The Valencian Community is an

autonomous community The autonomous communities () are the first-level administrative divisions of Spain, created in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978, with the aim of guaranteeing limited autonomy to the nationalities and regions that make up Sp ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. It is the fourth most populous Spanish

after

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

and the

Community of Madrid The Community of Madrid (; ) is one of the seventeen autonomous communities and 50 provinces of Spain, provinces of Spain. It is located at the heart of the Iberian Peninsula and Meseta Central, Central Plateau (); its capital and largest munici ...

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

eponym An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

ous capital

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

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 east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

coast on the east side of the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...

. It borders

to the north,

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

and

Castilla–La Mancha Castilla–La Mancha (, ; ) is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. Comprising the provinces of Province of Albacete, Albacete, Province of Ciudad Real, Ciudad Real, Province of Cuenca, Cuenca, Province of Guadalajar ...

to the west, and

Murcia Murcia ( , , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the Capital (political), capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the Ranked lists of Spanish municipalities#By population, seventh largest city i ...

to the south, and the Balearic Islands are to its east. The Valencian Community is divided into three

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

: Castellón,

and

Alicante Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean port. The population ...

. According to Valencia's Statute of Autonomy, the Valencian people are a '' "historical nationality"''. Their origins date back to the 1238 Aragonese conquest of the

Taifa of Valencia The Taifa of Valencia () was a medieval Muslim kingdom which existed in and around Valencia, Spain. It gained independence from the Caliphate of Córdoba circa 1010 and became its own small kingdom, or ''Taifa'', for most of the 11th century. It ...

. The newly-founded

Kingdom of Valencia The Kingdom of Valencia (; ; ), located in the eastern shore of the Iberian Peninsula, was one of the component realms of the Crown of Aragon. The Kingdom of Valencia was formally created in 1238 when the Moorish taifa of Valencia was taken in ...

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

Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon (, ) ;, ; ; . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of Barcelona (later Principality of Catalonia) and ended as a consequence of the War of the Sp ...

, under the purview of the

Furs of Valencia ''Furs'' of Valencia (, ) 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 constitution does now. Thus, they defi ...

. 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 The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish ...

Valencian nationalism Valencian nationalism (; ) or Valencianism () is a political movement in the Valencian Community, Spain. It advocates the promotion and recognition of the Valencian language, culture and the political sovereignty of the Valencian Community. As ...

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 Valen ...

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

Spanish Transition The Spanish transition to democracy, known in Spain as (; ) or (), is a period of History of Spain, modern Spanish history encompassing the regime change that moved from the Francoist dictatorship to the consolidation of a parliamentary system ...

. Official languages are Spanish and

Valencian Valencian can refer to: * Something related to the Valencian Community ( Valencian Country) in Spain * Something related to the city of Valencia * Something related to the province of Valencia in Spain * Something related to the old Kingdom of ...

(the official and traditional name used in the Valencian Community to refer to what is commonly known as the

Catalan language Catalan () is a Western Romance languages, Western Romance language and is the official language of Andorra, and the official language of three autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous communities in eastern Spain: Catalonia, the Balearic I ...

).Decreto 84/2008, de 6 de junio, del Consell, por el que se ejecuta la sentencia de 20 de junio de 2005, de la Sala de lo Contencioso-Administrativo del Tribunal Superior de Justicia de la Comunitat Valenciana
As of 2024, the population of the Valencian Community comprised 10.9% of the Spanish population.

Etymology

The city of Valencia (capital of the Valencian Community) 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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

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

Edetani The Edetani were an ancient Iberians, Iberian (Pre-Ancient Rome, 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 I ...

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

Llíria Llíria (; ) 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 in the c ...

, other important nearby settlements included Arse–Saguntum, Saetabis and Dianium). With the establishment of the Muslim

, during the

Al-Andalus Al-Andalus () was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula. The name refers to the different Muslim states that controlled these territories at various times between 711 and 1492. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied most o ...

period, the name developed to (). The modern names of the city are (Spanish) and (Valencian). The older spellings ''Valençia'', ''Ualençia'' and ''Ualència'' are also found in pre-reform Spanish and Valencian texts. To distinguish it from its capital city, a number of names have been used for the region. After the Christian conquest, it became the

. In the last decades, ''Valencian Community'' has become the preferred name to avoid any

controversy Controversy (, ) is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin '' controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an op ...

Naming controversy

"Valencian Community" is the standard translation of the official name in Valencian recognized by the Statute of Autonomy of 1982 (). This is the name most used in public administration, tourism, the media and Spanish written language. However, the variant of "Valencian Country" () that emphasizes the nationality status of the Valencian people is still the preferred one by left-wing and far-left wing parties, some civil associations, and part of the Valencian written language from private publications such as books or some minor newspapers. "Valencian Community" ( in

,
in

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 countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

), is a

neologism In linguistics, a neologism (; also known as a coinage) is any newly formed word, term, or phrase that has achieved popular or institutional recognition and is becoming accepted into mainstream language. Most definitively, a word can be considered ...

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 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 democratic 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 later on with the works of

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

in the 1960s, implying the existence of the "Catalan Countries" (). This nationalist subtext was opposed by anti-Catalan blaverists, who proposed "Former Kingdom of Valencia" or "Kingdom of Valéncia" (
) instead, in order to emphasize the difference of the Valencian culture from Catalonia. Currently, the vast majority of valencians have accepted the official denomination, as there is no actual major/relevant conflict, opposition or debate regarding the name of the Valencian Community. The autonomous community can be eponymously 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 some Valencians because it could deny their nationality status. In popular culture, for Valencian-speaking people, the Valencian Community is commonly referred to as ''La Terreta'' (The Little Land).

History

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

Iberians The Iberians (, from , ''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 others, by Hecataeus of Mil ...

, who were divided in several groups (the '' Contestani'', the ''

'', 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 ...

'' 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 Mastien ...

''). The Greeks established

colonies A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their '' metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often or ...

in the coastal towns of ''

Saguntum Sagunto () 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 approximately north of the city of Valencia, close to the Costa ...

