Oliva (, ; ) is a

municipality 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' ...

in the ''comarca'' of

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 ...

in the

Valencian Community The Valencian Community is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wit ...

, Spain. To its east lie of coastline and beaches fronting the

Mediterranean Sea 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 Eur ...

, and eight kilometres to the north is

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 ...

Description

The ''Passeig'' (promenade) runs through the centre of the town, and features a market each Friday. On the left side of the Marina beach is Kiko beach. The blue flagged beaches of Oliva stretch for ; many contain sand dunes. Oliva has two big and colourful

Moors and Christians ''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 ...

festivals (''festes de Moros i Cristians'', in

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 ...

language) in the area; the

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,

"Fiesta" in March, the Moors and Christians in July and Setmana Santa (

Holy Week Holy Week () commemorates the seven days leading up to Easter. It begins with the commemoration of Triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, marks the betrayal of Jesus on Spy Wednesday (Holy Wednes ...

). In the old town there are two churches, Sant Roc and Santa Maria la Major. Sant Roc dates from the 18th–19th centuries, and Santa Maria from the 17th–18th centuries. At the top of the hill in the old town is Santa Anna Castle, built in the 16th century. In the centre of the town is a Roman

kiln A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or Chemical Changes, chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects m ...

situated below one of the blocks of apartments on Santíssim street.

Economy

About 80% of the economy of Oliva is based on the tertiary sector, particularly in commerce, banking, specialty stores, and tourism; currently, there are more than 30 banks in Oliva. The secondary sector makes up about 15% of the economy, with an extended industrial area, located outside of the city, in the south-east of Oliva. The primary sector makes up less than 5% of the local economy, with extended plantations of

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 ...

s and

tangerines The tangerine is a type of citrus fruit that is orange in colour, that is considered either a variety of the mandarin orange (''Citrus reticulata''), or a closely related species, under the name ''Citrus tangerina'', or yet as a hybrid (''Citr ...

, and minor plantations of

avocado The avocado, alligator pear or avocado pear (''Persea americana'') is an evergreen tree in the laurel family (Lauraceae). It is native to Americas, the Americas and was first domesticated in Mesoamerica more than 5,000 years ago. It was priz ...

loquat The loquat (''Eriobotrya japonica'', Chinese: 枇杷; Pinyin: pípá) is a large evergreen shrub or tree grown commercially for its orange fruit. It is also cultivated as an ornamental plant. The loquat is in the family Rosaceae, subfamily Spi ...

fig The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of tree or shrub in the flowering plant family Moraceae, native to the Mediterranean region, together with western and southern Asia. It has been cultivated since ancient times and i ...

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large treelike herbaceous flowering plants in the genus '' Musa''. In some countries, cooking bananas are called plantains, distinguishing the ...

, prickly pear, etc.

Demography

In 2011, Oliva had a population of 28,400 inhabitants, of which 7,466 (26.29%) of the population were immigrants, with the majority coming from

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. In Oliva there are citizens of more than 50 countries, especially from

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

, Europe,

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

and

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

. In 2011 the unemployment rate in the city was 9.7%. The median income of a person in Oliva in 2011 was €22,400 ($27,637).

Climate

Oliva has a Mediterranean-Subtropical climate (

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 ...

: Csa), with more than 230 days above . The winters are mild and temperate whilst summers are hot and dry. The average annual temperature is about . In winter, during the

cold waves A cold wave (known in some regions as a cold snap, cold spell or Arctic Snap) is a weather phenomenon that is distinguished by a cooling of the air. Specifically, as used by the U.S. National Weather Service, a cold wave is a rapid fall in temp ...

, the minimum temperature can fall slightly under . Temperatures below the freezing mark and snow are almost unknown in Oliva. Whilst in summer the average day-time temperature ranges from . Temperatures may vary, however during heat waves which occur every year, the temperatures always exceed and also can exceed . The wettest season is the autumn, while the driest season is the summer. Typically the city has more than 300 days in a year with clear skies. As of 2021, Oliva has experienced 20 intense floods since 1972.

Notable people

Francisco Brines Francisco Brines Bañó (22 January 1932 – 20 May 2021) was a Spanish poet. Biography Brines was born in Oliva (Valencia). He is regarded as one of the Generation of '50 of Spanish poets, along with Claudio Rodríguez, Jaime Gil de Biedma a ...

, poet *

David Fuster David Fuster Torrijos (born 3 February 1982) is a Spanish retired professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. After starting out at Villarreal B – he also represented the first team in the 2009–10 season – he went on ...

, footballer * Enric Morera (1964), a Spanish nationalist politician

References

External links

*
Oliva Tourist Guide website
{{Authority control Municipalities in the Province of Valencia Safor