Bunker Mentality

ALICANTE was largely Republican during the Spanish Civil War.

The country's Mediterranean coast was blockaded by the Italian and German navies, supporting Franco's rebel Nationalists.

To guard against a possible invasion in the Altea area, which has long, flat beaches, eight machinegun pillboxes, called búnquers in Catalan (bunkers, or búnkeres, in Spanish) were built on the coast.

This pillbox near Cap Negret is one of only three survivors, and only two of those are now above sea level

Another view - none saw action, but they are believed to have had a deterrent effect