The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an

autonomous community eu, autonomia erkidegoa ca, comunitat autònoma gl, comunidade autónoma oc, comunautat autonòma an, comunidat autonoma ast, comunidá autónoma , alt_name = , map = , category = Autonomous administra ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. It is the fourth most populous Spanish

after

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

and the

Community of Madrid The Community of Madrid (; es, Comunidad de Madrid ) is one of the seventeen autonomous communities of Spain. It is located in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, and of the Central Plateau (''Meseta Central''). Its capital and largest munici ...

with more than five million inhabitants.Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Madrid, 2020. Its

homonym In linguistics, homonyms are words which are homographs (words that share the same spelling, regardless of pronunciation), or homophones (equivocal words, that share the same pronunciation, regardless of spelling), or both. Using this definition, ...

ous capital

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

is the third largest city and metropolitan area in Spain. It is located along the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

coast on the east side of the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

. It borders with

to the north,

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...

and

Castilla–La Mancha Castilla–La Mancha (, , ), or Castile La Mancha, is an autonomous community of Spain. Comprising the provinces of Albacete, Ciudad Real, Cuenca, Guadalajara and Toledo, it was created in 1982. The government headquarters are in Toledo, and ...

to the west, and

Murcia Murcia (, , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country. It has a population of 460,349 inhabitants in 2021 (about one ...

to the south, and the Balearic Islands are to its east. The Valencian Community consists of three

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

which are Castellón,

and

Alicante Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...

. According to Valencia's

Statute of Autonomy Nominally, a Statute of Autonomy ( es, Estatuto de Autonomía, ca, Estatut d'Autonomia, gl, Estatuto de Autonomía, ast, Estatutu d'Autonomía, eu, Autonomia Estatutua) is a law hierarchically located under the constitution of a country and, u ...

, the Valencian people are a ''

nationality Nationality is a legal identification of a person in international law, establishing the person as a subject, a ''national'', of a sovereign state. It affords the state jurisdiction over the person and affords the person the protection of the ...

''. Their origins date back to the 1238 Aragonese conquest of the

Taifa of Valencia The Taifa of Valencia () was a medieval Moorish taifa kingdom which existed, in and around Valencia, Spain during four distinct periods: from 1010 to 1065, from 1075 to 1099, from 1145 to 1147 and last from 1229 to 1238 when it was finally co ...

. The newly-founded

Kingdom of Valencia Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

enjoyed its own legal entity and administrative institutions as a component of the

Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon ( , ) an, Corona d'Aragón ; ca, Corona d'Aragó, , , ; es, Corona de Aragón ; la, Corona Aragonum . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of B ...

, under the purview of the

Furs of Valencia '' Furs'' of Valencia ( ca-valencia, Furs de València, ) were the laws of the Kingdom of Valencia during most of the Middle Ages and early modern Europe. The laws were a series of charters which, altogether, worked similarly as a modern Consti ...

. Valencia experienced its Golden Age in the 15th century, as it became the Crown's economic capital. Local institutions and laws continued during the dynastic union of the early modern Spanish Monarchy, but were suspended in 1707 as a result of the

Spanish War of Succession Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

. Valencian nationalism emerged towards the end of the 19th century, leading to the modern conception of the ''Valencian Country''.Preamble on Valencian Statutes of Autonomy 1982 and 2006: "''Aprovada la Constitució Espanyola, va ser, en el seu marc, on la tradició valenciana provinent de l'històric Regne de València es va trobar amb la concepció moderna del País Valencià i va donar origen a l'autonomia valenciana'' ..
Preamble of Valencian Statute of Autonomy (reformed in 2006)
The current autonomous community under the ''

Generalitat Valenciana The Generalitat Valenciana is the generic name covering the different self-government institutions under which the Spanish autonomous community of Valencia is politically organized. It consists of seven institutions including the ''Corts Val ...

'' self-government institution was established in 1982 after the

Spanish Transition Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries ** Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...

. Official languages are Spanish and

Valencian Valencian () or Valencian language () is the official, historical and traditional name used in the Valencian Community (Spain), and unofficially in the Carche, El Carche comarca in Región de Murcia, Murcia (Spain), to refer to the Romance lan ...

(). As of 2020, the population of the Valencian Community comprised 10.63% of the Spanish population.

Etymology

Valencia was founded by the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

under the name of '' Valentia Edetanorum'', or simply ''Valentia'', which translates to "strength" or "valour", in full "strength of the ''

Edetani The Edetani were an ancient Iberian (Pre-Roman) people of the Iberian peninsula (the Roman Hispania). They are believed to have spoken a form of the Iberian language. See also *Iberians * Edeta *Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula Thi ...

''" (note that the centre of ''Edetania'' was '' Edeta'', an important old Iberian settlement 25 km north of Valencia, in what is now modern day

Llíria Llíria (; es, Liria) is a medium-sized town off the CV35 motorway to the north of Valencia, Spain. Known as ''Edeta'' in ancient Iberian times, it is the musical capital of the region. On October 30, 2019, Llíria was declared a Creative City ...

, other important nearby settlements included '' Arse''–''Saguntum'', '' Saetabis'' and ''

Dianium Dianium was the proposed name for a new element found by the mineralogist and poet Wolfgang Franz von Kobell in 1860. The name derived from the Roman goddess Diana. During the analysis of the mineral tantalite and niobite he concluded that it do ...

''). With the establishment of the

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

, during the

Al-Andalus Al-Andalus DIN 31635, translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label=Berber languages, Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, ...

period, the name developed to (''Balansīyya''), which eventually became ''Valencia'' (Spanish) and ''València'' (Valencian) after the Christian conquests. The older spellings ''Valençia'', ''Ualençia'' and ''Ualència'' are also found in pre-reform Spanish and Valencian texts.

Naming controversy

"Valencian Community" is the standard translation of the official name in Valencian recognized by the Statute of Autonomy of 1982 (''Comunitat Valenciana''). This is the name most used in public administration, tourism, the media and Spanish written language. However, the variant of "Valencian Country" (''País Valencià'') that emphasizes the nationality status of the Valencian people is still the preferred one by left-wing parties, civil associations, Valencian written language and major Valencian public institutions. "Valencian Community" is a

neologism A neologism Greek νέο- ''néo''(="new") and λόγος /''lógos'' meaning "speech, utterance"] is a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or phrase that may be in the process of entering common use, but that has not been fully accepted int ...

that was specifically adopted after democratic transition in order to solve the conflict between two competing names: "Valencian Country" and "Former Kingdom of Valencia". On one hand, "Valencian Country" represented the modern conception of nationality that Renaixença, resurged in the 19th century. It became well-established during the

Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII, and was di ...

and later on with the works of

Joan Fuster Joan Fuster i Ortells (; 23 November 1922 – 21 June 1992) was an influential Spanish writer. He is considered a major writer in the Valencian language (a dialect of the Catalan language), and his work contributed to reinvigorate left-wing, pr ...

in the 1960s, implying the existence of the "Catalan Countries" (''

Països Catalans The Catalan Countries ( ca, països catalans, , ) refers to those territories where the Catalan language is spoken. They include the Spanish regions of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, Valencia, and parts of Aragon (''La Franja'') and Murcia ( ...

''). This nationalist subtext was opposed by anti-Catalan blaverists, who proposed "Former Kingdom of Valencia" (''Antic Regne de València'') instead, in order to emphasize Valencian independence from Catalonia. Currently, blaverists have accepted the official denomination. The autonomous community can be homonymously identified with its capital "Valencia". However, this could be disregarding of the provinces of Alicante and Castellón. Other more anecdotal translations have included "Land of Valencia", "Region of Valencia" and "Valencian Region". The term "Region", however, carries negative connotations among many Valencians because it could deny their nationality status.

History

The pre-Roman autochthonous people of the Valencian Community were the

Iberians The Iberians ( la, Hibērī, from el, Ἴβηρες, ''Iberes'') were an ancient people settled in the eastern and southern coasts of the Iberian peninsula, at least from the 6th century BC. They are described in Greek and Roman sources (among ...

, who were divided in several groups (the ''

Contestani The Contestani were an ancient Iberian (Pre-Roman) people of the Iberian peninsula (the Roman Hispania). They are believed to have spoken the Iberian language. They lived in a region located in the southwest of Hispania Tarraconensis, east of t ...

'', the ''

Ilercavones The Ilercavones were an ancient Iberian (Pre- Roman) people of the Iberian peninsula (the Roman Hispania). They are believed to have spoken an Iberian language. History The name Ilercavonia to refer to the territory occupied by this Iberian t ...

'' and the ''

Bastetani The Bastetani or Bastuli were an ancient Iberian (pre-Roman) people of the Iberian peninsula (the Roman Hispania). They are believed to have spoken the Iberian language. The relationship between the Iberian Bastetani and the Tartessian Mastieni ...

''). The Greeks established

colonies In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...

in the coastal towns of ''

Saguntum Sagunto ( ca-valencia, Sagunt) is a municipality of Spain, located in the province of Valencia, Valencian Community. It belongs to the modern fertile ''comarca'' of Camp de Morvedre. It is located c. 30 km north of the city of Valencia, cl ...

'' and ''

'' beginning in the 5th century BC, where they traded and mixed with the local Iberian populations. After the end of the

First Punic War The First Punic War (264–241 BC) was the first of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the early 3rd century BC. For 23 years, in the longest continuous conflict and grea ...

between

Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...

and

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

in 241 BC, which established their limits of influence in the Ebro river, the

Carthaginians The Punic people, or western Phoenicians, were a Semitic people in the Western Mediterranean who migrated from Tyre, Phoenicia to North Africa during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term ''Punic'' – the Latin equivalent of the ...

occupied the whole region. The dispute over the hegemony of ''

'', a Hellenized Iberian coastal city with diplomatic contacts with Rome, destroyed by

Hannibal Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Puni ...

in 219 BC, ignited the

Second Punic War The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of three wars fought between Carthage and Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For 17 years the two states struggled for supremacy, primarily in Ital ...

