was later repopulated by the Valencian government. Created a fief in 1298, it was held by the de Sandoval family from 1431, although the city itself was returned to the Aragonese crown in 1455. A marquisate from 1487, Dénia gained many privileges thanks to Francisco Gómez de Sandoval y Rojas, Duke of Lerma, a favourite of Philip III of Spain. It suffered a further period of decay after the decree of Expulsion of the Moriscos (1609), by which 25,000 people left the marquisate, leaving the local economy in a dismal state.
During the War of the Spanish Succession Dénia was besieged by 9,000 French troops in June 1707, who broke down several sections of the town walls using cannon, but their attacks in July were repulsed by the small garrison with great loss of life to the attackers resulting in the siege being raised after 27 days. Dénia, however, fell to the French forces that November. In 1713 the Treaty of Utrecht recognised Louis XIV's grandson Philip, Duke of Anjou, as King of Spain (as Philip V), so returning Dénia to Spanish rule.
It was reacquired by the Spanish crown in 1803, after which Denia gained an increasingly important role as a trading port. A community of English raisin traders lived in Denia from 1800 until the time of the Spanish Civil War in the late 1930s.
Dénia also has the Museu Etnològic with further details on the history and culture of the city.
The city also serves as the northern terminus for a railway line through the mountains from Alicante (popularly known as the Limón Express), run by FGV. This is not a specific tourist railway; it provides transport throughout the year and is geared to commuter use.
Connections by ALSA bus are also available to major cities Benidorm and Alicante to the south, and to Gandia and
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Dénia is accessible by car from the AP-7 motorway and N-332 national road, which lie several kilometers due west of the city.
/ref> As done in major cities throughout the Valencian Community, huge papier-mâché statues called fallas are set up throughout the town, are awarded both overall and category prizes, and then set ablaze on the last night of the celebration in reverse order of their overall finish. Dénia has 11 "falla districtes"
/ref> Each district constructs both an adult and children's falla. Districts compete in the "Especial" or the "Primera" categories, depending upon how much is allocated for the construction of each falla.
The Bous a la Mar (meaning "Bulls at the Sea") is held in July. The highlight of this week-long festival is watching bulls run down the main street Marqués de Campo, only to be chased into the Mediterranean sea by those daring enough to enter a makeshift bull ring with them.
Since 1974, Dénia has been home to painter and sculptor Joan Castejón. The town honored him as an Adoptive Son of Dénia in 1999.
/ref> The annual D*na Festival is the city'
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Dénia's local basketball team is called Dénia Basquet, and plays at the fifth level in Spain's pyramid, the Primera División de Baloncesto.
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