Callosa d'en Sarrià ( is a Valencian town and municipality located in the comarca of Marina Baixa, in the province of Alicante, Spain, lying in the valley of the river Guadalest, 50 km from the city of Alicante. Callosa d'en Sarrià has an area of 24.8 km2 and according to the 2003 census, a total population of 8,060 inhabitants. The economy of Callosa is chiefly based on tourism and agriculture: it is the main producer of loquat in Spain. The most important monuments in the town are the Catholic archipresbyteral church of Sant Joan Baptista (Saint John), built in the 18th century, and the Fortress of Bèrnia, built in the 17th century at the top of a nearby mountain to defend the city from pirates and Moriscos. Toponymy The rivers Guadalest and Algar cross the town, which is surrounded by the mountains of Aitana, Bèrnia and Xortà. It has a Mediterranean climate with temperatures averaging 17 °C in January, with a high of 24 °C in summer and a low of 9.5 °C in winter. Callosa is located 10 km from the coast at the intersection on the C-3318 that connects Benidorm with Pego and the road from Benidorm to Alcoi through Guadalest. From Alicante, Callosa may be reached via the AP-7 or the N-332 in Benidorm, then by the CV-70 and then by the CV-715 in La Nucia. Bordering towns Callosa borders the municipalities of Altea, Bolulla, Guadalest, Xaló, La Nucia, Polop and Tàrbena. History Deposits have been discovered belonging to the Neolithic (5,000 BC), Chalcolithic, Bronze Age, Iberian and Roman eras. These settlements formed the basis for the establishment of Muslim hamlets in different parts of the municipality. The origin of Callosa (meaning probably "land hard, dry" in Latin) is an ancient Muslim farmhouse, after the Christian reconquest by the king James I of Aragon in the s. XIII, the property was acquired by Admiral Bernat de Sarrià in 1290 during the reign of Alfonso III of Aragon, becoming its first feudal lord. Hence, since then the city was renamed Callosa d'en Sarrià and became the center of the manor, which extended over part of the current district of Marina Baixa. Since then acquired by different noble families, among which could highlight the Sarrià (1290–1335), Crown of Aragon (1335–1445), Bou (1445–1560), Moncada (1560–1767) and the Count of Orgaz (1767). Today, the noble title of the people belongs to