, which ended with the incorporation of the region to the Roman Empire. The Romans founded the city of '' Valentia'' in 138 BC, which, over the centuries overtook ''Saguntum'' in importance. After the

Fall of the Western Roman Empire The fall of the Western Roman Empire (also called the fall of the Roman Empire or the fall of Ancient Rome, Rome) was the loss of central political control in the Western Roman Empire, a process in which the Empire failed to enforce its rul ...

, during the Barbarian Invasions in the 5th century AD, the region was first invaded by the

Alans The Alans (Latin: ''Alani'') were an ancient and medieval Iranian nomadic pastoral people of the North Caucasus – generally regarded as part of the Sarmatians, and possibly related to the Massagetae. Modern historians have connected the Al ...

and finally ruled by the

Visigoths The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is ...

(see

Valencian Gothic Valencian Gothic is an architectural style. It occurred under the Kingdom of Valencia between the 13th and 15th centuries, which places it at the end of the European Gothic period and at the beginning of the Renaissance. The term "Valencian G ...

), until the arrival of the

Arabs The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...

in 711, which left a broad impact in the region, still visible in today's Valencian landscape and culture. After the fall of the Caliphate of Cordova, two main independent

taifas The ''taifas'' (singular ''taifa'', from ar, طائفة ''ṭā'ifa'', plural طوائف ''ṭawā'if'', a party, band or faction) were the independent Muslim principalities and kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula (modern Portugal and Spain), r ...

were established at the region,

and

Dénia Dénia ( es, Denia) is a historical coastal city in the province of Alicante, Spain, on the Costa Blanca halfway between Alicante and Valencia, and the capital and judicial seat of the ''comarca'' of Marina Alta. Denia's historical heritage ...

, along with the small and short living taifas of

Orihuela Orihuela (; ca-valencia, Oriola ) is a city and municipality located at the feet of the Sierra de Orihuela mountains in the province of Alicante, Spain. The city of Orihuela had a population of 33,943 inhabitants at the beginning of 2013. The mu ...

, Alpuente, Jérica and

Sagunt Sagunto ( ca-valencia, Sagunt) is a municipality of Spain, located in the province of Valencia, Valencian Community. It belongs to the modern fertile ''comarques of the Valencian Community, comarca'' of Camp de Morvedre. It is located c. 30&nbs ...

and the short Christian conquest of Valencia by

El Cid Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (c. 1043 – 10 July 1099) was a Castilian knight and warlord in medieval Spain. Fighting with both Christian and Muslim armies during his lifetime, he earned the Arabic honorific ''al-sīd'', which would evolve into El ...

. However, the origins of present-day Valencia date back to the

, which came into existence in the 13th century.

James I of Aragon James I the Conqueror ( es, Jaime el Conquistador, ca, Jaume el Conqueridor; 2 February 1208 – 27 July 1276) was King of Aragon and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276; King of Majorca from 1231 to 1276; and Valencia from 1238 to 1276 ...

led the Christian conquest and colonization of the existing

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

taifa The ''taifas'' (singular ''taifa'', from ar, طائفة ''ṭā'ifa'', plural طوائف ''ṭawā'if'', a party, band or faction) were the independent Muslim principalities and kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula (modern Portugal and Spain), re ...

s with Aragonese and Catalan colonizers in 1208; they founded the Kingdom of Valencia as a third independent country within the

in 1238. The kingdom developed intensively in the 14th and 15th centuries, which are considered the Golden Age of the Valencian culture, with significant works like the

chivalric romance As a literary genre, the chivalric romance is a type of prose and verse narrative that was popular in the noble courts of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a chivalric k ...

Tirant lo Blanch ''Tirant lo Blanch'' ( ; modern spelling: ''Tirant lo Blanc'') is a chivalric romance written by the Valencian knight Joanot Martorell, finished posthumously by his friend Martí Joan de Galba and published in the city of Valencia in 1490 as an ...

. Valencia developed into an important kingdom in Europe economically through the silk trade. It also rose to power politically with the rise of the Crown of Aragon, (within which the Kingdom of Valencia had achieved the largest population and the greatest economic power at that time) and the ascension of the Valencian

House of Borja The House of Borgia ( , ; Spanish and an, Borja ; ca-valencia, Borja ) was an Italian-Aragonese Spanish noble family, which rose to prominence during the Italian Renaissance. They were from Valencia, the surname being a toponymic from the town ...

in Rome (see Route of the Borjas, Route of the Monasteries and Route of the Classics). After a slow decline following the

dynastic union A dynastic union is a type of union with only two different states that are governed under the same dynasty, with their boundaries, their laws, and their interests remaining distinct from each other. Historical examples Union of Kingdom of Arag ...

of the Crown of Aragon with the Kingdom of Castile, Valencia's successful status came to a definite end with the

Expulsion of the Moriscos The Expulsion of the Moriscos ( es, Expulsión de los moriscos) was decreed by King Philip III of Spain on April 9, 1609. The Moriscos were descendants of Spain's Muslim population who had been forced to convert to Christianity. Since the Spani ...

in 1609 by the Hispanic Monarchy, which represented the loss of up to one third of the population of the Kingdom of Valencia and took the main agricultural labor force away. Torres quart

In 1707, in the context of the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

, and by means of the ''Nova Planta'' decrees, king

Philip V of Spain Philip V ( es, Felipe; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was King of Spain from 1 November 1700 to 14 January 1724, and again from 6 September 1724 to his death in 1746. His total reign of 45 years is the longest in the history of the Spanish mon ...

abolished the Kingdom of Valencia, and the rest of states belonging to the former

and which had retained some autonomy, and subordinated it to the structure of the

Kingdom of Castile The Kingdom of Castile (; es, Reino de Castilla, la, Regnum Castellae) was a large and powerful state on the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region. It began in the 9th centu ...

and its laws and customs. As a result of this, the institutions and laws created by the Law of Valencia (''Furs de València'') were abolished and the usage of the Valencian language in official instances and education was forbidden. Consequently, with the

House of Bourbon The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spanis ...

, a new Kingdom of Spain was formed implementing a more centralized government and absolutist regime than the former

Habsburg Spain Habsburg Spain is a contemporary historiographical term referring to the huge extent of territories (including modern-day Spain, a piece of south-east France, eventually Portugal, and many other lands outside of the Iberian Peninsula) ruled be ...

. The first attempt to gain

self-government __NOTOC__ Self-governance, self-government, or self-rule is the ability of a person or group to exercise all necessary functions of regulation without intervention from an external authority. It may refer to personal conduct or to any form of ...

, or autonomous government, for the Valencian Community in modern-day Spain was during the

, in 1936, but the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

broke out and the autonomist project was suspended. In 1977, after

Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" Prefix * Franco, a prefix used when ref ...

's dictatorship Valencia started to be partially autonomous with the creation of the Council of the Valencian Country (''Consell del País Valencià''), and in 1982 the self-government was finally extended into a

(''Estatut d'Autonomia'') creating several self-government institutions under the

. The first democratically elected

President of the Generalitat Valenciana The president of the Valencian Government ( ca-valencia, President de la Generalitat Valenciana) is the head of the Generalitat Valenciana, the government of the Spanish autonomous community of Valencia. The president is chosen by the Valencian pa ...

Joan Lerma Joan Lerma i Blasco (born 15 July 1951 in Valencia, Spain) is a Spanish politician for the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), who served as the first democratically elected President of the Valencian Government since the restoration of de ...

, took office in 1982 as part of the transition to autonomy. The Valencian Statute of Autonomy make clear that Valencia is intended to be the modern conception of self-government of the Valencian Community from the first autonomist movements during

, but also joining it to the traditional conception of Valencian identity, as being the successor to the historical Kingdom of Valencia. In fact, after a bipartisan reform of the Valencian Statute of Autonomy in 2006, it records the foral civil law, using the traditional conception of a kingdom, and, on the other hand, it also recognizes Valencia as a

, in accordance with the modern conception.

Geography

Relief

The inland part of the territory is craggy, with some of the highest peaks in the Valencia and Castellón provinces forming part of the Iberian Mountain Range. The mountains in the Province of Alicante are in turn a part of the Subbaetic Range. The most emblematic mountain of the Valencian Community is the

Penyagolosa Penyagolosa (, es, Peñagolosa) is a mountain in the Alcalatén area, Valencian Community, Spain. Geologically it is part of the Iberian System, located at the eastern end of Iberian Peninsula. Its peak is at 1,813 meters above sea level a ...

, in the

Alcalatén Alcalatén is a comarca in the province of Castellon, Valencian Community, Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(E ...

area. It is widely thought to be the highest peak with 1,813 m, but actually the highest peak is the ''Calderón'' (1,839 m) located in the

Rincón de Ademuz Rincón de Ademuz is a Spanish comarca constituted as an exclave of both the Valencian Community and the Valencia province located between the provinces of Cuenca ( Castile-La Mancha) and Teruel (Aragon). It is part of the Spanish-speaking area in ...

, a Valencian

exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

between

and

. The most emblematic mountain in the southern part of the territory is the

Aitana Aitana (, ) is a mountain massif that is part of Prebaetic System in the eastern end of the Iberian Peninsula. Administratively, the mountainous area is located in the Marina Baixa, Alcoià and Comtat comarcas in the northern part of Alicante p ...