'' and '' Dianium'' 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 an ancient city in Northern Africa, 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 classic ...

and

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

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

Carthaginians The Punic people, usually known as the Carthaginians (and sometimes as Western Phoenicians), were a Semitic people, Semitic people who Phoenician settlement of North Africa, migrated from Phoenicia to the Western Mediterranean during the Iron ...

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

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

Hannibal Hannibal (; ; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Punic people, Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Ancient Carthage, Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War. Hannibal's fat ...

in 219 BC, ignited the

Second Punic War The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of Punic Wars, three wars fought between Ancient Carthage, Carthage and Roman Republic, Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For ...

, 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 Rome, was the loss of central political control in the Western Roman Empire, a process in which the Empire failed to enforce its rule, and its vast ...

, during the

Barbarian Invasions The Migration Period ( 300 to 600 AD), also known as the Barbarian Invasions, was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories ...

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

Alans The Alans () were an ancient and medieval Iranian peoples, Iranic Eurasian nomads, nomadic pastoral people who migrated to what is today North Caucasus – while some continued on to Europe and later North Africa. They are generally regarded ...

and finally ruled by the

Visigoths The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied Barbarian kingdoms, barbarian military group unite ...

(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 "Vale ...

), until the arrival of the

Arabs Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...

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 A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of the entir ...

, two main independent

taifas The taifas (from ''ṭā'ifa'', plural ''ṭawā'if'', meaning "party, band, faction") were the independent Muslim principalities and kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula (modern Portugal and Spain), referred to by Muslims as al-Andalus, that em ...

were established at the region,

and

Dénia Dénia (; ) is a historical coastal city in the province of Alicante, Spain, on the Costa Blanca halfway between Alicante and Valencia (city in Spain), Valencia, and the capital and judicial seat of the Comarques of the Valencian Community, ''c ...

, along with the small and short living taifas of

Orihuela Orihuela (; ''Corpus Toponímic Valencià''. Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua. 2009, València.) is a city and municipality located at the foot of the Sierra de Orihuela mountains in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, Spain. The c ...

, Alpuente, Jérica and

Sagunt Sagunto () 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 approximately north of the c ...

and the short Christian conquest of Valencia by

El Cid Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar ( – 10 July 1099) was a Castilian knight and ruler in medieval Spain. Fighting both with Christian and Muslim armies during his lifetime, he earned the Arabic honorific ("the Lord" or "the Master"), which would evolve i ...

. 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 ( Catalan/Valencian: ''Jaume I or Jaume el Conqueridor''; Aragonese: ''Chaime I'' ''o Conqueridor''; ; 2 February 1208 – 27 July 1276) was King of Aragon, Count of Barcelona, and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1 ...

led the Christian conquest and colonization of the existing

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

taifa The taifas (from ''ṭā'ifa'', plural ''ṭawā'if'', meaning "party, band, faction") were the independent Muslim principalities and kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula (modern Portugal and Spain), referred to by Muslims as al-Andalus, that em ...

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 chivalri ...

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

. 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 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 in which different states are governed beneath the same dynasty, with their boundaries, their laws, and their interests remaining distinct from each other. It is a form of association looser than a personal un ...

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 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 fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...

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

Philip V of Spain Philip V (; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was List of Spanish monarchs, 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 (45 years and 16 days) is the longest in the ...

abolished the Kingdom of Valencia, and the rest of the 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 (; : ) was a polity in the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages. It traces its origins to the 9th-century County of Castile (, ), as an eastern frontier lordship of the Kingdom of León. During the 10th century, the Ca ...

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 dynasty that originated in the Kingdom of France as a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Kingdom of Navarre, Navarre in the 16th century. A br ...

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

Habsburg Spain Habsburg Spain refers to Spain and the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy, also known as the Rex Catholicissimus, Catholic Monarchy, in the period from 1516 to 1700 when it was ruled by kings from the House of Habsburg. In t ...

. The first attempt to gain

self-government Self-governance, self-government, self-sovereignty 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 ...

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

, in 1936, but the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, 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.J ...

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" * Franco of Cologne (mid to late 13th cent ...

'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 Statute of Autonomy (''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 () is the head of the Generalitat Valenciana, the government of the Spanish autonomous community of Valencia. The president is chosen by the Valencian parliament, the Corts Valencianes. Election Under Art ...

Joan Lerma Joan Lerma 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 demo ...

, 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 the

, 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

nationality Nationality is the legal status of belonging to a particular nation, defined as a group of people organized in one country, under one legal jurisdiction, or as a group of people who are united on the basis of culture. In international law, n ...

, in accordance with the modern conception. Valencia was affected by the

2024 Spanish floods On 29 October 2024, torrential rain caused by an cut-off low, isolated low-pressure area at high levels brought over a year's worth of precipitation to several areas in eastern Spain, including the Valencian Community, Castilla–La Mancha, and ...

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

, in the Alcalatén 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 Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ...

, a Valencian

exclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...

between

and

. The most emblematic mountain in the southern part of the territory is the Aitana (1,558 m). The rather thin coastal strip is a very

fertile Fertility in colloquial terms refers the ability to have offspring. In demographic contexts, fertility refers to the actual production of offspring, rather than the physical capability to reproduce, which is termed fecundity. The fertility rate is ...

plain without remarkable mountains except those around the Cap de la Nau area in northern Alicante province and the

Peñíscola Peñíscola () or Peníscola () and officially Peñíscola/Peníscola, 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 a ...

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 (, ; , , , ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2024's data, Elche has a population of 234,800 inhabitants,

and

Crevillent Crevillent (; ) 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 de Creville ...

, ''La Marjal'' near Pego, Albufera of Gayanes in Gayanes or ''El Prat'' in 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 expansive, allowing sunlight to penetrate and reach the seawater. Natural salt pans are formed thr ...

s in the

Santa Pola Santa Pola (; ) 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 36,174 inhabitants of whom 6,000 are residents of the nearby to ...

and

Torrevieja Torrevieja (; is a Mediterranean-seaside city and municipality on the Costa Blanca, in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, in southeastern Spain. The city is in one of the only Spanish-speaking areas of the Valencian Community. Tor ...

