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

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

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

. It is the fourth most populous Spanish

after

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

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

and the

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

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

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

ous capital

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

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

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

coast on the east side of the

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

. It borders with

to the north,

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

and

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

to the west, and

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

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

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

which are Castellón,

and

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

. According to Valencia's

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

, the Valencian people are a ''

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

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

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

. The newly-founded

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

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

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

, under the purview of the

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

. Official languages are Spanish and

Valencian Valencian () or Valencian language () is the official, historical and traditional name used in the Valencian Community (Spain), and unofficially in the El Carche comarca in Murcia (Spain), to refer to the Romance language also known as Catal ...

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

Etymology

Valencia was founded by the

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

''). With the establishment of the

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

, during the

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

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

Naming controversy

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

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

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

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

and later on with the works of

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

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

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

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

History

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

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

, who were divided in several groups (the ''

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

'', the ''

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

'' and the ''

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

''). The Greeks established

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

in the coastal towns of ''

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

'' and ''

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

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

between

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

and

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

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

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

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

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

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

in 219 BC, ignited the

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

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

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

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

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

and finally ruled by the

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

(see

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

), until the arrival of the

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

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

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

were established at the region,

and

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

, along with the small and short living taifas of

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

, Alpuente, Jérica and

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

and the short Christian conquest of Valencia by

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

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

, which came into existence in the 13th century.

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

led the Christian conquest and colonization of the existing

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In 1707, in the context of the

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

. The first attempt to gain

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

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

, in 1936, but the

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

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

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

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

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

. The first democratically elected

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

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

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

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

, in accordance with the modern conception.

Geography

Relief

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

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

, in the

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

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

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

, a Valencian

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

between

and

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

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

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

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

plain mainly free of remarkable mountains except those around the

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

area in northern Alicante province and the

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

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

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

, ''La Marjal'' near Pego,

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

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

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

s in the

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

and

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

area. All of them are key

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

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

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

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

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

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

and the coastal inhabited islet of

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

Climate

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

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

(

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

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

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

(''Castelló de la Plana''),

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

and

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

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

in the

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

and the

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

''comarques'' just north of

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

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

phenomenon. *

with continental influences (

''Csa'') and Mediterranean

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

(

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

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

, Morella, Requena and

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

). Here winters are cool to cold, especially at night (a few days of snow are not unusual), summers mild to hot and rainfall more evenly distributed through the year. The lower registered temperatures in the Valencian Community were in these inland areas during the cold wave of 1956. Temperatures plunged to nearly −20 °C; as in Vistabella del Maestrat (−19 °C) and Castellfort (–17 °C). *

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

(

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

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

. It roughly goes along the coastal plain from

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

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

, Benidorm,

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

and

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

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

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

). The

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

(

''Csb''),

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

(

''Cfa''),

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

(

''Cfb'') and the desertic climate (

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

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

comarcas in the province of

. In the province of

this climate is only found in the highest altitudes of

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

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

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

in the Province of Alicante, whose source is in

, and the

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

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

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

. Most

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

in the area, such as the

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

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

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

and Sénia.

Demographics

Urbanization

The estimate population according to the

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

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

cultivation and growing lowlands by the most important rivers (

, Turia,

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

Densitat de població del País Valencia (2004)

Important historical cities include

and

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

times;

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

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

, and

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

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

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

and

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

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

in the 20th century, including

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

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

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

, and

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

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

Metropolitan areas

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

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

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

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

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

, San Vicente del Raspeig/Sant Vicent del Raspeig, San Vicente del Raspeig, etc.). Besides Valencia, Alicante-Elche is the eighth most populous urban agglomeration in Spain. According to the INE, the largest metropolitan areas are:

Government

Institutions of government: ''La Generalitat''

In the process whereby democracy was restored in Spain between 1975 and 1978, the nationalism, nationalist and regionalism (politics), regionalist parties pressed to grant home rule 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 which grants autonomy to the "Nationalities and regions of Spain, ''nationalities'' and regions" that compose the Spanish nation, Valencia was granted self-government and constituted itself as an autonomous community in 1982, with the promulgation of its first

