His estate known as Villa de Noheda was a testament to his great power and wealth: His dining room was 291 square meters and was decorated with mosaics fit for the palace of an emperor.

“This man really existed,” explains Miguel Ángel Valero, professor of ancient history at the University of Castilla-La Mancha. His name is not yet known “but sooner or later, we’ll find out,” says Valero, who has spent a decade uncovering the dazzling features of the villa, which is located in Villar de Domingo, a hamlet of 218 inhabitants in Cuenca province, in the central region of Castilla-La Mancha.

It’s unique in the world. When I show the photos in international congresses, specialists from other countries are astonished

So far only 5% of Villa de Noheda has been excavated, but researchers have uncovered the largest collection of marble sculptures in Roman Hispania and the largest figurative mosaic in the entire Roman Empire.

The forgotten villa was discovered more than a decade ago when a tractor hit a hard spot of land in the village of Villar de Domingo García. Prior to that, the area had the nickname of El Pedregal (The stony field) after the numerous stone blocks and clay tiles that were ploughed up. One day a farmer was ploughing the field when suddenly hundreds of brightly coloured tiles appeared. Knowing he had uncovered something special the farmer stopped his work and called the local museum. Archaeologists were called in to excavate the site and could not believe what they found.

Located strategically far away from any Roman road so as not to attract  attention, the villa and the lands that supported it covered more than 80 square kilometres.

So how could a Roman villa and its wealthy owner come to be forgotten? When the Roman Empire collapsed, it sparked the Christianization of Hispania.

Pagan symbols and sculptures were destroyed and stones that made up the villa would have been used for other building projects.

Plans are now underway to open up the site to the public while archaeological work continues.

Sources from the regional government confirmed that Villa de Noheda will be opened to the public “as soon as possible.” “It’s unique in the world. When I show the photos in international congresses, specialists from other countries are astonished. And the best is yet to come because we have only excavated a small part,” says Valero with a big smile.

A: “Arbol de Navidad” (Christmas tree) and “ángel de Navidad” (Christmas angel).

B: “Belén” (meaning Bethlehem or nativity scene), and the verb “brindar” (to toast), which can also be referred to as “brindis.” “Buena Noche” is also a word you will hear a lot as it is the Spanish name for Christmas Eve and the big family feast.

C: “Cabalgatas” (parades) of the Three Wise Men on January 5. “campanadas” the bell chimes at midnight on New Year’s Eve.

D: The “décimo” is a €20 ticket for Spain’s El Gordo Christmas Lottery, which gives you the chance of winning the top prize of €400,000.

E: There’s “la estrella de Navidad” (Christmas star).

F: “Felices fiestas” (happy holidays).

G: Gordo or El Gordo (the fat one) is regarded as being the biggest lottery in the world, and rather than a few prizes, thousands of people get a share of the money.

H: If we have a cold spell in the run-up to Christmas, you may hear people talking about “hielo en la carretera” (ice on the road).

I: “El Día de los Inocentes”, is Spain’s versión of April Fools’ Day and takes place on December 28.

J: Jesus or “el niño Jesús” (baby Jesus)is a word you will probably not just hear at Christmas but year-round as nearly 300,000 men in Spain are named Jesus.

K: K is “kilogramo”, the measure you’ll be using when shopping for seafood and other Christmas treats.

L: “Langostinos” (king prawns), a favorite on Christmas dinner tables.

M: During the Christmas period, Spaniards eat a lot of seafood which is called collectively “mariscos” (seafood). There’s also the “misa del gallo”, the Catholic Mass celebrated around midnight on Christmas Eve. If you were wondering what the Spanish word for mistletoes is, it is “muérdago.”

N: “Navidad” is of course, Spanish for Christmas, and the word “Navidades” refers to the entire Christmas period. New Year’s Eve in Spain is called “Nochevieja” and is when Spaniards hastily eat 12 grapes at midnight for good luck in the New Year. if you are lucky enough to have snow (“nieve”), you will have what the Spanish call a “Blanca Navidad.”

O: In the Basque parts of Spain, Santa Claus called the “Olentzero.”
Technically it isn’t Spanish but Euskera.

