Alcoy

Alcoy

Alcoy, Valencian Alcoi, town, Alicante provincia (province), in the comunidad autónoma (autonomous community) of Valencia, southeastern Spain. It lies in rugged foothills at the confluence of the two headstreams of the Serpis River, north of Alicante city. The site was settled before Roman times, but the present Alcoy was founded by the Moors, who named it Alcoyll after a city in Tunisia.

The town is a rail terminus and an important centre of the textile industry. A royal textile factory was established there in 1800, and it was the site of the first Spanish industrial school. Alcoy’s manufactures include paper, especially for cigarettes and packaging for foodstuffs. Metalworking and agricultural trade are also carried on. A celebration, held in April on the Festival de San Jorge (St. George), Alcoy’s patron, commemorates a 13th-century battle when the saint supposedly helped the Christians defeat the Moors; it is a tourist attraction. Pop. (2007 est.) mun., 60,700.