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It is not easy to fix its origin. The total absence of archaeological remains and the fact that the archives have been burned and disappeared make this work very difficult. For the rest, the documents and chronicles of King James I in the archives of the Kingdom speak of him very little. It does not appear in the ´´Libre del Repartiment´´, nor has Carta Puebla been found.



It is undoubtedly of Islamic origin, as evidenced by the Moorish necropolis found in 1984. In 1486, it was acquired by the Duke of Gandía, Pedro Luis de Borja. It is in this writing that the name of Bellreguart appears for the first time, substituting that of Sotaia, the Arabic name with which it was formerly and popularly known. In this act of sale, the writer and teacher in theology Joan Roís de Corella acted as plenipotentiary attorney for the Duke of Gandía.



Ecclesiastically it was a rectory of Moors, elevated on October 26, 1534 to a parish, depending on that of Santa María de Gandía. In 1574, it finally became independent from Gandía.



Its population, fundamentally Moorish, was strongly affected by their expulsion in 1609, because of 165 families only four of old Christians remained, their houses remaining empty and the fields abandoned. Despite the arrival of new settlers from Catalonia and Mallorca, it took 50 years to recover 30% of the population. From then until today the population has been growing progressively.



Bellreguart (in Valencian and officially Bellreguard) is a municipality of the Valencian Community. Belonging to the province of Valencia, in the region of La Safor.

Geography



Nestled in the center of the Llacuna alluvial plain, between the foothills of the Sierra Gallinera, the right bank of the Serpis River and the Mediterranean Sea.



The municipality is made up of two important population centers: the town itself, crossed by the national road N-332 from Valencia to Alicante, between Gandía and Oliva, and Playa de Bellreguart, the seafront of the municipality, today fully urbanized. , which in summer makes the population of the municipality double.



Neighborhoods and districts



In the municipal term of Bellreguart there is also the population center of Playa de Bellreguart (Platja de Bellreguard in Valencian) that forms an exclave separate from the term of the town.



Bellreguart beach participates in the Accessible Beaches Plan of the Valencian Community, and is suitable for the disabled.

Bordering towns



The municipal term of Bellreguart borders the following towns: Almoines, Alquería de la Condesa, Gandía, Guardamar de la Safor, Miramar, Palmera and Rafelcofer, all of them in the province of Valencia.

Economy



Traditionally, economic activity has revolved around agriculture, yes, in constant reconversion. During the 16th and 17th centuries the cultivation of sugar cane was important and its mill was an important sugar center. In the 18th and 19th centuries the production of sugar cane was abandoned and replaced by mulberry and vineyard. At the beginning of the 20th century, the silk crisis and the plagues of the vineyard caused a new crop to prevail, until now, the orange tree.



At present, small industry and services are the main economic activities, without forgetting that generated by tourism.



Local parties



Dances The dansada or ball pla has practically disappeared from Bellreguart folklore. The only danced that has still been seen dancing and has recovered is the ´´Baile de la Galca´´ (Ball de la Forca). This is the only baton dance or tournaments that is known in the La Safor region. It is a dance performed only by men with an always odd number, dressed in a white shirt of raw fabric, wide zaragüelles in the Moorish style of the same fabric and color, also white socks and colored garters, black ribbon espadrilles, fantasy vest and silk scarf on the head. In the right hand they carried a 3 or 5 pointed gallows and that of the Chief or Director of 7 points.



Saint Anthony the Abbot. It is commemorated on January 17 with the distribution of the blessed bread and the blessing of the animals.



Festivals. They are celebrated in honor of San Miguel on September 22 and 23. These have a marked popular character. The announcement of the festivities is made the day before by a troupe of the ´´tío de la porra´´ (originally from Gandía) together with another of the so-called drapets or pedacets, a carnival-type troupe, who wear clothes made of strips of cloth and which has existed in the village since time immemorial.



Moors and Christians. During the days that the festivities are celebrated, the Moors and Christians festivities have a special role.



Gastronomy



As in all the towns on the Valencian coast, rice, with each and every one of the multiple ways of being cooked, in a casserole, in paella and in a pot or perol, is the king of dishes.



Typical of Bellreguart are the ´´fardeles´´ (figatells, in Valencian), small liver and spice delicacies, flattened like a hamburger, wrapped in pork gills (a blanket that covers the stomach).



The long sugar tradition of the region offers a wide variety of sweets that range from the most refined pastries to the most spectacular cakes, such as the crown of glory, puff pastry cakes, Christmas cakes, pine nut coca, cakes from wind and the casca de Reyes.

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