All funds of the National Library of Spain are at his disposal and are confidential. photo treasures of the province: portraits of what Spanish cities were like orihuela, Elche anyone Alicante two centuries ago.
One of the most famous and representative examples is found in the work of the photographer Jean Laurent (1816-1886). The National Library of Spain offers users an interactive map that makes it easy to locate these images linked to municipalities across the province. Travelers can explore casual and urban scenes from Vega Baja, Baix Vinalopó, Alicante, or Alto Vinalopó as if stepping back in time to the 19th century.
In May 1858 Queen Isabella II inaugurated the first long-distance line in Spain, connecting Madrid and Alicante. Until then, Laurent focused mainly on portraits, but he traveled to Alicante to document this moment as the queen’s photographer. This marked the start of a new phase for the French photographer, where architectural and industrial changes defined the era of the 19th century.
Among Laurent’s works on the city of La Terraza, the Portal or Santa Maria Basilica in Alicante from 1860 stands out, along with general views from Postiguet to Santa Barbara. Elche and Orihuela were also revived in 1870, including views of St John’s Church from the bridge in Elche, the entrance from Alicante road, the Segura river from the east in Orihuela, and the facade of Elche Town Hall in the same year.
General view photos are also available, including depictions of the old Madrid-Alicante route seen from the Saxophone Castle and dated 1858. A portrait of the Citadel from the same year features Saint Anne Parish on the right side.
An interesting note visible under the photo as quoted by BNE is that Laurent found Orihuela in the Region of Murcia rather than in the province of Alicante.
About J. Laurent
He was born on July 23, 1816, in a small town in the Burgundy region of France and later settled in Madrid. In 1855 he turned his attention to photography and began capturing panoramic views of cities, landscapes, public works, and monuments from across the peninsula. He also documented notable individuals of the period, creating a substantial photographic archive for 19th-century Spanish studies. Laurent passed away on November 24, 1886, in Madrid.
The National Library of Spain produced an interactive map to reference his work via Google Maps under the title J. Laurent was here and this is how he saw us.