Plaza de los Chorros

The Plaza de los Chorros is the heart of the old town in Polop and takes its name from the Fuente de los Chorros, a drinking-water fountain that distributes water through 221 spouts fed by the Terrer and Garrofer springs. Residents and visitors still turn up with containers to fill straight from the taps, a habit that has continued for generations.

From eleven spouts to two hundred and twenty-one

The current fountain dates to 1885, when it had just eleven spouts. It was expanded in 1947, when lion-head spouts were added, and again in 1965; since 1976 it has kept its 221 spouts, following a remodelling in a modernist style. Above them, ceramic tiles display the coats of arms of various municipalities in Alicante and Castellón provinces, topped by a large tiled shield of Spain.

The square is ringed by the historic buildings that make up the core of the village: the town hall, the parish church of San Pedro Apóstol and, on the adjoining hill, the Castillo de Polop. A few steps away is the Casa Museo Gabriel Miró, dedicated to the writer who spent long stretches of time in the village. Water from the same springs still feeds the network of irrigation channels that waters Polop's orchards, a hydraulic system that has stayed in use for centuries.