Palmeral of Elche
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How it came to be
At Elche in south-eastern Spain, the Romans dammed the Vinalopó river and channelled water to the town. In the 10th century the Caliphate of Córdoba moved the town to its present site, laid out canals using North African techniques and, in the second half of the century, planted date palms. The palms were set in grids along the edges of rectangular plots called huertos.
The palms held the soil, reduced evaporation and shaded the crops. In a land where summer heat passes 30 degrees and rain is under 250 mm a year, pomegranates, cereals and fodder grew beneath them. The Christian rulers who conquered Elche in the 13th century took over and extended the canals, and the weaving of white palm fronds for Palm Sunday began here.
Industry and urban growth shrank the groves from the late 19th century. Felling was banned in 1933, and in 1943 all of Elche's palm groves were declared an Artistic Garden. UNESCO inscribed the Palmeral in 2000 as a unique example of Arab agricultural practice on the European continent.
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