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Property
SPANISH BLING
The style that took Baroque to the extreme and then on to the Americas in our Property Magazine inside
OLIVE PRESS
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MARCH JULY 2025
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BLINGED UP!
The Spanish style that took Spain and the Americas by storm - and then died out
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SPECTACULAR new geological viewpoint has been New ‘floating’ lookout with the region’s ancient rock forunveiled high in the Cantaopens in wildest corner mations – some of the oldest brian Mountains, in the Iberian Peninsula. jaw-dropping panoramas offering of Asturias of one of The minimalist structure blends Spain’s most dramatic valleys. into its wild surrounds, with no Perched near La Farrapona valley, in the above the lookout appears to float res – just pure mountain flashy featurugged Saliencia Valley, majesty and the landscape, steel-and-wood platform the sleek an up-close en- giving visitors 360 degrees of raw geology. was designed by Puerto & Sanchez Arqui- c o u n t e r tectos after winning a sign competition run bypublic deSomiedo Town Hall under its Sustainable Tourism Plan. Set at the highest point of the
LUXURY MARKET ON FIRE
SPAIN’S high-end property showing no signs of cooling, market is By Walter Finch ury home prices jumping an with luxaverage of 15% over the past year. the top 10%. tury. According to the study The surge is being fuelled by looking at Guadalajara, strong inhomes costing over €860,000 near Madrid, follows with ternational interest – particularly – the a 35% jump, Palma de Mallorca remains from most dramatic price hikes while Madrid itself northern Europe Spain’s some unexpected places. have been in seen prices climb 28% - pushing has most exclusive market, where luxury For buyers with tighter budgets, Zamo- mestic demand, – combined with dora offers the cheapest entry the homes now low interest rates and capital’s luxury threshold (the Oviedo, in Asturias, leads point to lux- ongoing economic top 10% only city to start at €2.1 million – the ury – just €240,000 – followed recovery. cross the €2 million threshwith prices rocketing by an the charge, of properties by price) to €1.85 million. by Palen- Only Soria saw prices astonishing San Sebastian cia (€290,000) and Huelva fall, dropping 9%, old. 43% in just 12 months. (€293,250). meanwhile while Ceuta remained flat. Toledo, Lugo and Las Palmas are is up 26%, Barcelona showed more modest growth At provincial level, the Baleares top the ta Cruz It comes as the historic city’s both up by at 8%, with de Tenerife and Pamplona Saneach luxury defined from €1.29 list with luxury homes starting at €2.95 posted modest team just got promoted back football 22% confirming healthy demand 4% gains. million, followed by Malaga in million, while Malaga for the first time in a quarterto La Liga both the north of Spain and the Canarprovince The study by portal has of a cen- ies. Idealista looked at tered the million-euro club,officially en- (€2.2m) and Madrid (€1.56m). starting at €1.045 million. with prices Ciudad Real ranks lowest, where data from all of Spain’s provincial capitals and regions between May 2024 €225,000 gets you a top-tier and home in May 2025.
Spain’s luxury property as prices soar across themarket goes loco country
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Sizzling Spain SPAIN has broken its all-time June heat record, with temperatures hitting a blistering 46°C in El Granado, Huelva, near the Portuguese border. The milestone, recorded on June 28, is still awaiting official confirmation from national weather agency AEMET. It comes as a fierce heatwave grips southern Europe, placing Portugal on red alert and pushing France and Italy into the low 40s. Portugal’s meteorological institute urged locals and tourists – including thousands of Brits on the Algarve – to stay indoors as the mercury rises. Lisbon hit 42°C, while Badajoz, just over the border in Spain, reached 44°C.
Baked
The Valencia region also baked, with inland areas seeing the most extreme spikes. The town of Xativa recorded a scorching 42.6°C, while nearby Sumacarcer and Moixent hit 42.5°C and 42°C respectively. At Valencia airport, the mercury climbed to 39.3°C – the highest June reading there since records began in 1966. In Alicante province, coastal areas fared slightly better, with the city of Alicante reaching 32.4°C on June 15. However, the inland town of Pedreguer saw highs of 39.6°C, while Orihuela reached 39.3°C.
Vol. 6 Issue 159
A BRITISH tourist has described the terrifying moment a bar exploded around her while she was ‘buying a shirt from a market stall.’ Debbie Scholefield, 48, a former paramedic, was visiting her mother in the Mar Menor region when she was caught up in the tragedy on June 19 that claimed two lives and injured around 20 others. “I was standing at the stall right next to where it went off,” the Huddersfield resident told the Olive Press.
Bomb
“I thought someone had set off a bomb – glass and debris went whooshing past my head, then it hit me. I was thrown forwards, blasted clean off my feet.” The blast occurred in the Lo Pagan area while a weekly street market took place on Avenida Salvillo, with the two market stalls where Debbie was standing hit hardest.
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Witnesses describes the horror of bar explosion in Spain that claimed two lives By Walter Finch
Debbie described how she got to her feet in a daze, the back of her legs lacerated, as two women stared at her before hurrying to sit her down. After checking that her mother was unscathed, Debbie told the Olive Press how she set about trying to help the walking wounded with her paramedic training. “There were a lot of head wounds, people shouting and screaming hysterically, but most people were standing,” she said. Two women were seriously injured in the blast – a 56-year-old Spanish woman and the owner of the bar
AFTERMATH: The bar was destroyed and market stalls devastated where the explosion originated, a 38-yearold woman from Morocco. “I saw her there with severe burns, walking in circles, so I went over to help her,” Debbie continued. “But when I got there, I was shocked. I knew immediately that she wasn’t going to make it. I knelt down, trying to reassure her, dressing her in loose clothes to protect her burns from the sun.” Both women died in hospital a week later. Lisa, 51, was in her kitchen in San Pedro del Pinatar (Murcia) when an explosion at a bar went off. “It sounded like a terror attack, like
a bomb had gone off,” the real estate worker told the Olive Press. “It was a sound that was really, really scary. We all jumped out of our skins, absolutely not having a clue what had just happened.” Lisa, who lives on the same street as the bar, rushed outside to witness scenes of devastation. “Then all of a sudden, chaos – just pure chaos,” she said. “People were screaming and shouting, and it felt to me like we were under attack.” The British resident described seeing ‘blood, blood, blood and people covered in glass shards’ as emerHELPED: Debbie gency services rushed to the scene. Scholefield “There were splintered vegetables everywhere, metal – it looked like a bomb had gone off. Literally.” The tragedy took a sinister PLUMBING & AIR CONDITIONING SPECIALISTS turn when the Guardia Civil’s investigation concluded Gree Pular 09/25 500 to 3.25 Kw A+++ the blast was deliberate, with Gas r32 gas refridgerent experts finding a cut to the rubber casing on a gas butane 4 years manufacturers warranty SPECIAL cylinder inside the bar. WiFi included OFFER
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Notorious
“It wouldn’t surprise me,” said Lisa, adding that the bar had a notorious local reputation. “It was very well known for its dealings with drugs, prostitution, that kind of thing,’ she explained. ‘It wasn’t particularly a good place. It was not a nice place to frequent.” Lisa’s suspicions were immediate following the explosion. “My first thought was that they were cooking up some drugs in the back, and it’s all gone Continues on next page