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, flat ...

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 abut ...

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 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 climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''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 (in ), or simply Castellón (), is the capital city of the province of Castellón, in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is located in the east of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Costa del Azahar by the Mediterranean Sea. Th ...

Gandia Gandia (, ) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Valencian Community, eastern Spain on the Mediterranean. Gandia is located on the Costa de Valencia, south of Valencia, Spain, Valencia and north of Alicante. Vehicles can ...

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 slightly but sometimes substantially. The term may refer to areas as small as a few square meters or smaller (for ...

in the

Marina Alta Marina Alta (; ; lit. "Upper Marina") is a central comarques of the Valencian Community, central and coastal ''Comarques of the Valencian Community, comarca'' of the autonomous community of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valen ...

and the

Safor Safor (; ) is a ''Comarques of the Valencian Community, comarca'' within the province of Valencia (province), Valencia, Valencian Community, Spain. The capital is the city of Gandia, but also includes the towns of Oliva, Piles, Valencia, Piles a ...

''comarques'' just north of Cap de la Nau 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 (

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

Alcoy Alcoy (; ; officially: / ) 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 r ...

, 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 Vale ...

). 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 (−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 sem ...

(

''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 divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

. It roughly goes along the coastal plain from

Villajoyosa Villajoyosa (), in Valencian: (), meaning "The Joyful Town", and officially / , is a coastal town and municipality in the south of the Valencian Community, Spain, by the Mediterranean Sea. It is the historic and administrative capital of Mar ...

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

Benidorm Benidorm ( , , ) is a municipality in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Known as the “New York City, New York of the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean”, Benidorm has been a tourist destinatio ...

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 body of water, bodies of water (such as oceans and larg ...

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 Cap de la Nau). The

warm-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

(

''Csb''),

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(

''Cfa''),

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

(

''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 Serranos (; ), also known as Serranía (; ), is a Comarques of the Valencian Community, ''comarca'' administrative subdivision in the Provinces of Spain, province of Valencia (province), Valencia, Valencian Community, Spain. It is part of the S ...

comarcas in the province of

. In the province of

this climate is only found in the highest altitudes of Serra de Mariola 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

Hydrography

There are only two major rivers: the

Segura Segura may refer to: Geography * Segura (river), a tributary of the Mediterranean Sea in southeastern Spain * Sierra de Segura, a mountain range in southeastern Spain * Segura, Gipuzkoa, a town in the Basque Country, northern Spain * Segura de lo ...

in the province of Alicante, whose source is in

, and the

Júcar The Júcar () or Xúquer () is a river in Spain, on the Iberian Peninsula. The river runs for approximately 509 km. Its source is located at Ojuelos de Valdeminguete, in the municipality of Tragacete, province of Cuenca, on the eastern fla ...

(or ''Xúquer'') in the 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 (or ''Túria'') is the third largest and has its source in

. Most

rivers A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of its course if it ru ...

in the area, such as the

Vinalopó The Vinalopó is a small river flowing through the Province of Alicante, 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 l ...

, 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 p ...

and Sénia. File:Assut d'Antella.JPG, Xúquer river with irrigated

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

orchards near Antella File:2. Assut de Cullera (entre Sueca i Fortaleny, País Valencià).jpg, Cullera

weir A weir or low-head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the water level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

of the Xúquer river, between Sueca and Fortaleny File:2f. Pont damunt del riu Xúquer (Cullera, País Valencià).jpg, Bridge over the Xúquer river

Demographics

The Valencian Community is, with 5,216,195 inhabitants (INE 2023), the fourth autonomous community in Spain by population, and represents 10.85% of the national population. Its population is very unevenly distributed: it is concentrated on the coastal strip and has an average population density of 224.3 inhabitants/km². The community has shown strong demographic growth from the 1960s until 2023, when it reaches its maximum; 17.03% of its population is of foreign nationality (INE 2023). Despite the high population rate, there are 24 municipalities, most of them in the province of Castellón, that have less than 100 inhabitants. Castell de Cabres with 19 inhabitants is the town in the Valencian Community with the smallest number of inhabitants.

Evolution

The study of the demographic evolution of the Valencian Community can be divided into two clearly differentiated periods, which belong to two different moments of the demographic transition: the old demographic cycle or regime (until the 18th century), characterized by high mortality and high birth rates, and the modern demographic regime or cycle (from the end of the 18th century and beginning of the 19th), in which the drop in mortality initially caused a demographic transition, with strong increases in the population, which passed in its final moments of demographic stability thanks to the drop in birth rates. In the case of the Valencian Community, and in Spain as a whole, both cycles temporarily coincided with the non-presence of reliable population censuses, which would not allow a precise study of demographic states and processes.

Urbanization

Valencian population traditionally concentrated in localities with

cultivation and growing lowlands by the most important rivers (

or ''Xúquer'', Turia or ''Túria'',

, and

), 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. Important historical cities include

Sagunto Sagunto () 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 approximately north of the city of Valencia, close to the Costa ...

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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

times;

Xàtiva Xàtiva (; ) 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, Spain, Valencia–Murcia and Valencia Albacete railways. It is located 25 km ...

, and

Villarreal Villarreal (officially, in ) 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 capital ( ...

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

Alzira Alzira may refer to: * ''Alzira'' (opera), an opera by Giuseppe Verdi *Alzira, Valencia Alzira (; ) is a city and municipality of 49.000 inhabitants (62,094 floating population) in Valencia, eastern Spain. It is the capital of the '' comarca'' o ...

and

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

industrialization Industrialisation (British English, UK) American and British English spelling differences, or industrialization (American English, US) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an i ...

in the 20th century, including

or ''Alcoi'',

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 ...

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

Petrer Petrer (; ) 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 over 95 ...

