Orihuela remembers the town’s liberation from Moorish domination in the Middle Ages.

In mid-July, the town of Orihuela, in the province of Alicante, celebrates the Re-conquest fiesta, commemorating the arrival of Christian troops in the 13th century, and their triumph over the Saracens. At the festivities there are plenty of “Moors and Christians” parades, filling the town with colour, spectacle, joy and music.

The most important day of the fiesta is 17 July, with the Santas Justa y Rufina (the town’s patron saints) procession, and a parade with the Gloriosa Enseña del Oriol – the flag (locally called senyera) of Orihuela. On the night before, flaming torches are lit in the ruins of the castle.