Tabarca Tabarca Tabarca (, ) also known in Valencian as "Nova Tabarca" and "Illa Plana", and in Spanish as "Nueva Tabarca" and "Isla Plana", is an islet located in the Mediterranean Sea, close to the town of Santa Pola, in the province of Alicante, Valencian community, Spain. Tabarca is the smallest permanently inhabited islet in Spain and it is currently known for its marine reserve. Despite being much more socially and economically related to the fishing port of Santa Pola, the tiny island of Tabarca is a part of the city of Alicante. Administratively, it is managed as a rural district
Tabarca were built. From 1770, the island was known as Nueva Tabarca ('New Tabarca'). Although the Genoese assimilated, abandoning their language in favour first of Valencian and, later on, of Spanish (both languages are currently spoken on the islet), the Genoese descent of the settlers can still be noticed today in the surnames of Italian origin common on the islet. The island is twinned with Carloforte, in the Sardinian San Pietro Island, which was also populated with Genoese from Tunisian Tabarka. The gateways are still visible and so are the Governor's House (currently a hotel) and the church of St Peter