Novelda | |
|---|---|
Monastery of Santa Maria Magdalena. | |
| Coordinates: 38°23′06″N 0°46′05″W / 38.385°N 0.768°W | |
| Country | |
| Autonomous community | |
| Province | Alicante |
| Comarca | Vinalopó Mitjà |
| Government | |
| • Alcalde (Mayor) | Francisco Martínez Alted (PSOE-PSPV) |
| Area | |
• Total | 75.7 km2 (29.2 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 241 m (791 ft) |
| Population (2025-01-01) | |
• Total | 26,606 |
| • Density | 351/km2 (910/sq mi) |
| Demonyms | Noveldan • novelder, -a (Val.) • noveldense (Sp.) |
| Official language(s) | |
| Linguistic area | Valencian |
| Postcode | 03660 |
| Website | Official website |
Novelda is a town located in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, Spain. As of 2009[update], it has a total population of 27,135 inhabitants.
Novelda has important quarries and mines of marble, limestone, silica, clay and gypsum. It is a major centre of the marble industry.
It was probably settled by Greeks, although it was controlled by Carthaginians, Romans and Al Andalus. Some centuries later it was conquered by a son of Ferdinand III of Castile.
Places of tourist interest in Novelda include the monastery of Santa Maria Magdalena (dated from the 19th century), which has a church designed by a disciple of Antoni Gaudí, the Moorish castle of the Mola, with its unique triangular tower, and the Museum of Modernism. This is a well preserved Art Nouveau house with original artifacts from the 1920s. The house itself is a work of art. The House-Museum is located in a modernist building designed by Pedro Cerdan Martinez (1863-1947) and is now a centre for modernist research and promotion. There are also several natural and salty lakes to visit in the surroundings.