(1,558 m). The rather thin coastal strip is a very

fertile Fertility is the capability to produce offspring through reproduction following the onset of sexual maturity. The fertility rate is the average number of children born by a female during her lifetime and is quantified demographically. Fertilit ...

plain mainly free of remarkable mountains except those around the

Cap de la Nau The Cap de la Nau () or Cabo de la Nao (), literally Cape of the Ship, is a headland located central-eastern coastal Spain on the Gulf of Valencia, Mediterranean Sea. In English, it is also known as Cape Nao. Geography Cap de la Nau is in the m ...

area in northern Alicante province and the

Peñíscola Peníscola () or Peñíscola (), anglicised as Peniscola, is a municipality in the Province of Castellón, Valencian Community, Spain. The town is located on the Costa del Azahar, north of the Serra d'Irta along the Mediterranean coast. It is a p ...

(''Peníscola'') area in the Castellón province. Typical of this coastal area are wetlands and marshlands such as '' L'Albufera'' close to Valencia, '' El Fondo'' in

Elche Elche ( ca-valencia, Elx) is a city and municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2014 data, Elche has a population of 228,647 inhabitants,Crevillent Crevillent ( es, Crevillente) is a town and municipality located in the Alicante province, part of the Valencian Community, Spain. It is situated in the ''comarca'' of Baix Vinalopó, and lies at the foot of the hill range known locally as Serra ...

, ''La Marjal'' near Pego,

Albufera of Gayanes The Albufera of Gayanes (, meaning "lagoon" in Valencian, from Arabic البحيرة ''al-buhayra'', "small sea"), is a freshwater lagoon in the municipality of Gayanes (Alicante), Valencian Community, in eastern Spain. It is an endorheic basin l ...

Gayanes Gaianes (, Spanish: )Cabanes, also the former wetlands and

salt evaporation pond A salt evaporation pond is a shallow artificial salt pan designed to extract salts from sea water or other brines. The Salt pans are shallow and large of size because it will be easier for sunlight to travel and reach the sea water. Natural sal ...

s in the

Santa Pola Santa Pola (Valencian and Spanish: ) is a coastal town located in the comarca of Baix Vinalopó in the Valencian Community, Spain, by the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of and has a population of 30,000 inhabitants of whom 10,000 are resid ...

and

Torrevieja Torrevieja (; ca-valencia, Torrevella ) is a seaside city and municipality located on the Costa Blanca in the province of Alicante, in the southern part of the Valencian Community, on the southeastern Mediterranean coast of Spain. Torrevieja l ...

area. All of them are key

Ramsar site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

coastal dunes A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, fl ...

in the ''Saler'' area near the Albufera and in the

Guardamar Guardamar del Segura () or briefly Guardamar is a municipality of the province of Alicante located at the mouth of the river Segura in southern Valencia (autonomous community), Spain. It is a Mediterranean resort, with a large pine forest abuttin ...

area, both of them were planted with thousands of trees during the 19th century in order to fix the dunes, thus forming now protected areas of remarkable ecologic value. In addition to mainland Valencia, the Valencian territory administers the tiny

Columbretes Islands The Columbretes Islands ( ca-valencia, Les Columbretes, or ''Els Columbrets'' (), are a group of small uninhabited islets of volcanic origin, in the Mediterranean Sea, off Orpesa. Administratively they belong to Castellón de la Plana in the Va ...

and the coastal inhabited islet of

Tabarca Tabarca (, ), officially Nueva Tabarca and also known as ''Isla Plana'' (Spanish) and as ''Nova Tabarca'' and ''Illa Plana'' in Valencian, is an islet located in the Mediterranean Sea, close to the town of Santa Pola, in the province of Alican ...

Climate

Valencia has a generally pleasant climate, with mild winters and hot summers, heavily influenced by the neighbouring Mediterranean sea. Still, there are important differences between areas: *Typical

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''Csa''). It roughly goes along the coastal plain from the northernmost border through the Benidorm area (cities included here are, amongst others,

Castellón de la Plana Castellón de la Plana (officially in ca-valencia, Castelló de la Plana), or simply Castellón ( ca-valencia, Castelló, link=no) is the capital city of the province of Castellón, in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is located in the east ...

(''Castelló de la Plana''),

Gandia Gandia ( es, Gandía) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, eastern Spain on the Mediterranean. Gandia is located on the Costa del Azahar (or ''Costa dels Tarongers''), south of Valencia and north of Alicante. Vehicles can acce ...

and

). It covers in various grades the lower inland areas. In this area, winters are mild, summers are long, dry and hot; rainfall occurs mostly during spring and autumn, usually totalling around 600 mm. with a remarkably wetter

micro climate A microclimate (or micro-climate) is a local set of atmospheric conditions that differ from those in the surrounding areas, often with a slight difference but sometimes with a substantial one. The term may refer to areas as small as a few squa ...

in the

Marina Alta Marina Alta (, "Upper Marina") is a central and coastal ''comarca'' of the autonomous community of Valencia, Spain. The ''comarca'' is located in the area of Alicante and its capital and largest settlement is the city of Dénia. Marina Alta bord ...

and the

Safor Safor () is a ''comarca'' within the province of Valencia, Spain. The capital is the city of Gandia, but also includes the towns of Oliva, Piles and Daimús, among others. The beach area of Gandia, La Platja, is well known for its wild nightlif ...

''comarques'' just north of

cape, which accumulates an average of up to 1000 mm. due to an

orographic lift Orographic lift occurs when an air mass is forced from a low elevation to a higher elevation as it moves over rising terrain. As the air mass gains altitude it quickly cools down adiabatically, which can raise the relative humidity to 100% and cr ...

phenomenon. *

with continental influences (

''Csa'') and Mediterranean

highland climate Alpine climate is the typical weather (climate) for elevations above the tree line, where trees fail to grow due to cold. This climate is also referred to as a mountain climate or highland climate. Definition There are multiple definitions of ...

(

''Csb''). These are the innermost lands and those at a higher elevation (cities included here are, amongst others,

Alcoy Alcoy ( ca-valencia, Alcoi) is an industrial and university city, region and municipality located in the Valencian Community, Spain. The Serpis river crosses the municipal boundary of Alcoy. The local authority reported a population of 61,135 res ...

, Morella, Requena and

Villena Villena () is a city in Spain, in the Valencian Community. It is located at the northwest part of Alicante (province), Alicante, and borders to the west with Castilla-La Mancha and Region of Murcia, Murcia, to the north with the province of Valenc ...

). Here winters are cool to cold, especially at night (a few days of snow are not unusual), summers mild to hot and rainfall more evenly distributed through the year. The lower registered temperatures in the Valencian Community were in these inland areas during the cold wave of 1956. Temperatures plunged to nearly −20 °C; as in

Vistabella del Maestrat Vistabella del Maestrat in Valencian or Vistabella del Maestrazgo in Spanish is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Alcalatén, Castellon, Valencia, Spain. It is bordered by the municipalities of Vilafranca, Benassal, Culla, Benafigos, Atzen ...

(−19 °C) and Castellfort (–17 °C). *

Hot semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...

(

''BSh''), although in higher altitude zones at the interior the average temperatures are lower, being BSk in the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

. It roughly goes along the coastal plain from

Villajoyosa La Vila Joiosa () is a coastal town and municipality in the Province of Alicante, Valencian Community, Spain, by the Mediterranean Sea. The town is known to the locals simply as La Vila. It is the historic and administrative capital of the '' c ...

through the southernmost border of the territory (cities included here are, amongst others,

, Benidorm,

Elche Elche ( ca-valencia, Elx) is a city and municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2014 data, Elche has a population of 228,647 inhabitants,Orihuela Orihuela (; ca-valencia, Oriola ) is a city and municipality located at the feet of the Sierra de Orihuela mountains in the province of Alicante, Spain. The city of Orihuela had a population of 33,943 inhabitants at the beginning of 2013. The mu ...

and

). Summers are hot and dry, winters are mild and its most prominent feature is a very scarce precipitation, typically below 300 mm. per year which is most likely to happen during spring and autumn. The reason for this lack of precipitation is the marked

rain shadow A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side. Evaporated moisture from water bodies (such as oceans and large lakes) is carrie ...

effect caused by hills to the west of the Alicante province (and, to a lesser degree, those in the northern part of the province which, in turn, enhance the inverse orographic lift effect around

). The

warm-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

(

''Csb''),

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(

''Cfa''),

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...

(

''Cfb'') and the desertic climate (

''BWh'') are also found in the Valencian Community. The ''Csb'' climate is more common and is found in inland, high altitude areas (generally starting above ) across the 3 provinces of the Valencian Community, especially in the interior of Castellón but also in El Rincón de Ademuz and the north of

Los Serranos Los Serranos (Valencian: ''Serrans'') is a ''comarca'' in the province of Valencia, Valencian Community, Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto ...

comarcas in the province of

. In the province of

this climate is only found in the highest altitudes of

Serra de Mariola The Serra Mariola Natural Park (, es, Parque Natural de la Sierra de Mariola) is a mountain range in the Valencian Community, Spain, one of the most peripheral offsprings of the Baetic System. Most of its territory is included in a natural park f ...

and Sierra de Aitana. Both ''Cfa'' and ''Cfb'' climates can be only found in the interior of the province of Castellón, with marginal presence in the Valencian province, only in the Rincón de Ademuz comarca. The presence of the desertic climates (''BWh'') is marginal to scarcely populated areas south of

Segura Segura (, ; la, Thader; ar, شقورة, Shaqūrah, or ) is a medium-sized river in southeastern Spain. It has its source in the Sierra de Segura. Course The river begins at Santiago Pontones ( province of Jaén), passes Calasparra, C ...

in the Province of Alicante, whose source is in

, and the

Júcar left The Júcar () or Xúquer () is a river on the Iberian Peninsula of Spain. The river runs for approximately 509 km from its source at Ojuelos de Valdeminguete, on the eastern flank of the Montes Universales, Sistema Ibérico. Its most i ...

