Mount Montgó is the witness of the origins of Dénia, with the discovery of Iberian settlements in its slopes, such as l’Alt de Benimaquía, the Pic de l’Aguila and the Coll de Pous.

During the Roman Empire the city of Dianium became a civitas stipendiaria(a city conquered against its will by the Romans and therefore obliged to pay certain perpetual taxes in punishment for rebellion); later on it became a municipium. Archaeological remains prove that the city passed a period of great wealth and splendour, with a magnificent port where both trade and the Empire’s fleet met.

The Muslim Daniya lived periods of great splendour and it became a Taifa Kingdom in the 11th century. The Taifa Kingdom of Dénia was one of the most important in Spain and it ruled over the lands of the Marina Alta district all the way down to present day Alacant (Alicante), parts of Murcia and also the Balearic Islands.

With the Christian conquest, Dénia will remain a “stronghold” becoming the head of a county and later on of the marquisate of Dénia. The most famous was the 5th Marquis of Dénia, the Duke of Lerma who became a favourite of King Phillip III of Spain.

In the 19th century, Dénia lived a thriving and splendorous age due to dry raisin trade. Dry raisins, as Dénia’s economical motor, are behind the great urban development of that age and they also created a cultural atmosphere and a consolidated bourgeois society.

The toy industry of Dénia became an important asset at the beginning of the 20th century and the dry raisin production was eventually changed by citric fruits.

Nowadays Dénia is known worldwide for its beaches, nature and wellbeing.