Denia, the capital of the Marina Alta, is a modern cosmopolitan city offering both visitors and residents a range of services. It owes its current importance to its being the historical city of the region par excellence, a city that was known in medieval times as the Marquesado de Dénia. Its name derives from the Latin name Dianium which is the origin of the name given to its inhabitants, the 'dianenses'; Daniya was its Islamic name. The city experienced its period of urban and cultural glory when it became an independent Taifa following the division of the Caliphate of Córdoba during the 11th century. The historical centre of Denia contains the symbol of the city, its castle. The commercial centre is located in the calle Marqués de Campos and the adjacent streets. Dénia is a coastal city located to the north of the province of Alicante and has a 20-kilometre coastline, made of small, beautiful coves. To the north there are the fine sandy beaches of Les Marines and Les Bovetes and the shingle beaches of Les Deveses and L' Almadrava (shingled) beaches which are craggy and rocky; to the south is the Les Rotes beach. Though the beaches are long, they are not enormous and generally appeal to family-type tourism. The mild temperature, the annual average being 18º C, means that it is a pleasant place to stay. A monument was erected to the climate in the eighties. Dénia is close to the sea, though some of its most characteristic features, such as the Mongó and the Natural Park, are situated on the border between Dénia and Jávea. In the surrounding area there are Gothic hermitages from the period of the Conquest and caves where potholing is carried out.