(''Xúquer'') in Province of Valencia, whose source is in

. Both are subjected to very intense human regulation for cities, industries and, especially, agricultural consumption. The river Turia (''Túria'') is the third largest and has its source in

. Most

rivers A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

in the area, such as the

Vinalopó The Vinalopó is a small river flowing through the Alicante province, of Spain. It flows from north to south and, with a length of 81 km., it is the longest of the rivers which flows for its entire length within the limits of this province. ...

, are usually short, have little current (due to agricultural usage, climatic reasons or both) and are often completely dry during the summer. Other Valencian rivers are the

Serpis The Serpis () is a short coastal river in the provinces of Alicante and Valencia, in Spain. The river starts at the feet of the Carrasqueta, a mountain area southwest to Alcoi, by the confluence of the Polop and Troncal streams. In its initial pa ...

and Sénia.

Demographics

Urbanization

The estimate population according to the

INE INE, Ine or ine may refer to: Institutions * Institut für Nukleare Entsorgung, a German nuclear research center * Instituto Nacional de Estadística (disambiguation) * Instituto Nacional de Estatística (disambiguation) * Instituto Nacional Elec ...

in January 2020 is 5,057,353 ranking the fourth most populous in Spain. The list of largest cities is topped by Valencia, the third largest city in Spain overall: Valencian population traditionally concentrated in localities with

cultivation and growing lowlands by the most important rivers (

, Turia,

), also in harbour cities important to the agricultural trade. In actuality, population is particularly dense along the coast as well as in central and southern regions of the territory, and more sparse around the inner and northern regions. Densitat de població del País Valencia (2004)

Densitat de població del País Valencia (2004)

Important historical cities include

and

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

times;

Xàtiva Xàtiva (, es, Játiva ) is a town in eastern Spain, in the province of Valencia, on the right (western) bank of the river Albaida and at the junction of the Valencia–Murcia and Valencia Albacete railways. It is located 25 km west ...

Elche Elche ( ca-valencia, Elx) is a city and municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2014 data, Elche has a population of 228,647 inhabitants,Gandia Gandia ( es, Gandía) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, eastern Spain on the Mediterranean. Gandia is located on the Costa del Azahar (or ''Costa dels Tarongers''), south of Valencia and north of Alicante. Vehicles can acce ...

, and

Villarreal Villarreal ( ca-valencia , Vila-real) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's ...

(''Vila-real'') later on in history and, more recently,

Alzira Alzira may refer to: * ''Alzira'' (opera), an opera by Giuseppe Verdi *Alzira, Valencia Alzira ( es, Alcira) is a city and municipality of 45.088 inhabitants (62,094 floating population) in Valencia, eastern Spain. It is the capital of the ''coma ...

and

. Another set of noncoastal cities increased significantly in numbers due to

industrialization Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econo ...

in the 20th century, including

Elda Elda is a city and municipality located in the province of Alicante, Spain. , it has a total population of 55,618 inhabitants, ranking as the 7th most populous city in the province. Elda joins together with the town of Petrer to form a conurba ...

Ontinyent Ontinyent ( es, Onteniente) is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Vall d'Albaida in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is situated on the banks of the Clariano River, a tributary of the Xúquer, and on the Xàtiva–Alcoi railway. Ontiny ...

Petrer Petrer (, es, Petrel ) is a town and municipality located in the ''comarca'' of Vinalopó Mitjà, in the province of Alicante of the autonomous community of Valencia, Spain. Petrer joins together with the city of Elda to form a conurbation with ...

, and

La Vall d'Uixó La Vall d'Uixó (, also known as ''Vall-llarga'', ''Vall del Duc'' or simply as ''La Vall''; es, Vall de Uxó) is a town situated in eastern Spain, in the Valencian province of Castelló. La Vall is located 25 km to the south of the provi ...

. Furthermore, traditionally small fishing towns like Benidorm and Torrevieja have increased in population significantly, more remarkably during summertime, due to seasonal migration of tourists.

Metropolitan areas

In more recent years, concentration in provincial capitals and its metropolitan areas has augmented considerably (e.g.

Torrent Torrent or torrents may refer to: * A fast flowing stream Animals * Torrent duck, a species of the family Anatidae * Torrent fish * Torrent frog, various unrelated frogs * Torrent robin, a bird species * Torrent salamander, a family of s ...

Mislata Mislata is a city in the Valencian Community, Spain. It has borders with the city of Valencia and Quart de Poblet in the west and Xirivella in the south. Population In recent decades it has gone from being a village in the Horta region of the Va ...

Paterna Paterna is a city and a municipality in the province of Valencia in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is located northeast of the comarca of '' L'Horta de Valencia'', northwest of the inland suburbs of Valencia, and on the left bank of the riv ...

Burjassot Burjassot ( es, Burjasot) is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Horta Nord in the Valencian Community, Spain. Museums The Museum of Geology at the University of Valencia is located on calle Doctor Moliner. It has several collections of geolog ...

San Vicente del Raspeig San Vicente del Raspeig ( Spanish) or Sant Vicent del Raspeig ( Valencian), or simply San Vicente / Sant Vicent, is a municipality located in the '' comarca'' of Alacantí, in the province of Alicante, Spain, inside the conurbation of Alicante ...

, etc.). Besides Valencia, Alicante-Elche is the eighth most populous urban agglomeration in Spain. According to the INE, the largest metropolitan areas are:

Government

Institutions of government: ''La Generalitat''

In the process whereby democracy was restored in Spain between 1975 and 1978, the

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

and regionalist parties pressed to grant

home rule Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wit ...

to certain territories in Spain. The constitution of 1978 opened a legal way for autonomous communities to be formed from provinces with common historical and cultural links. In recognition of the Valencian Community as a ''

'' of Spain, and in accordance to the second article of the

Spanish Constitution The Spanish Constitution (Spanish, Asturleonese, and gl, Constitución Española; eu, Espainiako Konstituzioa; ca, Constitució Espanyola; oc, Constitucion espanhòla) is the democratic law that is supreme in the Kingdom of Spain. It was e ...

which grants autonomy to the " ''nationalities'' and regions" that compose the Spanish nation, Valencia was granted self-government and constituted itself as an

in 1982, with the promulgation of its first

, the basic organic law, later approved by the General Courts of Spain. All autonomous communities were organized politically within a

parliamentary system A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...

; that is, the executive branch of government. The "President" is dependent on the direct support of the

legislative power A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known as p ...

, whose members elect him by

majority A majority, also called a simple majority or absolute majority to distinguish it from #Related terms, related terms, is more than half of the total.Dictionary definitions of ''majority'' aMerriam-Webster Generalitat Valenciana The Generalitat Valenciana is the generic name covering the different self-government institutions under which the Spanish autonomous community of Valencia is politically organized. It consists of seven institutions including the ''Corts Val ...

(statutorily referred to simply as ''La Generalitat'') constituted by three institutions: * the

Corts Valencianes The Corts Valencianes (), commonly known as ''Les Corts'' (), are the main legislative body of the Generalitat Valenciana and therefore of the Valencian Community. The main location of the Corts is in the Palace of the Borgias in Valencia; howev ...

(Valencian parliament), the

legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...

, which is to be integrated by a minimum of ninety-two representatives (''diputats'') elected through

universal suffrage Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stanc ...

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

for a four-year period; * the

must obtain the vote of confidence from the Courts; the current President is

Ximo Puig Joaquín Francisco Puig Ferrer, known as Ximo Puig (; born 4 January 1959), is a Spanish politician who has served as leader of the Socialist Party of the Valencian Country (PSPV-PSOE), the Valencian regional branch of the PSOE, since March 2012 ...

(from the

Socialist Party of the Valencian Country The Socialist Party of the Valencian Country ( ca-valencia, Partit Socialista del País Valencià; es, Partido Socialista del País Valenciano, PSPV–PSOE) is a social-democratic political party in the Valencian Community, and is a regional branc ...

). The Vice President is Mónica Oltra (from Compromís, a Valencianist party). * the Council of the Generalitat Valenciana (Valencian government), a collegiate institution with executive powers, integrated by the President him/herself and the cabinet members appointed by him/her. The Generalitat can also be integrated by the institutions that the Valencian Courts create. The Courts have approved the creation of the '' Síndic de Greuges'' (

Ombudsman An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...

), the '' Sindicatura de Comptes'' (Public Audit Office), the '' Consell Valencià de Cultura'' (Valencian Council of Culture), the ''

Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua The Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua ("Valencian Academy of the Language"), also known by the acronym AVL, is an institution created on September 16, 1998, by the Valencian Parliament, which belongs to the set of official institutions that com ...

'' (Valencian Academy of the Language), the ''Consell Jurídic Consultiu'' (Juridic and Consultative Council) and the ''Comité Econòmic i Social'' (Social and Economic Committee). The current government is formed by a left coalition between the

and Compromís, with also the support of Podemos.

Administrative divisions

Prior to the

1833 territorial division of Spain The 1833 territorial division of Spain divided the country into provinces, in turn classified into "historic regions" ( es, link=no, regiones históricas).provinces of Spain A province in Spain * es, provincias, ; sing. ''provincia'') * Basque (, sing. ''probintzia''. * Catalan (), sing. ''província''. * Galician (), sing. ''provincia''. is a territorial division defined as a collection of municipalities, ...

, Castellón,

and

. From 1833, the current three-province system was consolidated: *

, capital:

* Castellón, capital:

, capital:

The Valencian Community is further divided into 34 ''

comarques This is a list of the 42 ''comarques'' (singular ''comarca'', , ) into which Catalonia is divided. A ''comarca'' is a group of municipalities, roughly equivalent to a county in the US or a district or council in the UK. However, in the context ...

'' (including the city of Valencia) and 542

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

(141 in the Province of Alicante, 135 in the Province of Castellón, and 266 in the Province of Valencia).

