A real castle in Spain, Costa Blanca

THERE is much more to Alicante province than that relative newcomer, the Costa Blanca. Thirty minutes from Alicante city on the N-31 motorway to Madrid you’ll find Sax, a town that offers a potted history of Spain. Controlled by theMoors from the Eighth century, Sax is dominated by the 12th century castle they built on Bronze Age, Iberian and Roman remains.It was taken from the Moors by the military-religious Order of Calatrava in 1240 but was soon the source of tension between Aragon and Castilla, ending up in the latter’s possession.In the early 18th century, Sax castle’s garrison bucked the regional trend by supporting the French Borbon pretender to the Spanish throne, not Carlos of Austria who, incidentally, had backing from the English. Sax town hall organises 45-minute conducted tours of the restored castle each Sunday at 10.15, weather permitting. It is necessary to register before 8.30pm the previous Thursday on www.sax.es or by emailing ceahmsols@sax.es