, the basic organic law, later approved by the General Courts of Spain. All autonomous communities were organized politically within a parliamentary system; that is, the executive branch of government. The "President" is dependent on the direct support of the legislative power, whose members elect him by majority. 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 (Valencian parliament), the legislature, which is to be integrated by a minimum of ninety-two representatives (''diputats'') elected through universal suffrage by proportional representation for a four-year period; * the

must obtain the vote of confidence from the Courts; the current President is Ximo Puig (from the Socialist Party of the Valencian Country). The Vice President is Mónica Oltra (from Coalició Compromís, Compromís, a Valencianism, Valencianist party). * the Council of the Generalitat Valenciana (Valencian government), a collegiate institution with executive powers, integrated by the President him/herself and the cabinet members appointed by him/her. The Generalitat can also be integrated by the institutions that the Valencian Courts create. The Courts have approved the creation of the ''Síndic de Greuges of the Valencian Community, Síndic de Greuges'' (Ombudsman), the ''Sindicatura de Comptes of the Valencian Community, Sindicatura de Comptes'' (Public Audit Office), the ''Valencian Council of Culture, Consell Valencià de Cultura'' (Valencian Council of Culture), the ''Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua'' (Valencian Academy of the Language), the ''Consell Jurídic Consultiu'' (Juridic and Consultative Council) and the ''Comité Econòmic i Social'' (Social and Economic Committee). The current government is formed by a left coalition between the Socialist Party of the Valencian Country and Coalició Compromís, Compromís, with also the support of Podemos (Spanish political party), Podemos.

Administrative divisions

Prior to the 1833 territorial division of Spain Valencia was divided into four administrative 1822 territorial division of Spain, provinces of Spain: Province of Alicante, Alicante, Province of Castellón, Castellón, Province of Valencia, Valencia and Province of Játiva, Xàtiva. From 1833, the current three-province system was consolidated: *Province of Alicante, Alicante, capital:

*Province of Castellón, Castellón, capital:

*Province of Valencia, Valencia, capital:

The Valencian Community is further divided into 34 ''comarcas of Spain, comarques'' (including the city of Valencia) and 542 municipalities of the Valencian Community, municipalities (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 quarried in Alicante province. Hydrological resources (see #Geography, Geography above) are also lacking: the demand for water exceeds the supply, with this imbalance especially serious in Alicante province. In particularly severe drought years, the problem is managed through occasional nocturnal restrictions during summer and exploitation of aquifers. Valencia's water needs result in harsh contention with neighbouring regions such as

and Catalonia. Agriculture—more specifically, citrus 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 sector, secondary and tertiary sectors during the Spanish miracle of the 1960s, has meant that its relative importance has decreased over time. The provinces of Province of Castellón, 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 also grows citrus, but its agriculture is more diversified with a higher presence of vegetables, especially in the Vega Baja del Segura area. Though the low insulation rate and overall stable weather during the summer may pose a threat to water supplies for agriculture and human consumption, conversely this climate allows tourism to be the province's main industry. Very dense residential housing along the coast, occupied by locals, people from inland Spain and from other EU countries (mostly from the British Isles, Benelux, Germany and Scandinavia), boosts the summertime population (and hydrological demands). In 2004, Valencia's GDP was 93.9% of the European Union average, although this figure may be too low because of the important presence of foreign residents either from other regions of Europe or as economic immigrants, who are not properly represented in the official statistics. As in all of Spain, there was significant growth in the years immediately following 2004, at least until the 2008–13 Spanish financial crisis. In 2008, the Valencia Country generated 9.7% of the Spanish GDP. In L of human resources, the unemployment rate was over 21% in 2009, and even greater among women, and the rate of activity reached 56.8% in 2002. The typical Valencian business is a small-to-medium-sized company, mainly family-owned and operated, although there are some multinationals. In addition to tourism, the Valencian Community has significant exports, and it ranks second in this respect among the Spanish autonomous communities, constituting 12% of the national total. Major exports include agricultural products, ceramic tiles, marble products and cars (Ford Motor Company, Ford has an assembly line in Almussafes), which make the port of Valencia one of the busiest in Europe.