Economy

La Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias de Valencia

Valencia is long and narrow, running mainly north–south; historically, its rather steep and irregular terrain has made communications and the exploitation of the soil difficult, although the soil of the coastal plain is particularly

. This coastal axis has facilitated connections with Europe, either by sea through the Mediterranean, or by land through

. The Valencian territory has few natural resources; the only important mineral deposit is the

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...

quarried in Alicante province. Hydrological resources (see

Geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...

above) are also lacking: the demand for water exceeds the supply, with this imbalance especially serious in Alicante province. In particularly severe drought years, the problem is managed through occasional nocturnal restrictions during summer and exploitation of aquifers. Valencia's water needs result in harsh contention with neighbouring regions such as

and Catalonia. Agriculture—more specifically,

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering plant, flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as Orange (fruit), oranges, Lemon, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and lim ...

cultivation for the export market—was responsible for Valencia's first economic boom in the late 19th century, after centuries of slow development and even decay. Although in absolute terms the agricultural sector has continued to grow, the boom in the

secondary Secondary may refer to: Science and nature * Secondary emission, of particles ** Secondary electrons, electrons generated as ionization products * The secondary winding, or the electrical or electronic circuit connected to the secondary winding i ...

and

tertiary sector The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the second ...

s during the

Spanish miracle The Spanish miracle ( es, el milagro español) refers to a period of exceptionally rapid development and growth across all major areas of economic activity in Spain during the latter part of the Francoist regime, from 1959 to 1974, in which GD ...

of the 1960s, has meant that its relative importance has decreased over time. The provinces of Castellón and Valencia still have thousands of hectares of citrus-producing groves and citrus continues to be a major source of income on the countryside.

Province of Alicante Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a province of eastern Spain, in the southern part of the Valencian Community. It is the second most populated Valencian province. Likewise, the second and third biggest cities in the Valencian Community (Alica ...

also grows citrus, but its agriculture is more diversified with a higher presence of

vegetables Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems, ...

, especially in the

Vega Baja del Segura Vega Baja del Segura (in Spanish) or Baix Segura (in Valencian) is a ''comarca'' in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, Spain. To the north its neighbouring ''comarcas'' are the Baix Vinalopó and Vinalopó Mitjà. Its southern limits ...

area. Though the low insulation rate and overall stable weather during the summer may pose a threat to water supplies for agriculture and human consumption, conversely this climate allows tourism to be the province's main industry. Very dense residential housing along the coast, occupied by locals, people from inland Spain and from other EU countries (mostly from the British Isles, Benelux, Germany and Scandinavia), boosts the summertime population (and hydrological demands). In 2004, Valencia's GDP was 93.9% of the European Union average, although this figure may be too low because of the important presence of foreign residents either from other regions of Europe or as economic immigrants, who are not properly represented in the official statistics. As in all of Spain, there was significant growth in the years immediately following 2004, at least until the 2008–13 Spanish financial crisis. In 2008, the Valencia Country generated 9.7% of the Spanish GDP. In L of human resources, the unemployment rate was over 21% in 2009, and even greater among women, and the rate of activity reached 56.8% in 2002. The typical Valencian business is a small-to-medium-sized company, mainly family-owned and operated, although there are some multinationals. In addition to tourism, the Valencian Community has significant exports, and it ranks second in this respect among the Spanish autonomous communities, constituting 12% of the national total. Major exports include agricultural products, ceramic tiles, marble products and cars (

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

has an assembly line in

Almussafes Almussafes (Spanish: ''Almusafes'') is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Ribera Baixa in the Valencian Community, Spain. History Almussafes was originally a Muslim hamlet, consisting of several farmhouses and a tower. There was a customs off ...

), which make the port of Valencia one of the busiest in Europe.

Unemployment

The unemployment rate stood at 15.6% in 2018 and was higher than the national average.

Language

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

(''español'' or ''castellano'') has official status in all of Spain, including the Valencian Community. Aside from it, the

recognizes

(''valencià'') as the language native (''llengua pròpia'') to the Valencian people, and commends its protection and regulation to the

(AVL) under the

. ''Valencian'' is the name Valencians use to refer to the

Catalan language Catalan (; autonym: , ), known in the Valencian Community and Carche as ''Valencian'' (autonym: ), is a Western Romance language. It is the official language of Andorra, and an official language of three autonomous communities in eastern Spa ...

. In the

Late Middle Ages The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the Periodization, period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Eur ...

, due to Valencia becoming its own

kingdom Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

, Valencians popularized the term ''Valencian'' over the term ''Catalan''. Valencian was repressed and persecuted during Franco's dictatorship (1939–1975) in favor of

. Since it regained official status in 1982 in the Valencian

, Valencian has been implemented in public administration and the education system, leading to a dramatic increase in knowledge of its formal standard. According to the general survey from 2015, Valencian is understood by almost the entire population living within the Valencian Community and is spoken by a wide majority, but almost half of the population cannot write it. Modern Valencian shares similar

phonetic Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies how humans produce and perceive sounds, or in the case of sign languages, the equivalent aspects of sign. Linguists who specialize in studying the physical properties of speech are phoneticians. ...

and

lexical Lexical may refer to: Linguistics * Lexical corpus or lexis, a complete set of all words in a language * Lexical item, a basic unit of lexicographical classification * Lexicon, the vocabulary of a person, language, or branch of knowledge * Lex ...

features than other

Western Catalan The Catalan dialects feature a relative uniformity, especially when compared to other Romance languages; both in terms of vocabulary, semantics, syntax, morphology, and phonology. Mutual intelligibility between its dialects is very high, estima ...

dialects, which includes seven stressed vowels (being especially remarkable the distinction of vs and vs ), unstressed

vowel reduction In phonetics, vowel reduction is any of various changes in the acoustic ''quality'' of vowels as a result of changes in stress, sonority, duration, loudness, articulation, or position in the word (e.g. for the Creek language The Muscogee lang ...

(normally five); the preservation of yod () before in the digraph '' ix''; the addition of '' n'' in the plural of certain terms with etymological ''n''; and a tendency to affrication of '' g'' (before ''e'' and ''i'') and '' j'' , and '' x'' , especially in initial position. Common specific lexicon includes: ''

granera Granera is a municipality of the comarca of Moianès, in Catalonia. Until 24 May 2015 it was part of Vallès Oriental Vallès Oriental () is a comarca (county) in Catalonia, Spain. Its capital is Granollers. Along with Vallès Occidental it fo ...

'' (broom), '' xiquet'' (boy), '' espill'' (mirror), '' corder'' (lamb), etc. Valencian Sign Language is widely used by Valencian deaf persons and is also granted protection under the Statute. The

spoken in the cities is slighthly affected by Valencian and features ''distinción'', i.e. the differentiation of ('' s'') and ('' c'' before ''e'' and ''i'', and z), and ''

yeísmo ''Yeísmo'' (; literally "Y-ism") is a distinctive feature of certain dialects of the Spanish language, characterized by the loss of the traditional palatal lateral approximant phoneme (written ) and its merger into the phoneme (written ), u ...

'' (the merger of –'' ll'' in Spanish orthography–into , represented as '' y''). In the south of the Valencian Community the same continuum dialect than Murcian is spoken featuring both ''distinción'' and ''

seseo In Spanish dialectology, the realization of coronal fricatives is one of the most prominent features distinguishing various dialect regions. The main three realizations are the phonemic distinction between and ('), the presence of only alveo ...

'' (the merger of into ), depending on the speaker and area. In the east, Aragonese and Manchego influences (mainly lexical) are found in the local Spanish.

Areas of linguistic predominance

Not all of the Valencian territory is historically Valencian-speaking; about 500,000 people, or 10% of the population, live in traditionally Spanish-speaking inner regions. In addition, large numbers of foreign immigrants who have arrived since 2000 have become Spanish speakers. These regions include the areas where Aragonese rather than Catalan settlers introduced Castilian- Aragonese language in the historic

, as well as several Castilian municipalities that were annexed to the Valencian Community in the 19th century. Valencian is traditionally spoken in the more densely populated coastal areas where Catalan settlers introduced their language in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

. These areas are delimited for administrative purposes by the Generalitat, that established different areas of linguistic predominance (''predomini lingüístic''). The Valencian area of linguistic predominance suffers in many cases a process of linguistic substitution, especially in the cities of

and

, with populations of 1 million together where Spanish has become predominant in spite of Valencian being the traditional language. Outside these, and the traditional Spanish-speaking areas in the west, Valencian predominates or is on an equal footing.

Knowledge

Most of the population have at least a passive knowledge of Valencian, which allows normal communication in this language across the Valencian Community. Thanks to its implementation in public administration and the education system in recent decades, knowledge of Valencian has increased phenomenally both in absolute and relative terms, most significantly in the case of its written standard. The source also reveals that knowledge varies greatly within the territory, with knowledge in the Province of Alicante being consistently lower than in Castellón and Valencia.

Social use

Despite the increase in knowledge of Valencian, its social use in relative terms is declining, with only a third of the population using it at home according to the Generalitat in 2010. The data collected varies greatly within the Valencian Community, with the percentage of use being over 50% in the regions of

–

and

– Turia, approximately 40% in Castellón and about 15% in

and the

metropolitan area.

Valencian language controversy

Despite differences in dialect and denomination, linguists consider

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

and

two varieties of the same language. They feature relative uniformity in terms of vocabulary, semantics, syntax, morphology and phonology. Mutual intelligibility ranges from 90 to 95%, which is considerably higher than between dialects of an assumed single

German language German ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and Official language, official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Ita ...

(High German). Furthermore, there is a

dialect continuum A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of Variety (linguistics), language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are Mutual intelligibility, mutually intelligible, but the differences accumulat ...

where speakers at the Catalan–Valencian border share the same dialect. In practice, Catalan and Valencian share the same written standard, as established by the

Institut d'Estudis Catalans The Institute for Catalan Studies ( ca, Institut d'Estudis Catalans, ), also known by the acronym IEC, is an academic institution which seeks to undertake research and study into "all elements of Catalan culture". It is based in Barcelona, Catalon ...

