Shelter of Cervantes


The Shelter of Cervantes is an air raid shelter of the Spanish Civil War, located next to the Parque de Cervantes in the city of Alcoy, Valencian Community, Spain. It was refurbished and opened to the public on April 12, 2006.

History

On the occasion of the Spanish Civil War, were built more than 25 shelters throughout the city of Alcoy to protect them from bombing raids carried out by aircraft Savoia SM 79 from the italian Legionary Air Force, that bombarded Alcoy on seven occasions since the September 20th 1938 until January 11th, 1939.
The underground shelter has a capacity of 1,166 people and more than 100 meters in length. It is composed of eight galleries, where the population was communicated by two aisles. Its surface area is 292 m2. It also has four toilets or latrines, two washbasins and a first aid room.
The access to the shelter is through a long corridor where is possible to contemplate the original label "is dangerous to stay here" due to the danger to be hit by a bomb shock wave.
The shelter has been musealized, dedicating each gallery to a specific topic. The museum recreates data and aerial photographs from attacks by the italian bombers Savoia 79, who acted on Alcoy. The exhibition has an interactive screen with military objects and a video projection with testimonies of people who lived through the bombing of the city.