Unemployment

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

Language

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

recognizes

(''valencià'') as the language native (''llengua pròpia'') to the Valencian people, and commends its protection and regulation to the Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua (AVL) under the

. ''Valencian'' is the name Valencians use to refer to the Catalan language. In the Late Middle Ages, due to Valencia becoming its own Kingdom of Valencia, kingdom, Valencians popularized the term ''Valencian'' over the term ''Catalan''. Valencian was repressed and persecuted during Franco's dictatorship (1939–1975) in favor of Spanish language, Spanish. Since it regained official status in 1982 in the Valencian

, Valencian has been implemented in public administration and the education system, leading to a dramatic increase in knowledge of its formal standard. According to the general survey from 2015, Valencian is understood by almost the entire population living within the Valencian Community and is spoken by a wide majority, but almost half of the population cannot write it. Modern Valencian shares similar phonetics, phonetic and lexicon, lexical features than other Western Catalan dialects, which includes seven stressed vowels (being especially remarkable the distinction of vs and vs ), unstressed vowel reduction (normally five); the preservation of voiced palatal approximant, yod () before in the digraph ''ix (digraph), ix''; the addition of ''n'' in the plural of certain terms with etymological ''n''; and a tendency to affrication of ''soft g, g'' (before ''e'' and ''i'') and ''j'' , and ''x'' , especially in initial position. Common specific lexicon includes: ''wikt:granera, granera'' (broom), ''wikt:xiquet, xiquet'' (boy), ''wikt:espill, espill'' (mirror), ''wikt:corder, corder'' (lamb), etc. Valencian Sign Language is widely used by Valencian deaf persons and is also granted protection under the Statute. The Spanish language, Spanish spoken in the cities is slighthly affected by Valencian and features phonological history of Spanish coronal fricatives, ''distinción'', i.e. the differentiation of (''s'') and (''c'' before ''e'' and ''i'', and z), and ''yeísmo'' (the merger of –''ll'' in Spanish orthography–into , represented as ''y''). In the south of the Valencian Community the same continuum dialect than Murcian Spanish, Murcian is spoken featuring both ''distinción'' and ''seseo'' (the merger of into ), depending on the speaker and area. In the east, Aragonese language, Aragonese and Manchego influences (mainly lexical) are found in the local Spanish.

Areas of linguistic predominance

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

, as well as several Castilian people, 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. These areas are delimited for administrative purposes by the Generalitat, that established different areas of linguistic predominance (''predomini lingüístic''). The Valencian area of linguistic predominance suffers in many cases a process of Language shift, linguistic substitution, especially in the cities of Valencia, Spain, Valencia and

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

Knowledge

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

Social use

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

–

and

– Turia, approximately 40% in Province of Castellón, Castellón and about 15% in Province of Alicante, Alicante and the

metropolitan area.

Valencian language controversy

Despite differences in dialect and denomination, linguists consider Catalan language, Catalan and Valencian language, Valencian 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 (High German). Furthermore, there is a dialect continuum where speakers at the Catalan–Valencian border share the same dialect. In practice, Catalan and Valencian share the same written standard, as established by the Institut d'Estudis Catalans (IEC) and the Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua (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 University of Valencia, Universities of Valencia and University of Alicante, Alicante refer to Valencian studies of language and literature as Catalan Philology. In spite of these arguments, a significant proportion of Valencian population refuse to identify Valencian with Catalan.

Transports

Air

The Valencian Community is served by three international airports: Alicante Airport, Valencia Airport and Castellón–Costa Azahar Airport. Alicante Airport, located in the south, is mainly tourist-oriented and is currently the busiest airport in the Valencian Community. Valencia Airport is located in the capital and carries more business traffic. The third airport, Castellón–Costa Azahar 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 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 (train), Euromed towards

and AVE towards Madrid, or northern and southern Spain, both run by the Spanish national rail company RENFE. In December 2010 the high-speed rail (AVE) Madrid–Valencia opened as part of the Madrid–Levante high-speed rail line. High-speed lines arrive to Valencia-Joaquín Sorolla railway station, 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 Estació del Nord (Valencia), Valencia-Estació del Nord through a tunnel under the new :es:Valencia Parque Central, 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 or the :es:Corredor Mediterráneo, 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 (''Rodalia'' in Valencian) is the commuter rail service that serves all three provincial capitals of Valencia and their metropolitan areas. It is operated by Cercanías Renfe, the commuter rail division of RENFE. While the Valencian-owned company, Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Valenciana (FGV) operates a tram-train line between

, Benidorm and

. It also operates the city tram and rapid transit, metro system of

(Valencia Metro (Spain), Valencia Metro) and

(Alicante Tram). There is as well a third new tram and trolleybus system being built in

and its metropolitan area. Additionally both, Valencia metro and Alicante tram are being extended to serve uncovered areas, like the new tram line planned to open in the coming months towards the University of Alicante and San Vicente del Raspeig/Sant Vicent del Raspeig, Sant Vicent del Raspeig.

