This Wednesday Pepa Font, Comisionada del Puerto de Dénia de la Generalitat Valenciana, ha ofrecido una rueda de prensa en la que ha anunciado el hallazgo de un nuevo Duque de Alba. Estos sirvieron de amarres para grandes buques en el pasado.
Present at the event were Marc García, Director General of Coasts, Ports and Airports, and representatives of the company Liquas, in charge of the first underwater surveys to check the state of the Duques de Alba.
"It was a very accidental discovery, no one knew it was there. In addition, the waters of the port are very murky, it is difficult to see everything that is at the bottom," said the Commissioner.
Originally, there were eight Duques de Alba built, according to the project of Anastasio Corchón, executed between 1928 and 1929. They were located a short distance from the line of the docks, obliquely to them, in the space between the Noguera shipyards and the Nautical Club.
Currently, a total of four Dukes of Alba are still visible and with parts not submerged, plus another one of which only the remains of the concrete base and not the top are preserved, on the southern dock of the port, opposite and between Astilleros Noguera and the Real Club Náutico de Dénia.
"One of my concerns was the little original heritage that remained from the beginning of the port. The current port was based on a project from 1898 but did not materialise until 1935. There were very few heritage remains from the beginning of its construction," said Pepa Font, about the start of this initiative.
Font explained that he had prepared a report on all the port's historical landmarks in an attempt to recover them. He therefore announced that within the first quarter of 2025, the newly found duke will be removed, studied, restored and reinstalled. This will add up to around 40.000 euros.
In addition, three information panels will be prepared with a location that provides a privileged view of the existing Dukes of Alba, which are to be restored. Specifically, the structures of the Dukes of Alba will be protected, with reinforcement of the foundation and the lower concrete block and anastylosis reconstruction of the upper part and top.
Marc García, for his part, praised the work of the Commissioner of the Port of Dénia for "highlighting" the elements of the place.