(IEC) and the

(AVL) respectively. Much of the bibliography used in the Valencian education system consists of Catalan works and translations in Catalan with only occasionally some words being swapped for those more commonly used in Valencia. Furthermore, the Universities of Valencia and

refer to Valencian studies of language and literature as Catalan Philology. In spite of these arguments, a significant proportion of Valencian population refuse to identify Valencian with Catalan.

Transports

Air

The Valencian Community is served by three international airports:

Alicante Airport Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in th ...

Valencia Airport Valencia Airport ( es, Aeropuerto de Valencia, ca-valencia, Aeroport de València) , also known as ''Manises Airport'', is the tenth-busiest Spanish airport in terms of passengers and second in the region after Alicante. It is situated west of ...

and

Castellón–Costa Azahar Airport Castellón Airport ( es, Aeropuerto de Castellón, ca-valencia, Aeroport de Castelló), is an airport serving the city of Castellón de la Plana, located near Vilanova d'Alcolea, Benlloc and Cabanes in the Valencian Community, Spain. History ...

, located in the south, is mainly tourist-oriented and is currently the busiest airport in the Valencian Community.

is located in the capital and carries more business traffic. The third airport,

, is located in the north of the Valencian territory and has several international connections. This airport was opened in 2011 but its first commercial flight arrived in September 2015, so it has been considered as a

white elephant A white elephant is a possession that its owner cannot dispose of, and whose cost, particularly that of maintenance, is out of proportion to its usefulness. In modern usage, it is a metaphor used to describe an object, construction project, sch ...

due to its expensive construction and maintenance and relatively less usefulness. A new terminal at Alicante Airport was opened in March 2011. The New Alicante Terminal (NAT) replaced the other two existing terminals T1 and T2, doubling the passenger capacity of the airport to 20m passengers per annum. Valencia airport is also being expanded to serve the higher passenger demand due to new flight connections to the city.

Train

The Valencian Community has an extensive rail system which connects the principal cities with the rest of Spain such as the Euromed towards

and

AVE ''Alta Velocidad Española'' (''AVE'') is a service of high-speed rail in Spain operated by Renfe, the Spanish national railway company, at speeds of up to . As of December 2021, the Spanish high-speed rail network, on part of which the AVE s ...

towards

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, or northern and southern Spain, both run by the Spanish national rail company RENFE. In December 2010 the

high-speed rail High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail system that runs significantly faster than traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated tracks. While there is no single standard that applies worldwide, lines ...

(

) Madrid–Valencia opened as part of the Madrid–Levante high-speed rail line. High-speed lines arrive to Valencia-Joaquín Sorolla, a provisional station located south of the city centre. It is expected that in the coming years the high-speed line Madrid–Valencia will reach the main Valencia-Estació del Nord through a tunnel under the new Valencia Parque Central. High-speed rail Madrid–Alicante opened in 2013. There are some medium-range plans for further high-speed connections, like the Valencia–Bilbao link via

Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...

or the Mediterranean high-speed rail corridor. In addition, the

has planned on building a regional high-speed rail along the coast to connect all major coastal cities like Valencia, Gandia, Dénia, Benidorm, Villajoyosa, Alicante and Torrevieja.

Commuter rail and Metro

Cercanías The commuter rail systems of Spain's major metropolitan areas are called ''Cercanías'' () in most of Spain, ''Rodalia'' () in the Valencian Community, ''Aldiriak'' () in the Basque Country and ''Rodalies'' () in Catalonia. There are twelve ''Ce ...

(''Rodalia'' in Valencian) is the

commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...

service that serves all three provincial capitals of Valencia and their metropolitan areas. It is operated by Cercanías Renfe, the commuter rail division of RENFE. While the Valencian-owned company,

Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Valenciana Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Valenciana (, "Valencian Government Railways") or FGV is a Valencian public railway company which operates several lines, in the autonomous community of Valencia, Spain. The company currently operates the city me ...

(FGV) operates a

tram-train A tram-train is a type of light rail vehicle that meets the standards of a light rail system (usually an urban street running tramway), but which also meets national mainline standards permitting operation alongside mainline trains. This all ...

line between

, Benidorm and

. It also operates the city

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

and

metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...

system of

( Valencia Metro) and

( Alicante Tram). There is as well a third new tram and

trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...

system being built in

and its metropolitan area. Additionally both, Valencia metro and Alicante tram are being extended to serve uncovered areas, like the new tram line planned to open in the coming months towards the

University of Alicante The University of Alicante ( ca-valencia, Universitat d'Alacant, italic=no, ; es, Universidad de Alicante, italic=no, ; also known by the acronym ''UA'') was established in 1979 on the basis of the Center for University Studies (CEU), which was fo ...

and

Sant Vicent del Raspeig San Vicente del Raspeig (Spanish) or Sant Vicent del Raspeig (Valencian), or simply San Vicente / Sant Vicent, is a municipality located in the ''comarca'' of Alacantí, in the province of Alicante, Spain, inside the conurbation of Alicante city ...

Ports

By sea, the Valencian Community is served by several ferry routes and cargo ports, and in the major cities, Valencia and Alicante, cruise ships dock on a regular basis. In point 20 of article 149 of the

, referring to the exclusive powers of the State, direct reference is made to the ownership of the ports of general interest, which in the Valencian case are those of

, Castellón,

and

. For this reason, all these ports are managed by the public body, dependent on the Ministry of Development. This body is in charge of executing the port policy of the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

and of coordinating and controlling the efficiency of the port system, made up of 28 Port Authorities that they administer the 46

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

s of general interest of the State. There are 3 Port Authorities of the Valencian Community, which manage the 5 Valencian ports of general interest. Thus, the Port Authority of Valencia is in charge of managing the ports of Valencia,

and

, while those of

and Castellón only manage their reference port. In addition to the ports of general interest, there are also other ports, known as the ports of the Generalitat Valenciana. There are currently 35 ports dependent on the Generalitat, of which 16 are managed directly by the Generalitat, while the rest are managed from the private sector through concession. Some of the main ports managed by the Valencian Government are those of Altea, Benicarló, Benidorm, Borriana, Calp, Cullera, Dénia, Tabarca, Xàbia, Moraira, Peníscola, Santa Pola, Torrevieja, La Vila Joiosa, Vinaròs, etc. In the Valencian Community, the body entrusted with the responsibility of creating the necessary infrastructures that allow the development of the Valencian ports network is the Entity of the Transport and Ports Network of the Valencian Community, dependent on the Department of Infrastructure and Transport.

Public services

Education

State Education in Spain and the Valencian Community is free and compulsory from six to sixteen years of age. The current education system is called LOE (in reference to the ''Llei Orgànica d'Educació''). *From three to six years: Preparatory School (''Infantil'', popularly known as ''Preescolar'') *From six to twelve years: Primary School (''Primaria'') *From twelve to sixteen years: Compulsory Secondary School (''Secundaria'') *From sixteen to eighteen years: Post-Secondary School (''Bachillerato'') Children from three to five years old in the Valencian Community have the option of attending the ''infantil'' or

pre-school A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary scho ...

stage, which is non-compulsory and free for all students. It is regarded as an integral part of the education system with infantil classes in almost every primary school. There are some separate nursery schools. Valencian students aged six to sixteen undergo primary and

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

education, which are compulsory and free of charge. Successful students are awarded a Secondary Education Certificate, which is necessary for entering further (optional) education as for their University or Vocational Studies. Once students have finished their ''Batxillerat'' (Spanish: ''Bachillerato''), they can take the PAU exams (''Proves d'Accés a la Universitat''), commonly known as ''Selectiu''. The secondary stage of education is normally referred to by their initials, e.g. ''ESO'' standing for ''Educació Secundària Obligatòria''. The Valencian Community is home to a number of prestigious universities like the

University of Valencia The University of Valencia ( ca-valencia, Universitat de València ; also known as UV) is a public research university located in the city of Valencia, Spain. It is one of the oldest surviving universities in Spain, and the oldest in the Vale ...

, founded in 1499. At the request of

Pope Innocent IV Pope Innocent IV ( la, Innocentius IV; – 7 December 1254), born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 June 1243 to his death in 1254. Fieschi was born in Genoa and studied at the universitie ...

in 1246, authorized by a papal bull the establishment of ''estudis generals'' in Valencia. The University Statutes were passed by the municipal magistrates of Valencia on 30 April 1499; this is considered to be the 'founding' of the university. In 1501, Pope

Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI ( it, Alessandro VI, va, Alexandre VI, es, Alejandro VI; born Rodrigo de Borja; ca-valencia, Roderic Llançol i de Borja ; es, Rodrigo Lanzol y de Borja, lang ; 1431 – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Churc ...

signed the bill of approval and one year later

Ferdinand II of Aragon Ferdinand II ( an, Ferrando; ca, Ferran; eu, Errando; it, Ferdinando; la, Ferdinandus; es, Fernando; 10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), also called Ferdinand the Catholic (Spanish: ''el Católico''), was King of Aragon and Sardinia from ...

proclaimed the Royal Mandatory Concession. Only very meagre accounts have been preserved of the practical workings of the university. From the time of its foundation the courses included

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

Canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

, and

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

. Nowadays the

Polytechnic University of Valencia The Technical University of Valencia ( ca-valencia, Universitat Politècnica de València, UPV; , es, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia) is a Spanish university located in Valencia, with a focus on science, technology, and arts. It was founde ...

has become one of the most prestigious universities in Spain, according to its technology, investigation, several degrees offering a close relation with some the most important universities in the world such as Cambridge, Oxford and Harvard. Most faculties and colleges are based in the city of Valencia, with some branches in

and

. Other universities are

, Miguel Hernández University in Elche,

Jaume I University Jaume I University ( es, Universidad Jaime I, ca-valencia, Universitat Jaume I, UJI; ) is a university in the city of Castelló de la Plana, Valencian Community, Spain. It was founded in 1991, and it has approximately 14,000 students. The camp ...

and

Valencian International University The Valencian International University (VIU) is a private university in Spain with an international remit. It was founded by the regional government of Valencia in 2008. 70% of it was later acquired by the Planeta publishing house. The universit ...

in Castellón de la Plana, Catholic University of Valencia, and CEU Cardenal Herrera University in Valencia.