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 Spanish Constitution of 1978, Spanish Constitution, referring to the exclusive powers of the State, direct reference is made to the ownership of the ports of Public interest, general interest, which in the Valencian case are those of Port of Alicante, Alicante, Port of Castellón, Castellón, Port of Valencia, Valencia, Port of Sagunto, Sagunt and Port of Gandía, Gandia. 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 of Spain, government and of coordinating and controlling the efficiency of the port system, made up of 28 Port Authorities that they administer the 46 ports 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 of Valencia, Port Authority of Valencia is in charge of managing the ports of Valencia, Port of Sagunto, Sagunt and Port of Gandia, Gandia, while those of Port of Alicante, Alicante and Port of Castellón, 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 preschool, pre-school 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 school, primary and secondary school 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, founded in 1499. At the request of

, Pope Innocent IV in 1246, authorized by a papal bull the establishment of ''estudis generals'' in Valencia. The University Statutes were passed by the municipal magistrates of Valencia on 30 April 1499; this is considered to be the 'founding' of the university. In 1501, Pope Alexander VI signed the bill of approval and one year later Ferdinand II of Aragon 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, Greek language, Greek, Hebrew language, Hebrew, Arabic language, Arabic, philosophy, mathematics, physics, theology, Canon law (Catholic Church), Canon law, and medicine. Nowadays the Polytechnic University of Valencia 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 University of Alicante, Miguel Hernández University of Elche, Miguel Hernández University in Elche, Jaume I University and Valencian International University in Castellón de la Plana, Valencia Catholic University Saint Vincent Martyr, Catholic University of Valencia, and Universidad CEU Cardenal Herrera, CEU Cardenal Herrera University in Valencia.

Media

Until its dissolution in November 2013, the public-service Ràdio Televisió Valenciana (RTVV) was the main broadcaster of radio and television in the Valencian Community. The Generalitat Valenciana constituted it in 1984 in order to guarantee the freedom of information of the Valencian people in Valencian, their own language. Prior to its dissolution, the administration of RTVV under the People's Party (Spain), 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 in 2006 and the indictment of President de la Generalitat Francisco Camps in the Gürtel case, Gürtel scandal in 2009. Supervisors appointed by the PP were accused of sexual harassment. 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 of Spain, National Court after trade unions appealed against it. On that same day, the President de la Generalitat Alberto Fabra 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 of Spain, autonomous communities in Spain, 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 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 al forn'', ''arròs amb costra'', ''arròs caldós'', ''arròs del senyoret'', ''arròs negre'', among many. Pasta dishes include the ''fideuà''. Its main ingredients are pasta noodles, fish and shellfish. The Valencian Mediterranean climate favors the cultivation of vegetables and citrus fruits, with the cultivation of the orange (fruit), orange ( ca-valencia, taronja, link=no) being perhaps of highest importance as one of the typical fruits of Valencian agriculture. ( in Valencian), production of which has traditionally been centred around Alboraya (''Alboraia''), is a typical drink, accompanied with . Also traditional are the production of coffee liqueur (typical of

), and (in Marina Baixa and Hoya de Buñol (''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 Valencia, Spain, Valencia. The great majority of desserts typical of Valencia have their origin in Arabic times and play an important part in the local festive activities. Some are internationally famous. 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, Valencia, Casinos the is typical too but the most important manufacture of the village is or (dragées and sugared almonds). In

and the Central comarques of the Valencian Community, Central comarques, the , a dessert elaborated with pumpkin is made.

and its region have the .

