Castle, costumes and cannons: Villena's Moors and Christians return

September in Villena means the return of one of the town’s biggest celebrations. From Friday 4 to Wednesday 9 September, the streets will fill with thousands of participants, musicians and visitors for six days of Moors and Christians celebrations.

The Fiestas de Moros y Cristianos en honor a la Virgen de las Virtudes (Moors and Christians fiestas in honour of the Virgen de las Virtudes) are enormous. More than 15,000 people take part in the parades, accompanied by around 5,000 musicians.

For anyone thinking of making the trip from elsewhere on the Costa Blanca, there is plenty going on beyond the two headline parades.

Two huge parades through Villena

Saturday 5 September brings the Grand Entrance, one of the biggest events of the fiestas.

The seven Moorish comparsas lead the parade through Villena, accompanied by bands, elaborate costumes and floats.

The Escuadras Especiales (Special Squads) add some of the most striking outfits of the celebrations.

A day later, on Sunday 6 September, it is the turn of the Christian side to lead the Grand Parade. Their seven comparsas head another huge procession through the town.

Villena has a long tradition of making costumes for Moros y Cristianos celebrations, and the main parades provide a showcase for the work of local craftspeople.

Drama beneath Atalaya Castle

The fiestas are not all about parades. Atalaya Castle provides the setting for the Embajadas (Embassies), where the Moorish and Christian sides act out their traditional exchanges.

The 12th-century castle overlooks Villena and its old quarter, making this one of the more unusual settings for the week’s events.

Gunpowder plays an equally important part. During the guerrillas and salvas, hundreds of participants fire traditional arquebuses as the two sides recreate their battles through the streets and around the castle.

These events are extremely loud, so anyone who is sensitive to noise should bear that in mind when planning a visit.

Music everywhere you go

Music is difficult to escape during Moros y Cristianos, and that is very much part of the fun.

Around 5,000 musicians take part, with bands travelling to Villena from across the Valencian Community. They accompany the major parades, but you will also hear music throughout the town during the celebrations.

Then there are the cuartelillos, where the different fiesta groups meet, eat and spend time together. They are an important part of the social side of the fiestas and help explain why so much of Villena gets involved each September.

Local restaurants, wineries and shops also give visitors plenty to explore between events, while the historic centre is well worth a wander if you have time between the main celebrations.

Planning a visit to Villena

The fiestas run from 4 to 9 September, so there are several opportunities to experience them. If the big parades are your priority, Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 September are the key dates to remember.

You can check the full programme, timings and latest fiesta information before travelling on the official Moros y Cristianos de Villena website.

A tradition with centuries behind it

The modern Moros y Cristianos celebrations began to take shape during the 19th century. Villena traces its first two comparsas, Moros Viejos and Cristianos, to 1843.

But the story behind the fiestas goes much further back.

In 1476, Villena proclaimed the Virgen de las Virtudes as its patron saint. Early religious pilgrimages included an armed local militia, or soldadesca, which accompanied the Virgin and fired ceremonial arquebus volleys.

Those traditions eventually helped shape the gunpowder displays and processions that remain part of the fiestas today.

Over the centuries, the religious celebrations, military traditions and later Moorish and Christian groups gradually came together. Today, more than a third of Villena’s population actively takes part in the fiestas.