Santa Faz: Pilgrimage, Architectural History and Festivals
Accommodation in Santa Faz
Santa Faz combines pilgrimage and architectural history with a distinctive architectural feature. Behind the main altar of the pilgrimage church is an octagonal camarín, where the relic of the Santa Faz is kept.
File:Relicario de la Santa Faz en la iglesia San Vicente Ferrer de San Vicente del Raspeig 01.jpg
Photo: Laborinquen via Source, CC0
Culture
The origins date back to the end of the 15th century: the first monastery and the first church of Santa Verónica were founded between 1489 and 1490. The Santa Faz Monastery was reconstructed between 1751 and 1756; its completion continued until 1766–1785. Another historic structure is the Santa Faz Tower, a remnant from the 16th century. It has a rectangular ground plan, a truncated-pyramidal structure, as well as neoclassical and defensive elements.
Paths and Pilgrimage
The pilgrimage route from the Co-Cathedral of San Nicolás to Santa Faz Monastery is eight kilometres long. The cultural landscape heritage associated with Santa Faz includes the historic paths through the old Huerta de Alicante. For generations, people used them to travel to Santa Faz to venerate the relic and to take part in La Peregrina. The annual Santa Faz pilgrimage, known as La Peregrina, takes place on the second Thursday after Maundy Thursday. The ceremonies for opening and closing the tabernacle of the Santa Faz take place both at the sanctuary monastery of Santa Faz and in the hamlet of Santa Faz.
The route length, recurring pilgrimage date and the two ceremonies provide different reference points for personal planning around Santa Faz.
Festivals and Flavours
The Santa Faz celebration includes a paraeta, where visitors can sample anise rolls and mistela. As part of the Santa Faz celebration, a fair with more than 100 stalls is held from Thursday to Sunday around Santa Faz Monastery. The Fiestas de San Antonio de Padua are celebrated annually in Santa Faz around 13 June and last from Thursday to Sunday; the reference date is the Sunday immediately after 13 June. On Saturday, the programme includes a paella competition in the streets of Santa Faz.
The dates vary depending on the occasion and the days of the week; for planning purposes, the desired festival event can therefore be identified precisely.
Markets
The Mercado de Santa Faz was held in 2024 from Tuesday, 9 April, to Sunday, 14 April, from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. each day, at Plaza de Luis Foglietti and in the adjacent streets. There were six stalls selling traditional festival products, including medals, pottery, ceramics and garrotes.
When comparing a holiday apartment in Santa Faz, you can first compare the travel dates, room category and cancellation conditions on the respective pages. The three fields can be checked separately and matched against your own period and the category you want.
Other Places
Other places in the overview include Monnegre and El Moralet.
For the higher-level travel overview: Alicante.
