Alex Trelinski
SPAIN’S postal service- Correos- has issued a commemorative stamp to celebrate the 700th anniversary of Benidorm being founded on May 8, 1325.
72,000 stamps have been issued with a face cost of €1.85.
A special event was held on Thursday at Benidorm City Council’s Plenary Hall.
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It was led by city mayor, Toni Perez, plus Nuria Lera from Correos and the president of the Valencia region’s Philatelic and Numismatic Association, Jose Ivers, who campaigned for the special stamp.
The stamp features a photograph taken from El Castell to the Poniente area, with a view of the city’s skyline in a way of celebrating Benidorm’s ‘old and new’.
Benidorm’s official coat of arms and a 700th anniversary logo are also included.
Toni Perez said: “The process to get here has taken a long time and stamps are a very representative part of our historical memories as a people.”
It took two years for the commemorative stamp to happen and he praised the ‘commitment’ of Jose Ivers.
“Benidorm is now part of Correos’ history and will be a tribute to the cultural legacy that lives on, especially through stamp collectors,” said Perez.
He also appealed for people to return to the old-fashioned custom of writing letters, buying stamps and putting them in a post box to coincide with the 700th anniversary.
It is exactly 700 years since Admiral Bernat de Sarria granted the Settlement Charter to Benidorm, in a document delivered in Valencia before the notary Joan Cerda.
The text established the municipality boundaries, as well as the rights and duties of the new settlers, who moved to Punta Canfali- the same site as where El Castell stood, as featured on the stamp.
The council stated: “Over seven centuries, the city has experienced different events to become a leading, unique tourist destination of international reference.”
Although its name is synonymous with tourism, in earlier times Benidorm was known ‘for the expertise of its sailors and for the skill of its trap fishermen’.