, and

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

. In recent decades, the concentration of population around the large capitals has increased and large metropolitan areas have been formed, although the demographic concentration has also occurred in coastal towns and cities, so that traditionally small populations, such as

Calpe Calpe (; ) is a coastal municipality located in the ''comarca'' of Marina Alta, in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, Spain, by the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of and a population density of . The city lies at the foot of the ...

have experienced a very considerable population increase, even greater during the summer season, mainly due to the seasonal migrations of the tourism industry workforce. Comunidad-Valenciana Densidad

Metropolitan areas

The main metropolitan areas of the Valencian Community according to their population are three, plus a fourth one shared with the

Region of Murcia The Region of Murcia (, ; ; ) is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain located in the southeastern part of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast. The region is in area and had a popul ...

. The most populous one is the metropolitan area of

, which is located in the central area of the Gulf of Valencia, around the Valencian Community's capital. It is the third largest in Spain, with 1,774,201 inhabitants (INE 2011). The metropolitan area of

has 757,085 inhabitants (INE 2014) and is the eighth metropolitan area in Spain by population; it is the sum of the urban areas of Alicante (468,581 inhabitants) and Elche-Crevillent (288,504 inhabitants), therefore a bipolar metropolitan area. The metropolitan area of Castellón de la Plana is made up of the municipalities of

Almassora Almassora (; ) is a town and municipality in the ''comarca'' of Plana Alta, Valencian Community, Spain. Urbanized areas * Almassora * La Platja * L'Horta * El Secà * Polígon industrial History There are ancient Iberian remains within the ...

Benicàssim Benicàssim (; ); officially Benicasim / Benicàssim) is a municipality and beach resort located in the province of Castellón, on the Costa del Azahar in Spain. The Desert de les Palmes mountain range further inland shelters the town from ...

Borriol Borriol is a town and municipality located in the province of Castellón, Valencian Community, Spain. History Numerous archaeological remains, including the rock paintings of l'Albaroc indicate that the Borriol area was populated in antiquity. Th ...

and Burriana or Borriana, and has 309,420 inhabitants (INE 2008) and an area of 340 km²; Castellón de la Plana is the main centre and most populous municipality of this metropolitan area. The

metropolitan area includes the urban area of Orihuela in the Valencian Community, plus the metropolitan agglomerations of Murcia, Molina de Segura and Alcantarilla, in the neighboring

. This supraregional metropolitan area has a total population of 776,784 inhabitants (INE 2009), an area of 1,787 km² and a density of 445.54 inhabitants/km², making it the seventh largest in Spain. In recent decades the concentration of the population in the provincial capitals and in their metropolitan areas has increased considerably, in cities such as

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 ...

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. Demographics In recent decades it has gone from being a village in the Horta region ...

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 (; ) 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 geological and ...

, or

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 city ...

. 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 or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

and regionalist parties pressed to grant

home rule Home rule is the 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 governan ...

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 () is the supreme law of the Kingdom of Spain. It was enacted after its approval in 1978 in a constitutional referendum; it represents the culmination of the Spanish transition to democracy. The current version was a ...

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 Statute of Autonomy, 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 parliamentary democracy, is a form of government where the head of government (chief executive) derives their Election, democratic legitimacy from their ability to command the support ("confidence") of a majority of t ...

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

legislative power A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers o ...

, whose members elect him by

majority A majority is more than half of a total; however, the term is commonly used with other meanings, as explained in the "#Related terms, Related terms" section below. It is a subset of a Set (mathematics), set consisting of more than half of the se ...

. A new Statute of Autonomy was promulgated in 2006. The government of Valencia is represented by the

(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, Spain ...

(Valencian parliament), the

legislature A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial power ...

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

universal suffrage Universal suffrage or universal franchise ensures the right to vote for as many people bound by a government's laws as possible, as supported by the " one person, one vote" principle. For many, the term universal suffrage assumes the exclusion ...

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...

for a four-year period; * the

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

Carlos Mazón Carlos Arturo Mazón Guixot (born 8 April 1974) is a Spanish People's Party (Spain), People's Party (PP) politician. He was elected president of the Provincial deputation (Spain), Provincial Deputation of the Province of Alicante in 2019 and has ...

(from the

People's Party of the Valencian Community The People's Party of the Valencian Community (; , PP or PPCV) is the Valencian language, Valencian branch of the People's Party (Spain), People's Party, as well as one of the historically most powerful organizations within the PP. Upon its found ...

). * 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 ) is a government employee who investigates and tries to resolve complaints, usually through recommendations (binding or not) or mediation. They are usually appointed by the government or by parliament (often with a sign ...

), the '' Sindicatura de Comptes'' (Public Audit Office), the ''

Consell Valencià de Cultura Valencian Council of Culture (in Spanish ''Consejo Valenciano de Cultura'', official name in Valencian, ''Consell Valencià de Cultura'', referred as CVC) is a consultation and advisory institution for the Generalitat Valenciana for affairs related ...

'' (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 An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of ...

'' (Valencian Academy of the Language), the ''Consell Jurídic Consultiu'' (Juridic and Consultative Council) and the ''Comité Econòmic i Social'' (Social and Economic Committee).

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" ().

Valencia was divided into four administrative

provinces of Spain A province in Spain * , ; grammatical number, sing. ''provincia'') * Basque language, Basque (, grammatical number, sing. ''probintzia''. * Catalan language, Catalan (), grammatical number, sing. ''província''. * Galician language, Galician ...

, Castellón,

and

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

, capital:

* Castellón, capital:

, capital:

The Valencian Community is further divided into 34 ''

comarques The comarques of Catalonia (singular ''comarca'', , ), often referred to in English as counties, are an administrative division of Catalonia. Each comarca comprises a number of municipalities, roughly equivalent to a county in the United States. ...

'' (including the city of Valencia) and 542

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

(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 consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

quarried in Alicante province. Hydrological resources (see

Geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

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 autonomous communities such as

and Catalonia. Agriculture—more specifically,

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. ''Citrus'' is nativ ...

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 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 ...

s during the

Spanish miracle The Spanish miracle () 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, 1959 to 1974, in which GDP averaged a 6.5 percent gr ...

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 (, , ; ; ; officially: / ) is a province located in eastern Spain, in the southern part of the Valencian Community. It is the second most populated Valencian province, containing the second and third biggest cities in the Valencian Co ...

