Land of Valencia
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Capital | Valencia | ||
Official languages | Valencian (Catalan) and Castillian (Spanish) | ||
Area – total – % of Spain |
Ranked 8th 23 255 km² 4,6% |
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Population – Total (2003) – % of Spain – Density |
Ranked 4th 4 326 708 10,3% 186,05/km² |
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Demonym – English – Valencian – Spanish |
Valencian valencià/valenciana valenciano/valenciana |
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Statute of Autonomy | July 10, 1982 | ||
ISO 3166-2 | VC | ||
Parliamentary representation Congress seats Senate seats |
32 5 |
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President | Francisco Enrique Camps Ortiz (PP) | ||
Generalitat Valenciana |
The Land of Valencia is the historical territory of the former Kingdom of Valencia which was created in the 13th century, as a result of Christian colonization by Catalans and Aragonese of the Islamic taifas Valencia and Dénia, commanded by James I "the Conqueror". It is situated in the East of the Iberian Peninsula, between the Sènia and Segura rivers, and it has 840 km of land border and 518 km of coast along the Mediterranean Sea, where are situated the island of Nova Tabarca and the Columbretes islands, which are under Valencian administration.
Today it is an autonomous community of Spain, and Comunitat Valenciana (Comunidad Valenciana in Spanish) has been its official name since 1982, when its Statute of Autonomy was approved. It is also known as País Valencià (Sp. País Valenciano), and this name is also included in the same Statute. It borders Castile-La Mancha and Aragon to the West, the Region of Murcia to the South, and Catalonia to the North. The official languages are Castillian (Spanish) and Valencian (Catalan), although the last one is considered legally the proper language, according the "Law of Use and Education of Valencian" approved in 1983.
Traditionally the territory is divided into comarques, and in 1883 it was, along with the rest of Spain, divided into provinces. There are 32 comarques, and three provinces: Castelló/Castellón, València/Valencia, and Alacant/Alicante.
Major Valencian cities and important towns include:
- València (Sp. Valencia) 780.653, capital of the province of the same name, in the river Turia. Famous festival of the Fallas on March 19.
- Alacant (Sp. Alicante) 316.178, capital of the province of the same name, in the Mediterranean coast. Famous for its hard nougat or turrón duro (Valencian torró dur) and Postiguet, Albufereta and San Juan Beaches. The famous festival of the Bonfires of Saint John is in June. The city hall and the Santa Barbara Castle are historical monuments.
- Castelló de la Plana (Sp. Castellón de la Plana) 160.714, capital of the province of the same name.
- Elx (Sp. Elche) 207.163, famous for the wood of palm trees called Palmeral, and for the Mystery Play, which has been declared part of World Heritage by UNESCO.
- Torrevieja (Vl. Torrevella) 77.943, in the south, very important tourist centre with a lot of hotels, apartments and tourist accommodation. With La Mata Beach.
- Orihuela (Vl. Oriola) 67.731, on the Segura river, historical city with palaces, churches and the Cathedral, in the "Vega Baja" (Valencian Vega Baixa), a very rich kitchen garden with oranges, lemon and other products.
- Benidorm 64.267, a major holiday resort, dubbed Beniyork because of its many skyscrapers — including Spain's tallest, the 52-storey Gran Hotel Bali.
- Elda,54.086 important producer of shoes and wine in the Vinalopo land.
- Xixona (Sp. Jijona), near Alicante, famous for its soft nougat or torró de Xixona (Sp. turrón de Jijona).
- Vila-real (Sp. Villarreal), important producer of ceramics and brick.
- Buñol (Vl. Bunyol) famous for the tomatina, on the last Wednesday of August.
Major rivers:
- River Turia (Valencian: Túria)
- River Júcar (Valencian: Xúquer)
- River Segura
Autonomous Communities of Spain | ![]() |
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Andalusia | Aragon | Asturias | Balearic Islands | Basque Country | Canary Islands | Cantabria | Castile–La Mancha | Castile–Leon | Catalonia | Extremadura | Galicia | Madrid | Murcia | Navarre | La Rioja | Valencia | Ceuta | Melilla | Plazas de soberanía |