Media

Until its dissolution in November 2013, the public-service Ràdio Televisió Valenciana (RTVV) was the main broadcaster of radio and television in the Valencian Community. The Generalitat Valenciana constituted it in 1984 in order to guarantee the

freedom of information Freedom of information is freedom of a person or people to publish and consume information. Access to information is the ability for an individual to seek, receive and impart information effectively. This sometimes includes "scientific, indigeno ...

of the Valencian people in their own language. Prior to its dissolution, the administration of RTVV under the People's Party (PP) had been controversial due to accusations of ideological manipulation and lack of plurality. The news broadcast was accused of giving marginal coverage of the

Valencia Metro derailment The Valencia Metro derailment occurred in Valencia, Spain's third largest city, on 3 July 2006 at 1 p.m. CEST (1100 UTC) between Jesús and Plaça d'Espanya stations on the Line 1 of the Metrovalencia mass transit system. At least 43 people ...

in 2006 and the indictment of President de la Generalitat

Francisco Camps Francisco Enrique Camps Ortiz (born 28 August 1962) is a Spanish politician belonging to the Partido Popular (PP). He served as President of the Valencian Government, the Valencian regional administration, in the period 2003–2011, and is st ...

in the Gürtel scandal in 2009. Supervisors appointed by the PP were accused of

sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment involving the use of explicit or implicit sexual overtones, including the unwelcome and inappropriate promises of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. Sexual harassment includes a range of actions fro ...

. In face of an increasing debt and shrinking audiences that had fallen under 10 and even 5% of share in recent years, RTVV announced in 2012 a plan to shed 70% of its labour. The plan was nullified on 5 November 2013 by the National Court after trade unions appealed against it. On that same day, the President de la Generalitat

Alberto Fabra Alberto Fabra Part (Castellón de la Plana, born 6 April 1964) is a Spanish politician who belongs to the People's Party (Spain), People's Party. He was the fifth President of the Valencian Government since devolution was granted in 1982. Pers ...

announced RTVV would be closed, claiming that reinstating the employees was untenable. On 27 November, the legislative assembly passed the dissolution of RTVV and employees organized to take control of the broadcast, starting a campaign against the PP. Nou TV's last broadcast ended abruptly when Spanish police pulled the plug at 12:19 on 29 November 2013. Having lost all revenues from advertisements and facing high costs from the termination of hundreds of contracts, critics question whether the closure of RTVV has improved the financial situation of the Generalitat, and point out to plans to benefit private-owned media. Currently, the availability of media in the Valencian language is extremely limited. All the other

autonomous communities in Spain eu, autonomia erkidegoa ca, comunitat autònoma gl, comunidade autónoma oc, comunautat autonòma an, comunidat autonoma ast, comunidá autónoma , alt_name = , map = , category = Autonomous administra ...

, including the monolingual ones, have public-service broadcasters, with the Valencian Community being the only exception despite being the fourth most populated. In 2016 the renewed Valencian government announced that a new public media corporation was to be created. The

Valencian Media Corporation Valencian Media Corporation (in Valencian, Corporació Valenciana de Mitjans de Comunicació, and in Spanish, Corporación Valenciana de Medios de Comunicación), also known by its acronyms CVMC or VMC, is an agency of the Generalitat Valenciana, ...

was founded in July 2016, as it started the creation of a new TV channel and radio station, by the name of ''À Punt'' (ɑ̀). In June 2018 the new public TV channel was launched by Valencian Media Corporation, the newly formed agency of the

Culture

Gastronomy

The Valencian gastronomy is of great variety, although their more international dishes are rice-based ( in Valencian), like the Valencian known worldwide. Rice is a basic ingredient in many of the typical dishes, like the ''

arròs a banda Arròs a banda (Valencian term for ''rice on the side'', translated as ''Arroz a banda'' in Spanish) is a dish of rice cooked in fish stock, typical of the coastal area of Alicante (and, per extension, in most of the Valencian Community), Spain, ...

'', '' arròs al forn'', ''

arròs amb costra Arròs is a village located in the municipality of Vielha e Mijaran (Val d'Aran). Description The village of Arròs, which was part of the old municipality of Arròs i Vila, is 956 m above sea level, on the right bank of the Garonne The Garonn ...

'', ''

arròs caldós Arròs is a village located in the municipality of Vielha e Mijaran (Val d'Aran). Description The village of Arròs, which was part of the old municipality of Arròs i Vila, is 956 m above sea level, on the right bank of the Garonne The Garonn ...

'', '' arròs del senyoret'', '' arròs negre'', among many.

Pasta Pasta (, ; ) is a type of food typically made from an unleavened dough of wheat flour mixed with water or eggs, and formed into sheets or other shapes, then cooked by boiling or baking. Rice flour, or legumes such as beans or lentils, are som ...

dishes include the ''

fideuà Fideuà (dialectal pronunciation of the Valencian word ''fideuada'' "large amount of noodles" from Hisp. Ar. ''fidáwš'') is a seafood dish originally from the coast of Valencia that is similar to paella, and even more so to arròs a banda, bu ...

''. Its main ingredients are pasta noodles, fish and shellfish. The Valencian Mediterranean climate favors the cultivation of vegetables and citrus fruits, with the cultivation of the

orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

( ca-valencia, taronja, link=no) being perhaps of highest importance as one of the typical fruits of Valencian

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

. ( in Valencian), production of which has traditionally been centred around

Alboraya Alboraya () or Alboraia () is a town and municipality of the province of Valencia, Spain. It is situated very close to the city of Valencia. Originally a farming community, Alboraya has grown in recent decades following the development of the m ...

(''Alboraia''), is a typical drink, accompanied with . Also traditional are the production of coffee liqueur (typical of

), and (in

Marina Baixa Marina Baixa () or es, Marina Baja is a ''comarca'' in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is bordered by the ''comarques'' of Comtat on the northwest, Marina Alta on the northeast, Alacantí and Alcoià on the west and the Mediterranean Sea on th ...

and

Hoya de Buñol Hoya de Buñol (Valencian: ''Foia de Bunyol'') is a comarca in the province of Valencia, Valencian Community, Spain. Municipalities * Alborache * Buñol *Cheste * Chiva * Dos Aguas *Godelleta Godelleta is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of ...

(''Foia de Bunyol'')). Another one is , in Valencian , it is a cocktail made from a base of cava or champagne, orange juice, vodka, and gin. In general, it is served in pitchers of various sizes and is drunk in a broad cocktail glass. It was made for the first time in 1959 by Constante Gil in the bar Café Madrid, in the city of

. The great majority of

dessert Dessert is a course (food), course that concludes a meal. The course consists of sweet foods, such as confections, and possibly a beverage such as dessert wine and liqueur. In some parts of the world, such as much of Greece and West Africa, and ...

s typical of Valencia have their origin in Arabic times and play an important part in the local festive activities. Some are internationally famous.

Xixona Jijona () or Xixona () is a town and municipality in the Valencian Community on the eastern coast of Spain. Turrón The town is famous for a type of soft nougat, known in Spanish as '' Turrón de Jijona'' and in Valencian as ''Torró de Xixona'' ...

is the place of traditional manufacture of ( in Valencian), a soft nougat, consumed during Christmas in Spain and the rest of the Hispanic world. In

Casinos Casinos may refer to: * Casinos, Valencia, municipality in Spain * David Casinos (born 1972), Spanish Paralympian athlete * The Casinos, an American popular music group See also *Casino (disambiguation) A casino is a facility that houses and accom ...

the is typical too but the most important manufacture of the village is or (

dragée A dragée ( ; ), also known as confetto (; ), malbas, Jordan almond, or sugared almond in the U.K, is a bite-sized form of confectionery with a hard outer shell. It is often used for another purpose (e.g. decorative, symbolic, medicinal, etc.) i ...

s and sugared almonds). In

and the Central comarques, the , a dessert elaborated with

pumpkin A pumpkin is a vernacular term for mature winter squash of species and varieties in the genus ''Cucurbita'' that has culinary and cultural significance but no agreed upon botanical or scientific meaning. The term ''pumpkin'' is sometimes use ...

is made.

and its region have the .

Valencian symbols

Escut- del País Valencià als Torres dels Serrans

The official Valencian anthem is the Hymn of the Regional Exhibition of 1909 ('' Himne de l'Exposició Regional de 1909'' in Valencian; commonly known as the ''Himne de València'', "Anthem of Valencia"), in whose composition the old hymn of the City of Valencia of the 16th century is included. The emblem of the Valencian Generalitat (coat of arms) includes the heraldry of King

Peter IV of Aragon Peter IV, ; an, Pero, ; es, Pedro, . In Catalan, he may also be nicknamed ''el del punyalet'': "he of the little dagger". (Catalan: ''Pere IV''; 5 September 1319 – 6 January 1387), called the Ceremonious (Catalan: ''el Cerimoniós''), w ...