P: P is for “Papá Noel” (Santa Claus) and for “polvorón,” a very powdery and crumbly shortbread that’s eaten a lot at Christmas in Spain.

Q: Q is for “queso” (cheese), which is eaten in abundance at Christmas in Spain.

R: There’s the “Reyes Magos” (the Three Wise Men) who are bigger than Santa in Spain and give kids the bulk of their Christmas presents on January 6, and the “Roscón de Reyes”, a crown-shaped cake. R is also for “regalos” – presents.

S: S is for “solomillo,” a good quality filet mignon steak that Spaniards often choose as part of their Christmas menu.

T: Spain’s main sweet Christmas treat is “turrón”, a nougat-style chocolate bar that comes in a wide variety of flavors and styles.

U: Spaniards scoff down twelve “uvas” grapes every time the bells chime at New Year’s.

V: Spain’s traditional Christmas songs are known as “villancicos,” folk-style tunes which often feature a fish drinking river water, a donkey, and a drummer.

Z: We finish off this A to Z of Spanish Christmas vocab with the “zambomba,” a strange friction instrument that is often played during “Navidad” in Southern Spain

Yesterday the CDC added Spain to a growing list of European countries where the Omicron strain of the coronavirus is becoming the dominant variant of the infection. The American health body said that “if you must travel to Spain, make sure you are fully vaccinated before travel.” “Because of the current situation in Spain, even fully vaccinated travelers may be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants,” the CDC added.

Spain’s two-week infection rate stands at 500 cases per 100,000 people and is in what Spain describes as being a high-risk category. Cases of the Omicron variant now make up 47% of new infections, according to information released by Spain’s Ministry of Health.

Currently, unvaccinated US travelers who aren’t residents or nationals of Spain cannot travel to Spain for non-essential reasons such as tourism. Those who are fully vaccinated and can prove it through official vaccination documentation can visit Spain for leisure. On November 8th, the United States lifted Covid travel restrictions on passengers from Spain if they were fully vaccinated and met other conditions such as getting tested before travel.

With the Omicron now the predominant strain in the United States, the worry is that entry requirements could change at any moment and that entry restrictions will be imposed.

In the same way, as a traditional bus route would work, the “Bicibus” makes stops along the route to allow children and their parents to join with the others. The program, which was first rolled out in September, has proved so popular that other parts of the city are looking at replicating it.

“In several months, there will be other routes in other neighborhoods,” said Genis Domínguez, 40, whose children go to school in Eixample, home to wide avenues and stylish shops.

“They are very close to the streets where cars go too fast, and motorcycles get too close,” he told AFP. Members of the Local Police on bicycles or motorized transport at the front and back make sure the roads are safe as they escort the children to school.

Currently, around 140 children use the two “Bicibus” routes in Eixample. At a recent meeting to learn how the “Bicibus” scheme works, parents from 35 other schools in the city attended to learn how to set up a similar thing in their neighborhoods.

According to parents in the Eixample neighborhood, Friday is the one day of the week where they have no trouble waking their children up to go to school.

The announcement follows Spain recording its highest daily number of COVID-19 infections since the pandemic began. With 47% of the new infections being the highly-contagious Omicron strain, the worry is that the Spanish healthcare system will not be able to cope with a massive influx of new patients. Despite the vast majority of adults in Spain being fully vaccinated, regional leaders believe that mandatory face masks will help to stop the virus from spreading.

Even though wearing facemasks while outdoors was not mandatory, many Spaniards continued to do so, so the new law would not have the kind of backlash that it might have caused in other European countries.

The action resulting from a winning proposal put forward by citizens as to how best the city council should spend excess funds from last year’s budget will cost 281.487 euros, of which the European Union will pay 50%.

Councilor for Participatory Democracy, Teresa Sanjuan, has stated that it is a complicated project that has undergone several modifications and delays. It will finally connect the Riquer riverbed on both sides of the María Cristina bridge.

“It is a project that citizens highly demand, and that will entail an evident improvement in the use and enjoyment of an area that we want to promote with sports and healthy leisure activities.”

