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<\/p>\n Tabarca, Spain
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n Spain\u2019s Mediterranean islands have come to represent an ideal of lifestyle and leisure.\n <\/p>\n
\n Chances are you\u2019re familiar with the Balearic archipelago. Every year, millions flock every year to the islands of Majorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera to wander whitewashed towns, soak up pristine beaches, embrace the laidback vibes \u2014 and, for some, indulge in a bit of partying.\n <\/p>\n
\n A little farther south lies another Spanish island that captures much of this Mediterranean magic while remaining almost entirely unknown.\n <\/p>\n
\n Look at a map of Spain, zoom in on its southeast corner and, if you pay attention, you\u2019ll spot an elongated speck of land just off the city of Alicante.\n <\/p>\n
\n The flat, tiny island of Nueva Tabarca stretches 1,800 meters \u2014 just over a mile \u2014 and spans only 400 meters at its widest point. Around 50 people live on the island year-round, making it Spain\u2019s smallest permanently inhabited island.\n <\/p>\n
\n What Tabarca lacks in size, it more than makes up for in natural and cultural heritage. Its insularity has shielded it from the reckless overdevelopment that has scarred much of the nearby Costa Blanca.\n <\/p>\n
\n Yet Tabarca is far from remote. Officially part of Alicante, it lies just a couple of miles offshore. Several times a day, glass-bottomed ferries shuttle visitors across the narrow stretch of water from the mainland fishing port of Santa Pola.\n <\/p>\n
\n Even this minimal degree of geographical separation has given Tabarca a personality all its own.\n <\/p>\n
\n Its distinct character owes much to a remarkable 18th century. The island\u2019s inhabitants trace their roots not to nearby shores but hundreds of miles away \u2014 in a historical saga connecting Tabarca to Italy and North Africa.\n <\/p>\n
\n The Nueva in its name hints at the story.\n <\/p>\n
\n Between 1500 and 1800, red coral from what was then the island of Tabarka, on Tunisia\u2019s northern coast, was a prized commodity.\n <\/p>\n
\n In the 16th century, the Genoese Lomellini family secured a concession from the local rulers to harvest coral there. By the mid-18th century, the settlement numbered around 2,000, most of Genoese origin.\n <\/p>\n
\n Then the Ottoman Bey of Tunis, ruler of what is present day Tunisia, had other plans.\n <\/p>\n
\n In 1741, his forces overran Tabarka, enslaving many residents and sending shockwaves throughout the western Mediterranean. Kings of Spain and Sardinia offered sanctuary to those who escaped and paid ransoms to free those still captive.\n <\/p>\n
\n Those who reached Spain were offered a place to rebuild their lives \u2014 on a small, barren island. Then known as Illa Plana, or flat island, it was renamed Nueva Tabarca in remembrance of their previous home.\n <\/p>\n
\n The new settlement wasn\u2019t improvised. In line with enlightened ideas of the time, military engineers were assigned to lay out a precise urban grid which is still visible today. Broad, straight streets intersect at right angles, converging on a central square. A fortified perimeter protected the community from the Barbary pirates who regularly raided the Spanish coast.\n <\/p>\n
\n Meanwhile, not all Tabarkians made it to Spain. Some found refuge in Sardinia, where King Carlo Emanuele III of Savoy resettled them on the islands of San Pietro and Sant\u2019Antioco, founding the villages of Carloforte and Calasetta. Their descendants still speak the \u201cTabarchino\u201d dialect and maintain a distinct culture.\n <\/p>\n
\n Recent years have seen efforts to reconnect the three Tabarchine communities after years apart. In 2024, some 75 representatives gathered in Pegli, near Genoa, their ancestors\u2019 home. There is even talk of nominating the Tabarchine saga for UNESCO\u2019s Intangible Cultural Heritage list.\n <\/p>\n
\n While that recognition remains a distant prospect, Spanish Tabarca enjoys other official protections. In 1986, it became Spain\u2019s very first marine reserve. Two-thirds of the island remains undeveloped and largely unspoiled. Its surrounding waters and adjacent rocks and islets act as a refuge for marine life.\n <\/p>\n
\n The urbanized third of the island has adapted to tourism, with many traditional houses converted into short-term accommodation for the growing number of tourists escaping the Costa Blanca buzz.\n <\/p>\n
Island of day-trippers<\/p>\n
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\n The charms of Tabarca have not gone unnoticed, even beyond Spain\u2019s borders.\n <\/p>\n
\n Mar\u00eda del Mar Valera, a Tabarca restaurateur and president of APEHA, an association of Alicante hospitality businesses, tells CNN that international visitors can make up to 80 to 90% of arrivals.\n <\/p>\n
\n Most tourists are day-trippers. Around 20 small-scale businesses cater to roughly 200 to 250 people, though business is strictly seasonal, despite the year-round mild climate. \u201cNo one comes here in winter,\u201d she adds.\n <\/p>\n
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