Valencian symbols

Escut- del País Valencià als Torres dels Serrans

The official Valencian anthem is the Hymn of the Regional Exhibition of 1909 (''Himne de l'Exposició, 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 Coat of arms of the Valencian Community, emblem of the Valencian Generalitat (coat of arms) includes the heraldry of King Peter IV of Aragon, representative of the historical

, whose shield is inclined towards the right, or, four bars Gules. The official flag, the Flag of Valencia, 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 heraldic symbol of the

, also used today with few variations in all the former Kingdoms and Counties which were a part of this crown. There are also a number of Valencian private and civil entities such as trade unions, cultural associations, or political partiesSee usage
of ''Senyera'' by political parties United Left (Spain), EUPV, Bloc Nacionalista Valencià, Green Parties, amongst others, whose combined participation in the Autonomous Elections of 2007 achieved 9% of the total votes. which simply use the ''Senyera'' as Valencian flag. Other symbols are used at different levels by the Valencian society, like the heraldic animals of ''rat-penat'' (a bat) and ''drac alat'' (a winged dragon which was the emblem of James I of Aragon, James I). One of the most recognized and representative Valencian symbols are the music and dance of the ''Muixeranga'', ancient tradition of human towers preserved for the last 4 centuries, during the Festivity of ''La Mare de Déu de la Salut Festival'' of Algemesí, recognized-UNESCO "intangible heritage of humanity". Typical folk music in celebrations is played with the ''tabor (instrument), tabalet'' (a drum) and the ''dolçaina'' (a flute). Valencian traditional costumes and dresses include ''espadrille, espardenyes'' (shoes) and traditional ''falles, fallera'' dresses (the Falles dresses).

Celebrations

* ''Falles'' of

– from the 15th to the 19th of March * ''Bonfires of Saint John, Fogueres de Sant Joan'' of

– from the 19th to the 24th of June * ''Mystery Play of Elche, Misteri'' of

Elche Elche ( ca-valencia, Elx) is a city and municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2014 data, Elche has a population of 228,647 inhabitants, The wiktionary:autochthonous, autochthonous Valencian sport is the Valencian pilota, which features a professional Valencian Pilota Squad for international matches with related ball games all around the world. This sport has many variants, that may be played at the streets or at special courtfields like the Valencian trinquet, trinquet. It may also be played by teams or on individual challenges. An amazing trait of this sport is that spectators may sit very close or even in the middle of the court. Even while the match is ongoing bookmakers take bets for ''reds'' or ''blues'', since these are the colours players must wear, red being the colour of the strongest team or player. The ''Valencian pilota'' can be traced to the 15th century, but it was abandoned during modern times, this decadence is being fought back with TV broadcasts, new built colleges have courtfields and a new professional players firm, ValNet Association football is the most widely known and played sport. There are teams in every town or village, four of which are currently playing in La Liga, Spanish top professional division: Valencia CF (widely considered one of the most successful clubs in Spanish football history, having won six La Liga titles and 8 Copa del Rey), Villarreal CF, Levante UD and Elche CF. Other historical teams that have been in La Liga in the past are CD Alcoyano, Hércules CF and CD Castellón. Professional basketball is represented currently in Liga ACB, the top professional division, by Valencia Basket, who won its first league title in 2017. Two more teams, CB Lucentum Alicante and AB Castellón are present in the second division. Regarding female professional sports, the historical BM Sagunto, now disbanded, dominated the women's professional handball scene in Spain through the 1980s and 1990s, with a total of 27 División de Honor Femenina de Balonmano, Spanish Division of Honour - Women's handball wins, 20 Cup titles and 1 Women's EHF Champions League. Other important women's handball teams are CB Amadeo Tortajada (dissolved in 2009), CBF Elda, CB Mar Alicante and CB Elche. In female basketball, Ros Casares Valencia has been 8 times champion of the Liga Femenina de Baloncesto, Spanish Women's League and 3 times winner of the EuroLeague Women. Motorcycle sport, Motorcycle races are very popular, as the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, Circuit of Valencia race track and its hosted Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix, Valencian Community Grand Prix prove. Many Valencian MotoGP pilots such as Héctor Barberá, Héctor Faubel or Nicolás Terol have been competing in different MotoGP classes. Another relevant game is the pigeon sport, with an autochthonous dove race being trained, the ''gavatxut valencià''. Pétanque, Petanca and its variant ''Calitx'' are traditional sports as well, especially in towns or among elders.

Image gallery

File:Alcoi vista aèria.jpg,

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

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

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

File:Estança del Duc 1.jpg,

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

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

File:Paterna. Ajuntament.JPG,

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

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

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

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

Notes

References

Bibliography

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

External links

Official tourism webpage

Valencian Government (Generalitat Valenciana)

Valencian Parliament (Corts Valencianes)
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