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

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

, especially in the

Vega Baja del Segura Vega Baja del Segura (; Mapa temàtic comarcal de la Comunitat Valenciana, serie CV350. Institut Cartogràfic Valencià. 2022, Col·leccions AutonòmiquesPDF/ref> ), simply known locally and regionally as Vega Baja (in Spanish), is a ''comarca'' ...

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 Community generated 9.7% of the Spanish GDP. According to 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 o ...

), 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

(''español'' or ''castellano'') has official status in all of Spain, including the Valencian Community. Aside from it, the Statute of Autonomy 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 historical, traditional and official name of the native language of the Valencian Community. Valencians use ''Valencian'' to refer to the

Romance language The Romance languages, also known as the Latin or Neo-Latin languages, are the languages that are Language family, directly descended from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-E ...

also known as

. In the

Late Middle Ages The late Middle Ages or late medieval period was the Periodization, period of History of Europe, European history lasting from 1300 to 1500 AD. The late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period ( ...

, due to Valencia becoming its own kingdom, Valencians popularized the term ''Valencian'' over the term ''Catalan''. Valencian was marginalized during Franco's dictatorship (1939–1975) in favor of

. Since it regained official status in 1982 in the Valencian Statute of Autonomy, 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 * Lexical ...

features with the

Western Catalan The Catalan dialects (and restrictively also, Valencian dialects) feature a relative uniformity, especially when compared to other Romance languages; both in terms of vocabulary, semantics, syntax, morphology, and phonology. Mutual intelligibil ...

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 Muscogee language), and which ar ...

(normally five) and

vowel harmony In phonology, vowel harmony is a phonological rule in which the vowels of a given domain – typically a phonological word – must share certain distinctive features (thus "in harmony"). Vowel harmony is typically long distance, meaning tha ...

; 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 the Barcelona region in Catalonia (Spain). Its capital is Granollers. Along wi ...

'' (broom), '' xiquet'' (boy), '' espill'' (mirror), '' corder'' (lamb), etc.

Valencian Sign Language Valencian Sign Language ( ), or LSV,Also abbreviated as LSCV (for ''Llengua de signes de la Comunitat Valenciana'') and LSPV (for ''Llengua de signes del País Valencià'') is a sign language used by deaf people in the Valencian Community, Spain ...

is widely used by Valencian deaf persons and is also granted protection under the Statute. The

spoken in the cities is little affected by Valencian and features ''distinción'', i.e. the differentiation of ('' s'') and ('' c'' before ''e'' and ''i'', and z), and (the merger of –'' ll'' in Spanish orthography–into , represented as '' y''). In the south of the Valencian Community, dialects similar to neighbouring

Murcian Spanish Murcian (endonym: ) is a variant of Peninsular Spanish, spoken mainly in the autonomous community of Murcia and the adjacent '' comarcas'' of Vega Baja del Segura and Alto Vinalopó in the province of Alicante (Valencia), the corridor of Alman ...

are 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 alve ...

'' (the merger of into ), depending on the speaker and area. In the east, traits in common with the Spanish of either Aragon or La Mancha are found in the local Spanish.

Areas of linguistic predominance

Not all of the Valencian territory is historically Valencian-speaking; about 1 million people, or 20% of the population, live in inland or southern areas that are traditionally Spanish-speaking. This area comprises around 35–40% of the extension of the Valencian Community. These regions include the areas where Aragonese rather than Catalan settlers introduced the 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 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. These areas are delimited for administrative purposes by the Generalitat, establishing different areas of linguistic predominance (''predomini lingüístic''). The area of Valencian linguistic predominance is undergoing in many cases a process of linguistic substitution, especially in the 2 largest cities of the community,

and

, where Spanish has become predominant in spite of Valencian being the traditional language. In addition, large numbers of foreign immigrants who have arrived since 2000 have become Spanish speakers. Outside the aforementioned cities, and the traditional Spanish-speaking areas in the west, Valencian predominates or is on an equal footing in the rest of the territory.

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 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 language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western Europe, Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and Official language, official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switze ...

(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 Catalania–Valencia 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 ( ), also known by the acronym and initialism, acronym IEC, is an academic institution which seeks to undertake research and study into "all elements of Catalan culture". It is based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spai ...

(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 the Valencian population refuse to identify Valencian with Catalan.

Transports

Air

The Valencian Community is served by three international airports:

Alicante Airport Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: ''/'' ) 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-larges ...

Valencia Airport Valencia Airport (, ) , also known as ''Manises Airport'', is the tenth-busiest Spain, Spanish airport in terms of passengers and second in the Valencian Community after Alicante Airport, Alicante. It is situated west of the city of Valencia, i ...

and

Castellón–Costa Azahar Airport Castellón Airport (, ), 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 Foundation and construction The airport was officially declared ...

, 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 without extreme difficulty, 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, ...

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 is a Latin word, used by the Roman Empire, Romans as a salutation (greeting), salutation and greeting, meaning 'wikt:hail, hail'. It is the singular imperative mood, imperative form of the verb , which meant 'Well-being, to be well'; thus on ...

towards

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, or northern and southern Spain, both run by the Spanish national rail company

RENFE Renfe (, ), officially Renfe-Operadora, is Spain's national state-owned railway company. It was created in 2005 upon the split of the former Spanish National Railway Network (RENFE) into the Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias ( ...

. In December 2010 the

high-speed rail High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail transport network utilising trains that run significantly faster than those of traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated railway track, tracks. While there is ...

(

) 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 (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

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 ''C ...

(''Rodalia'' in Valencian) is the

commuter rail Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...

service that serves all three provincial capitals of Valencia and their metropolitan areas. It is operated by

Cercanías Renfe 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 ...

, the commuter rail division of

. While the Valencian-owned company,

Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Valenciana Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Valenciana (, "Valencian Government Railways") or FGV is a Valencian Community, Valencian public railway company which operates several lines, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valenci ...