The 45-meter infrastructure will link the urbanized part of the Riquer riverbed with the Santa Ana sports area, where the skate park is located, through two sections. It will allow the continuity of the greenway from the Muboma to the Font del Quinzet.

The BMX Championships will take place at the Circuito Municipal de BMX on the weekend of July 1sh and 2nd, 2023.

Located inland 35 minutes by car from Alicante and an hour from Valencia, Alcoy sits in a valley surrounded by the Sierra de Mariola an area of outstanding beauty that was given National Park status in 2002.

Alcoy was first settled by Iberians between the 6th-1st centuries BC with prehistoric cave paintings dating back over 60,000 years suggesting the surrounding area was home to Neanderthal hunter-gathers.

After the Roman conquest of the Iberians, several rural villas were built in the area, as well as a necropolis. When the Moors invaded Spain in the 8th century the town was named Alcoyll after a city in Tunisia.

James I of Aragon constructed a castle on a strategic position over the Serpis River in 1256 to secure the southern frontier of the Kingdom of Valencia during the Reconquista.

In 1291 the town was donated by King James II of Aragon to the Sicilian admiral Roger of Lauria; it will not return a royal possession until 1430.

During the War of Spanish Succession, Alcoy sided for the cause of Archduke Charles and was therefore besieged and stripped of numerous privileges, which started a period of decline

During the First Spanish Republic (1873-1874), Alcoy was one of the few Spanish cities where the Industrial Revolution took root.

Paper, textile, and metallurgic industries flourished in Alcoy leading upswing in population and the implementation of a capitalist system of production, as well as introducing mechanisation as a substitute for much former manual labour.

This situation placed the city of Alcoy on the front lines of the social conflicts of the era and the Petroleum Revolution of 1873 when workers protesting against poor wages and working conditions went on strike.

Alcoy went on to become a rich industrial city littered with buildings built in the Modernist style and a superb Art Deco bridge that allowed the city to grow beyond its initial boundaries.

During the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) Alcoy was on the side of the Republic and was bombed seven times by Franco’s fascist Italian allies from their base on the occupied island of Mallorca.

Today Alcoy remains a vibrant city that serves as the main commercial centre for the surrounding area. The textile industry in Alcoy is not as strong as it once was but food, spirits and cosmetics companies have stepped in as Alcoy looks towards the future.

Fed by the River Serpis, a mere trickle of a stream during the summer, Alcoy has a mostly dry Mediterranean climate that gets rain during the months of April and November.

Due to the city’s elevation and lack of humidity, the hot summer days, cool down in the evening from an average of 27°C (80°F) during the daytime in July to 17°C (62°F) degrees at night.

This fluctuation in temperature between day and night makes Alcoy the almost perfect place to live as you can enjoy the pool during the day and sleep comfortably at night.

A word of warning, however, is that during a cold snap, it is not unusual to see snow once and awhile.

Zona Centro

The Zona Centro is the “Old Town” of Alcoy full of historical buildings and charming cobblestone streets. It is also the home of the city’s university and post office.

Zona Norte

Of all the districts in Alcoy, the Zona Norte is the newest part with well laid out streets, including a magnificent tree-lined boulevard with a central pedestrian walkway.  Zona Norte is also home to a large city park and the region’s main hospital,   Verge dels Lliris.

Zona Alta Cami

This is one of the quietest areas of Alcoy. It has parks and some shops, but for serious shopping or going out you need to go into the centre of town. Most of the construction in this part of the city is new build and a great place to live if you like panoramic views and a reprieve from the summer heat.

Zona Eixample

Connected to the centre of the city by the Art Deco Saint Jordi bridge Eixample is home to the city’s most fashionable shopping street Alameda Avenue and the Alzamora shopping centre.

Zona Santa Rosa

Close to the city centre for shopping and within walking distance of the towns’ football stadium, Santa Rosa has all kinds of shops and bars and is where the young people of Alcoy go to party. All the late night discos are bunched together away from residential housing.

Zona Batoi

Almost set away from the city with Santa Rosa the closest shopping district, Batoi has a regular bus service that connects it to other areas of the city. In Batoi you will find Alcoyano football stadium and a popular Sunday outdoor market.