Relleu History

I've been trying to find out a bit about the history of the town. We know that there is evidence of a Roman settlement here at the end of the 1st century BC. Some artefacts were found but many were plundered and are lost forever. We know the Moors were expelled from Spain in 1609, leaving only 13 Christian families in the village. They must have been Catholic to re-populate the town!

By 1900, there were a total of 3342 townspeople in Relleu. The village was thriving. There were several mills in the village, water from the Amadorio was plentiful. There was work.

By 1991 the populations had fallen drastically to 717, as the work had dried up and young people moved away to the coastal towns to find work.

River Amadorio


What happened to the River Amadorio?

I've asked old guys in the village and they just shrug and have no idea. They assumed there was maybe more rainfall 100 years ago to fill the river.

Does anyone reading here know what happened to the river? Does anyone know if this part of Spain got a lot more rain 100 years ago?

Sam told me that there were crypts under the church and under the village square. Well, I've asked Father Juan and if there is, he doesn't know about them!

It is true there are underground viaducts running down to the village from the castle, but the are there to catch rainwater nothing more. They are low and claustrophobic, designed for pipes not for humans.

The trouble with gathering factual information on Relleu is that under Franco the villagers were not allowed to speak Valenciano. This meant that absolutely NO records were kept for many years. You must remember that many people in the village never learned to speak Castellano, so they could not write in that language. If there are written records anywhere, they will no doubt be found in some old biddy's loft.

The best hope for any kind of written record of the village is through the nephews of the now deceased Dr Alejandro Sendra, who reside in Alicante, apparently. Dr Alejandro took a great deal of interest in the town's history. Indeed, he found the burial stone of 'Paccius' on his property.

If anyone has anything to add to this, please contact me. I would really like to know more about the town.

Water

Still to deal with this issue...
Water is incredibly cheap here. Bills are in the region of €25-30 per quarter. When I say bills, I have yet to see one...they prefer the option of taking the money straight out of your bank account without ever seeing the actual bill.
Anyway, I have an issue with my bank (Cam) and so the account now lies empty, while I pay my horrendous mortgage in cash every month.
So it was no surprise really to get a phone call from the Town Hall (Ayuntamiento - not sure of the spelling) to say my last bill had been returned unpaid, and would I please set it up again so that they can collect. Told them this is not going to happen, but they now want me to open a new bank account so they can rob it for water. Not likely.
Anyway, this latest bill is apparently for €336 something. Eh???
How come? Told I must have a water leak, but still have to pay the bill. Well, if I've a leak I'm sure I'd have noticed. This amount of water would fill a swimming pool several times, and mine is empty and has been for long enough since the pump broke 4 years ago.
More likely someone has made a mistake while reading the meter. Have taken note of the current meter reading but of course have no bill to compare it to.
So when the fiestas are over I will need to visit the Town Hall and no doubt have more problems when suddenly the valencianos will forget how to speak castellano as they do on a regular basis when they don't like what you are saying or can't be bothered including you.