(FGV) operates a

tram-train A tram-train or dual-system tram is a type of light rail vehicle that both meets the standards of a light rail system, and also national mainline standards. Tramcars are adapted to be capable of running on streets like an urban tramway but a ...

line between

and

. It also operates the city

tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

and

metro Metro may refer to: Geography * Metro City (Indonesia), 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 urban area with high ...

system of

( Valencia Metro) and

(

Alicante Tram The Alicante Tram, trademarked as Alicante Metropolitan TRAM (, ), operates in the Spain, Spanish city of Alicante (Valencian Community) and its surrounding area. Like other narrow gauge railways in the Valencian Community, it is run by Ferrocar ...

). There is also 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. Both the 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 (, ; , ; also known by the acronym ''UA'') was established in 1979 on the basis of the Center for University Studies (CEU), which was founded in 1968. The university main campus is located in San Vicente del Raspeig/San ...

and

Sant Vicent del Raspeig Sant may refer to: People * Alfred Sant (born 1948), Maltese politician * Andrew Sant (born 1950), English-born Australian poet * David Sant (born 1968), Catalan director, actor and writer * Indira Sant (1914–2000), Indian poet * James San ...

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 (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

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 Hamburg, Manch ...

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 (sometimes spelled as pre school or pre-school), also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, play school, is an educational establishment or learning space Learning space or learning setting refers to a physical s ...

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 Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

and

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

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 ( ), shortened to UV, is a public research university in Valencia, Spain. It is one of the oldest universities in Spain, and the oldest in the Valencian Community. It is regarded as one of Spain's leading academic i ...

, founded in 1499. At the request of

Pope Innocent IV Pope Innocent 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 universities of Parma and Bolo ...

in 1246, authorized by a

papal bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...

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 (, , ; born Roderic Llançol i de Borja; epithet: ''Valentinus'' ("The Kingdom of Valencia, Valencian"); – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 August 1492 until his death ...

signed the bill of approval and one year later

Ferdinand II of Aragon Ferdinand II, also known as Ferdinand I, Ferdinand III, and Ferdinand V (10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), called Ferdinand the Catholic, was King of Aragon from 1479 until his death in 1516. As the husband and co-ruler of Queen Isabella I of ...

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 languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

Greek Greek may refer to: 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 of all kno ...

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, 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 whi ...

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

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

, and

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

. Nowadays the

Polytechnic University of Valencia The Polytechnic University of Valencia (; , ), shortened to UPV, is a Spanish university located in Valencia, with a focus on science, technology, and arts. It was founded in 1968 as the Higher Polytechnic School of Valencia and became a univers ...

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 --> Miguel is a given name and surname, the Portuguese and Spanish form of the Hebrew name Michael. It may refer to: Places * Pedro Miguel, a parish in the municipality of Horta and the island of Faial in the Azores Islands * São Miguel (disam ...

in Elche,

Jaume I University Jaume I University (, ; ) 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 campus, covering 176 000 m2, has 4 faculties and many research and ...

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 universi ...

in Castellón de la Plana, Catholic University of Valencia, and

CEU Cardenal Herrera University CEU Cardenal Herrera University (in Spanish: ''Universidad CEU Cardenal Herrera'') is a private university located in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is part of the CEU Foundation, being the first private school of Law ever founded in Valenc ...

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 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 we ...

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 based on the sex or gender of a victim. It can involve offensive sexist or sexual behavior, verbal or physical actions, up to bribery, coercion, and assault. Harassment may be explicit or implicit, wit ...

. 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. He was the fifth President of the Valencian Government since devolution was granted in 1982. Personal life He graduate ...

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 The autonomous communities () are the first-level administrative divisions of Spain, created in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978, with the aim of guaranteeing limited autonomy to the nationalities and regions that make up Spa ...

, 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 (Valencian: ''Corporació Valenciana de Mitjans de Comunicació'' ), also known by its acronym CVMC, is an agency of the Generalitat Valenciana The Generalitat Valenciana is the generic name covering the different ...

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'' ( Catalan 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), Spa ...

'', '' 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 Ga ...

'', '' arròs caldós'', ''

arròs del senyoret 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 Ga ...

'', ''

arròs negre ''Arròs negre'' or ''arrós negre'' (, ) is a Valencian and Catalan dish made with cuttlefish (or squid) and rice, somewhat similar to seafood paella. Some call it ''paella negra'' (''"black paella"''), although it is traditionally not called ...

'', among many.

Pasta Pasta (, ; ) is a type of food typically made from an Leavening agent, unleavened dough of wheat flour mixed with water or Eggs as food, eggs, and formed into sheets or other shapes, then cooked by boiling or baking. Pasta was originally on ...

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, b ...

''. 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

() being perhaps of highest importance as one of the typical fruits of Valencian

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

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

Alboraya Alboraya () or Alboraia () is a town and municipality of the Valencia (province), 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 ...

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

), and (in

Marina Baixa Marina Baixa (; ; lit. "Lower Marina") 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 ...

and

Hoya de Buñol Hoya de Buñol (; ) is a ''comarca'' in the province of Valencia, Valencian Community, Spain. All the towns in it are Spanish-speaking, rather than Valencian-speaking. Municipalities * Alborache *Buñol *Cheste * Chiva *Dos Aguas *Godelleta ...

(''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 cake, biscuit, ice cream, and possibly a beverage, such as dessert wine or liqueur. Some cultures sweeten foods that are more commonly umami, ...

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 The Casinos was a nine-member doo-wop group from Cincinnati, Ohio, led by Gene Hughes and which included ...

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

dragée A dragée ( , , ; ) is a bite-sized confectionery with a hard outer shell, which can be made of sugar, chocolate, or other substances. Dragées come in various shapes and sizes and are often used for decorative purposes, particularly in pastri ...

s and sugared almonds). In

and the Central comarques, the , a dessert elaborated with

pumpkin A pumpkin is a cultivar, cultivated winter squash in the genus ''Cucurbita''. The term is most commonly applied to round, orange-colored squash varieties, but does not possess a scientific definition. It may be used in reference to many dif ...

is made.

and its region have the .

Valencian symbols

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 (Catalan: ''Pere IV d'Aragó;'' Aragonese; ''Pero IV d'Aragón;'' 5 September 1319 – 6 January 1387), called the Ceremonious (Catalan: ''El Cerimoniós''; Aragonese: ''el Ceremonioso''), was from 1336 until his death the king of ...

