Tabarca is the only inhabited island in the Region of Valencia and is located opposite the city of Alicante, 11 nautical miles offshore and near the Santa Pola headland.. It is approximately 1,800 metres long and measures some 400 metres across at its widest point.

In the past, its shores were a refuge for Berber pirates and, in the 18th century, King Carlos III ordered the island to be fortified and a town built, in which to house several families of Genoese fishermen who were being held prisoner in the Tunisian city of Tabarka. The walls surrounding the town have been officially declared a Historical and Artistic Site and an Asset of Cultural Interest.