, representative of the historical

, whose shield is inclined towards the right, or, four bars Gules. The official flag, the Royal Senyera (''Reial Senyera''), also known as ''Senyera Coronada'' (Crowned Senyera) or ''Senyera Tricolor'' (Tricolour Senyera) is the same as Valencia's City flag, which, in turn, is a historical derivation of the ''

Senyera The Senyera (; meaning "pennon", "standard", "banner", "ensign", or, more generically, "flag" in Catalan) is a vexillological symbol based on the coat of arms of the Crown of Aragon, which consists of four red stripes on a yellow field. This ...

'', the heraldic symbol of the

, also used today with few variations in all the former Kingdoms and Counties which were a part of this crown. There are also a number of Valencian private and civil entities such as trade unions, cultural associations, or political partiesSee usage
of ''Senyera'' by political parties EUPV,

Bloc Nacionalista Valencià The Valencian Nationalist Bloc ( ca-valencia, Bloc Nacionalista Valencià, Bloc or ''BNV''; ) was a Valencian nationalist party in the Valencian Country, Spain. It was the largest party in the Coalició Compromís until 2021, when it was replaced ...

, Green Parties, amongst others, whose combined participation in the Autonomous Elections of 2007 achieved 9% of the total votes. which simply use the ''Senyera'' as Valencian flag. Other symbols are used at different levels by the Valencian society, like the heraldic animals of ''rat-penat'' (a

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most ...

) and ''drac alat'' (a winged

dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

which was the emblem of

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...

). One of the most recognized and representative Valencian symbols are the music and dance of the ''

Muixeranga The ''Muixeranga'' () is the collective name given to the performance of ancient street dances and human pyramids or '' castells'', originating in the ancient Kingdom of Valencia (currently the Land of Valencia), which are still preserved in th ...

'', ancient tradition of human towers preserved for the last 4 centuries, during the Festivity of ''

La Mare de Déu de la Salut Festival The Festivity of La Mare de Déu de la Salut is a festival celebrated in Algemesí (Valencia), Spain, from August 29 to September 8. The festival is in honour of the patron saint of Algemesí, La Mare de Déu de la Salut, and has been dated bac ...

'' of

Algemesí Algemesí () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Ribera Alta in the Valencian Community, Spain. The town of Algemesí is one of the major centres for the production of citruses in Spain, and several cooperatives are based there. This is due ...

, recognized-UNESCO "intangible heritage of humanity". Typical folk music in celebrations is played with the '' tabalet'' (a drum) and the ''

dolçaina The dulzaina () or dolçaina (/) is a Spanish double reed instrument in the oboe family. It has a conical shape and is the equivalent of the Breton bombarde. It is often replaced by an oboe or a double reeded clarinet as seen in Armenian and ...

'' (a flute). Valencian traditional costumes and dresses include '' espardenyes'' (shoes) and traditional '' fallera'' dresses (the Falles dresses).

Celebrations

* ''

Falles The Falles ( ca-valencia, Falles; es, Fallas) is a traditional celebration held annually in commemoration of Saint Joseph in the city of Valencia, Spain. The five main days celebrated are from 15 to 19 March, while the Mascletà, a pyrotechnic ...

'' of

– from the 15th to the 19th of March * '' Fogueres de Sant Joan'' of

– from the 19th to the 24th of June * '' Misteri'' of

Elche Elche ( ca-valencia, Elx) is a city and municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2014 data, Elche has a population of 228,647 inhabitants,Muixeranga The ''Muixeranga'' () is the collective name given to the performance of ancient street dances and human pyramids or '' castells'', originating in the ancient Kingdom of Valencia (currently the Land of Valencia), which are still preserved in th ...

'':

– 7th and 8 September * '' Moros i Cristians'':

– from the 22 to 24 April * '' Tomatina'' of Buñol – last Wednesday in August * '' Magdalena'' of Castellón – 3rd Saturday of Lent

Valencian Community Day

* October 9: Official day of the

Valencian Community The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid with ...

and public holiday in the entire region. This day commemorates the entrance of

to the city of Valencia on the year 1238.

Sports

The

autochthonous Autochthon, autochthons or autochthonous may refer to: Fiction * Autochthon (Atlantis), a character in Plato's myth of Atlantis * Autochthons, characters in the novel ''The Divine Invasion'' by Philip K. Dick * Autochthon, a Primordial in the ...

Valencian sport is the

Valencian pilota Valencian pilota ( ca-valencia, pilota valenciana "Valencian ball") is a traditional handball sport played in the Valencian Community. Its origins are not known. Rules variations within the generic ''Pilota Valenciana'' category are frequent fr ...

, which features a professional Valencian Pilota Squad for international matches with related ball games all around the world. This sport has many variants, that may be played at the streets or at special courtfields like the Valencian trinquet, trinquet. It may also be played by teams or on individual challenges. An amazing trait of this sport is that spectators may sit very close or even in the middle of the court. Even while the match is ongoing bookmakers take bets for ''reds'' or ''blues'', since these are the colours players must wear, red being the colour of the strongest team or player. The ''Valencian pilota'' can be traced to the 15th century, but it was abandoned during modern times, this decadence is being fought back with TV broadcasts, new built colleges have courtfields and a new professional players firm, ValNet Association football is the most widely known and played sport. There are teams in every town or village, four of which are currently playing in La Liga, Spanish top professional division: Valencia CF (widely considered one of the most successful clubs in Spanish football history, having won six La Liga titles and 8 Copa del Rey), Villarreal CF, Levante UD and Elche CF. Other historical teams that have been in La Liga in the past are CD Alcoyano, Hércules CF and CD Castellón. Professional basketball is represented currently in Liga ACB, the top professional division, by Valencia Basket, who won its first league title in 2017. Two more teams, CB Lucentum Alicante and AB Castellón are present in the second division. Regarding female professional sports, the historical BM Sagunto, now disbanded, dominated the women's professional handball scene in Spain through the 1980s and 1990s, with a total of 27 División de Honor Femenina de Balonmano, Spanish Division of Honour - Women's handball wins, 20 Cup titles and 1 Women's EHF Champions League. Other important women's handball teams are CB Amadeo Tortajada (dissolved in 2009), CBF Elda, CB Mar Alicante and CB Elche. In female basketball, Ros Casares Valencia has been 8 times champion of the Liga Femenina de Baloncesto, Spanish Women's League and 3 times winner of the EuroLeague Women. Motorcycle sport, Motorcycle races are very popular, as the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, Circuit of Valencia race track and its hosted Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix, Valencian Community Grand Prix prove. Many Valencian MotoGP pilots such as Héctor Barberá, Héctor Faubel or Nicolás Terol have been competing in different MotoGP classes. Another relevant game is the pigeon sport, with an autochthonous dove race being trained, the ''gavatxut valencià''. Pétanque, Petanca and its variant ''Calitx'' are traditional sports as well, especially in towns or among elders.

Image gallery

File:Alcoi vista aèria.jpg,

File:Vista de Alicante, España, 2014-07-04, DD 49.JPG, Alicante, Spain, Alicante File:Altea3.jpg, Altea File:Alzira.jpg,

File:Ares, amb la mola del Castell (II).jpg, Ares del Maestrat File:Cala de Finestrat 2006.JPG, Finestrat File:Calp Beach - panoramio (1).jpg, Rock of Ifac in Calp File:Delta de l'Ebre.jpg, Ebro Delta File:Altamira Elche 01.JPG, Altamira Palace,

Elche Elche ( ca-valencia, Elx) is a city and municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2014 data, Elche has a population of 228,647 inhabitants,Elda Elda is a city and municipality located in the province of Alicante, Spain. , it has a total population of 55,618 inhabitants, ranking as the 7th most populous city in the province. Elda joins together with the town of Petrer to form a conurba ...

File:Estança del Duc 1.jpg,

File:Vall de Uxó.Iglesia del Santo Ángel Custodio.jpg,

File:06 Capella de la Comunió i església de l'Assumpció.jpg, Onda, Castellón, Onda File:La Vila d'Ontinyent.jpg,

File:Paterna. Ajuntament.JPG,

File:Vista diurna del casco histórico de Peñíscola.jpg, Peñíscola File:Plaça Major de Sant Mateu.jpg, Sant Mateu File:Sagunt i Vall de Segó.JPG, Sagunt File:PlazaAytoSueca.jpg, Sueca (city), Sueca File:Torrent. Casa de Cultura.JPG,

File:Torrevieja. Vista desde el dique de Levante.JPG,

File:Orihuela-al-pie-de-la-sierra-que-lleva-su-nombre.jpg,

comarca File:Santa María y Rabal 1.jpg,

File:Seu de Xàtiva i núvols.JPG,

File:Processó de la Mare de Déu de la Salut d'Algemesí.jpg,

human tower at

' of

File:Mare de Déu de la Salut 15.jpg, Valencian Espadrille, espardenya File:Falleras desfilando en la Falla Illes Canàries-Lo Rat Penat 2017.jpg, Valencian women with traditional dress and hair File:Los Falleros de la Falla Lo Rat Penal se reunen para dar ofrenda a La Virgen 2017.jpg, A historical Valencian men costume the Xaraguell File:Mare de Déu de la Salut 28.jpg, Tabaleter with typical Valencian drums

Notes

References

Bibliography

* El llarg camí cap a l'Autonomia Valenciana, de Vicente Ruiz Monrabal. ''Revista Valenciana d'Estudis autonòmics'', núm. 41/42, 3^er trimestre de 2003 - 4o trimestre de 2003, p. 372-421. URL
Número 41/42
* ''El valencianisme polític, 1874-1936'', Alfons Cucó i Giner. 1999, Catarroja, Ed. Afers SL. . * ''Història del País Valencià'', Vicente Boix. 1981. Editorial Planeta, . * ''Història del País Valencià'', Antoni Furió i Diego. 2001. Edicions 3i4. .

External links

Official tourism webpage

Valencian Government (Generalitat Valenciana)

Valencian Parliament (Corts Valencianes)
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