, 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 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 coat of arms, often called ''bars of Aragon'', or simply ''"the four bars"'', historically repr ...

'', 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 parties 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 flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). 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 birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...

) and ''drac alat'' (a winged

dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

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� ...

). 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 the to ...

'', 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 (Province of Valencia, 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, ...

'' of

Algemesí Algemesí () is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Comarques of the Valencian Community, ''comarca'' of Ribera Alta (comarca), Ribera Alta in the Valencia (autonomous community), Valencian Community, Spain. The town of Algemesí is on ...

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

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

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

Celebrations

* ''

Falles The 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,

'' of

– 15–19 March * '' Fogueres de Sant Joan'' of

– 19–24 June * '' Misteri'' of

– 14 and 15 August * ''

'':

– 7 and 8 September * ''

Moros i Cristians ''Moros y Cristianos'' () or ''Moros i Cristians'' (), literally in English Moors and Christians, is a set of festival activities which are celebrated in many towns and cities of Spain, mainly in the southern Valencian Community. According ...

'':

– 22–24 April * '' Tomatina'' of

Buñol Buñol is a town and municipality in the province of Valencia, Spain. The municipality has an area of some 112 km2, and is situated approximately 38 km west of the provincial and autonomous community capital city, Valencia. It lies alon ...

– last Wednesday in August * '' Magdalena'' of Castellón – third Saturday of Lent

Valencian Community Day

* 9 October: (''9 d'Octubre'' or ''9 de Octubre'') Official day of the Valencian Community and public holiday in the entire autonomous community. This day commemorates the entrance of

to the city of Valencia on the year 1238.

Fallas

* Fallas (also known as Las Fallas) is a traditional festival celebrated in Valencia, Spain, held annually from March 15 to March 19 in honor of Saint Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters. The festival is known for its elaborate sculptures, vibrant street parties, music, and fireworks.

Sports

The

autochthonous Autochthon, autochthons or autochthonous may refer to: Nature * Autochthon (geology), a sediment or rock that can be found at its site of formation or deposition * Autochthon (nature), or landrace, an indigenous animal or plant * Autochthonou ...

Valencian sport is the

Valencian pilota Valencian pilota ( "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 from area to area but the common ...

, which features a professional

Valencian Pilota Squad The Valencian Pilota Squad are the Valencian pilota professional or amateur players chosen to take part in the Handball International Championships representing Spain, even though all of them are Valencians and they use the Valencian flag This is ...

for international matches with related

ball game This is a list of ball games and ball sports that include a ball as a key element in the activity, usually for scoring points. Games that include balls Ball sports fall within many sport categories, some sports within multiple categories, inclu ...

s all around the world. This sport has many variants, that may be played at the streets or at special courtfields like the 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

bookmaker A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays out bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds In probability theory, odds provide a measure of the probability of a particular outco ...

s 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 Valnet, Inc. is a Canadian media company established in August 2012 by Hassan and Sam Youssef in Montreal, Quebec. It operates primarily in the entertainment media industry, where it has sought to acquire producers of content in this space. In ...

Association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

is the most widely known and played sport. There are teams in every town or village, two of which are currently playing in

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

, Spanish top professional division:

Valencia CF Valencia Club de Fútbol, S. A. D. (; ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF or simply Valencia, is a Spanish professional Association football, football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top tier of the Spani ...

(widely considered one of the most successful clubs in Spanish football history, having won six La Liga titles and 8 Copa del Rey) and

Villarreal CF Villarreal Club de Fútbol, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D., usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Villarreal, in the Province of Castellón, Castellón province of easte ...

. There are two clubs playing in the

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

Levante UD Levante Unión Deportiva, S.A.D. () is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club in Valencia, in the Valencian Community, namesake autonomous community. Founded on 6 September 1909, the club will compete in La Liga for the 2025– ...

and

Elche CF Elche Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. () is a Spanish professional football club based in Elche, Province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community, Spain. Founded in 1923, the club will compete in La Liga for the 2025–26 season, holding home matches at ...

. Other historical teams that have been in La Liga in the past are

CD Alcoyano Club Deportivo Alcoyano, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Alcoy, in the autonomous community of the Valencian Community. Founded in 1928, it plays in , holding home games in '' Estadio El Collao'', with a capacity of 4,850 seats. Hi ...

Hércules CF Hércules de Alicante Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. () is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team in Alicante, in the Valencian Community. Founded on 25 October 1922, it currently plays in Primera Federación and plays its home games ...

and

CD Castellón Club Deportivo Castellón, S.A.D. is a professional List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Castellón de la Plana, in the Valencian Community. Founded on 20 July 1922, it currently plays in , holding home games at ''Nou E ...

. Professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

is represented currently in

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administered by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, w ...

, the top professional division, by

Valencia Basket Valencia Basket Club Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D., commonly known as Valencia Basket (), is a professional basketball team based in Valencia, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB and the EuroCup Basketball, EuroCup, and his Valencia Basket ...

, who won its first league title in 2017. Two more teams,

CB Lucentum Alicante Club Baloncesto Lucentum Alicante is a professional basketball team based in Alicante, Valencian Community. Lucentum Alicante played in Liga ACB for the last time in 2012, after selling its place in the league to CB Canarias. In August 2015, due ...

and

AB Castelló Amics del Bàsquet Castelló, also known as TAU Castelló for sponsorship reasons, is a basketball team based in Castellón de la Plana, Spain. It was founded in 1994 and currently plays in LEB Oro. Real Madrid's coach Pablo Laso started his co ...

are present in the second division. Regarding female professional sports, the historical

BM Sagunto Club Balonmano Sagunto was a Spanish women's handball club from Sagunto founded in 1978 which in July, 2012 moved to Valencia and joint CE Handbol Marítim to play in División de Honor as Valencia Aicequip. History Mar Valencia was founded in 19 ...

, now disbanded, dominated the women's professional

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...

scene in Spain through the 1980s and 1990s, with a total of 27 Spanish Division of Honour - Women's handball wins, 20 Cup titles and 1

Women's EHF Champions League The EHF Women's Champions League is the competition for the top women's handball clubs in Europe, organised annually by the European Handball Federation (EHF). It is the most prestigious tournament for clubs, with the champions of Europe's top na ...

. Other important women's handball teams are

CB Amadeo Tortajada Club Balonmano Amadeo Tortajada was a handball team from Mislata, Valencia. Founded in 1975 in the Amadeo Tortajada school in Mislata, the team was better known for its sponsorship names: Constructora Estellés, Valencia Urbana, Ferrobús Mislata ...

(dissolved in 2009),

CBF Elda Club Balonmano Femenino Elda, also known as Elda Prestigio for sponsorship reasons, is a Spanish women's handball team from Elda, Valencian Community founded in 1985. Elda was promoted in 1992 to the División de Honor, where it played for the n ...

, CB Mar Alicante and

CB Elche Club Balonmano Elche, also known as Elche Mustang for sponsorship reasons, is a women's handball club from Elche in Spain. CB Elche competes in the División de Honor, the top tier in the Spanish league system. CB Elche was 2nd in the 2012–1 ...

. In female basketball,

Ros Casares Valencia Ros Casares Godella was a professional women's basketball team based in Godella, Spain. It played in the Liga Femenina de Baloncesto between 1996 and 2012, when it resigned to play in EuroLeague and Spanish League. It continued playing in Primer ...

has been 8 times champion of the Spanish Women's League and 3 times winner of the EuroLeague Women.

Motorcycle races The motorcycle sport of racing (also called moto racing and motorbike racing) includes motorcycle road racing and off-road racing, both either on circuits or open courses, and track racing. Other categories include hill climbs, drag racing and ...

are very popular, as the Circuit of Valencia race track and its hosted Valencian Community Grand Prix prove. Many Valencian

MotoGP Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the highest class of motorcycle road racing events held on Road racing, road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held sin ...

pilots such as

Héctor Barberá Héctor Barberá Vall (born 2 November 1986) is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He competes in MotoAmerica aboard a BMW S1000RR. Career Born in Dos Aguas, Valencia Province, Barberá began his World Championship career at the ag ...

Héctor Faubel Héctor Faubel Rojí (born 10 August 1983, in Llíria, Valencia, Spain) is a former professional motorcycle road racer. Faubel has been racing full-time since 2002, always on Aprilia bikes. After finishing 2006 strongly he was considered a ...

Nicolás Terol Nicolás "Nico" Terol Peidro (born 27 September 1988) is a Spanish professional motorcycle road racing, road racer, winner of the List of 125cc/Moto3 World Riders' Champions, 125cc World Championship in . He has previously competed in the Superb ...

have been competing in different MotoGP classes. In early February, the annual cycling stage race

Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana The Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana (; or Tour of Valencia) is a road cycling stage race held in the Valencian Community (''Comunitat Valenciana''), Spain. Its position in the cycling calendar means it is often used as preparation for the sprin ...

, which dates back to 1929, is held as the first stage race of the European season.https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/vuelta-a-la-comunidad-valenciana Another relevant game is the

pigeon sport There are at least four main types of competitive pigeon sport: * Pigeon racing * Tumbling * Highflying * Tippler (Endurance) Though not quite a sport, fancy breeds of pigeons are also bred to standards Standard may refer to: Symbols * Col ...

, with an autochthonous

dove Columbidae is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with small heads, relatively short necks and slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. ...

race being trained, the '' gavatxut valencià''. Petanca and its variant '' Calitx'' are traditional sports as well, especially in towns or among elders.

Image gallery

File:Castillo de Denia.jpg,

File:Alcoi vista aèria.jpg,

File:Vista de Alicante, España, 2014-07-04, DD 49.JPG,

File:Altea3.jpg,

Altea Altea (, ) is a city and municipality located in the Valencian Community, Spain, on the section of Mediterranean coast called the Costa Blanca. At present, the economy of Altea is based on tourism, which started to grow in the 1950s because of ...

File:Alzira.jpg,

File:Ares, amb la mola del Castell (II).jpg,

Ares del Maestrat Ares del Maestrat, also known as ''Ares del Maestre'' in Spanish or simply Ares, is a municipality in the province of Castelló in the Valencian Country. It is situated near the top of the Mola d'Ares mountain, at an elevation of 1,148 m. As a r ...

File:Cala de Finestrat 2006.JPG,

Finestrat Finestrat (; ) is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Marina Baixa, Alicante in the Valencian Community, Spain. Geography Finestrat is situated from Benidorm and from Alicante International Airport. Accessed by road via the motorway AP-7 and ...

File:Calp Beach - panoramio (1).jpg, Rock of Ifac in

Calp Calpe (; ) is a coastal municipality located in the ''comarca'' of Marina Alta, in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, Spain, by the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of and a population density of . The city lies at the foot of the ...

File:Altamira Elche 01.JPG, Altamira Palace,

File:Palmeral de Elche 07.JPG, Elche palm grove File:CastilloElda restauracion.jpg,

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 Onda or Ondas may refer to: Places * Onda, Arkansas, an unincorporated community in Washington County * Onda, Castellón, a municipality of province of Castellón, Valencian Community, Spain * Onda, Bankura, a village in Bankura district, West Ben ...

File:La Vila d'Ontinyent.jpg,

File:Paterna. Ajuntament.JPG,

File:Vista diurna del casco histórico de Peñíscola.jpg,

File:Plaça Major de Sant Mateu.jpg,

Sant Mateu Sant Mateu is a town and municipality in eastern Spain, in the province of Castellón, part of the autonomous community of Valencia. Spanish/Mexican cartoonist and writer Sergio Aragonés Sergio Aragonés Domenech ( , ; born 6 September 19 ...

File:Sagunt i Vall de Segó.JPG,

File:PlazaAytoSueca.jpg, 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 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)
{{Navboxes , title = Articles related to the Valencian Community , list = {{Culture of Valencian Community {{Administrative divisions of Spain {{Authority control NUTS 2 statistical regions of the European Union States and territories established in 1977 Regions of Europe with multiple official languages Autonomous communities of Spain Catalan Countries