The Valencian Community is an

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

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

. It is the fourth most populous Spanish

after

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

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

and the

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

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

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

ous capital

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

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

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

coast on the east side of the

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

. It borders

to the north,

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

and

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

to the west, and

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

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

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

: Castellón,

and

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

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

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

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

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

, under the purview of the Furs of Valencia. 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. 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'' self-government institution was established in 1982 after the Spanish Transition. Official languages are Spanish and

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

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

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

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

Etymology

The city of Valencia (capital of the Valencian Community) was founded by the Romans under the name of , or simply , which translates to "strength" or "valour", in full "strength of the Edetani" (the centre of Edetania was Edeta, an important old Iberian settlement 25 km north of Valencia, in what is now modern day Llíria, other important nearby settlements included Arse–Saguntum, Saetabis and Dianium). With the establishment of the Muslim Taifa of Valencia, during the

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

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

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

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

Naming controversy

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

,
in Spanish), is a

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

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

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

and later on with the works of Joan Fuster in the 1960s, implying the existence of the "Catalan Countries" (). This nationalist subtext was opposed by anti-Catalan blaverists, who proposed "Former Kingdom of Valencia" or "Kingdom of Valéncia" (
) instead, in order to emphasize the difference of the Valencian culture from Catalonia. Currently, the vast majority of valencians have accepted the official denomination, as there is no actual major/relevant conflict, opposition or debate regarding the name of the Valencian Community. The autonomous community can be eponymously identified with its capital "Valencia". However, this could be disregarding of the provinces of Alicante and Castellón. Other more anecdotal translations have included "Land of Valencia", "Region of Valencia" and "Valencian Region". The term "Region", however, carries negative connotations among some Valencians because it could deny their nationality status. In popular culture, for Valencian-speaking people, the Valencian Community is commonly referred to as ''La Terreta'' (The Little Land).

History

The pre-Roman autochthonous people of the Valencian Community were the Iberians, who were divided in several groups (the '' Contestani'', the '' Edetani'', the '' Ilercavones'' and the '' Bastetani''). The Greeks established

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

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

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

between

Carthage Carthage was an ancient city in Northern Africa, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classic ...

and

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

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

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

occupied the whole region. The dispute over the hegemony of '' Saguntum'', a Hellenized Iberian coastal city with diplomatic contacts with Rome, destroyed by

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

in 219 BC, ignited the

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

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

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

, during the

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

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

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

and finally ruled by the

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

(see Valencian Gothic), until the arrival of the

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

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

and Dénia, along with the small and short living taifas of Orihuela, Alpuente, Jérica and Sagunt and the short Christian conquest of Valencia by

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

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

, which came into existence in the 13th century.

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

led the Christian conquest and colonization of the existing

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

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

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

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

chivalric romance As a literary genre, the chivalric romance is a type of prose and verse narrative that was popular in the noble courts of high medieval and early modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a chivalri ...

of Tirant lo Blanch. Valencia developed into an important kingdom in Europe economically through the silk trade. It also rose to power politically with the rise of the Crown of Aragon, (within which the Kingdom of Valencia had achieved the largest population and the greatest economic power at that time) and the ascension of the Valencian House of Borja in Rome (see Route of the Borjas, Route of the Monasteries and Route of the Classics). After a slow decline following the dynastic union of the Crown of Aragon with the Kingdom of Castile, Valencia's successful status came to a definite end with the Expulsion of the Moriscos in 1609 by the Hispanic Monarchy, which represented the loss of up to one third of the population of the Kingdom of Valencia and took the main agricultural labor force away. Torres quart

In 1707, in the context of the

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

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

Philip V of Spain Philip V (; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was List of Spanish monarchs, King of Spain from 1 November 1700 to 14 January 1724 and again from 6 September 1724 to his death in 1746. His total reign (45 years and 16 days) is the longest in the ...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

. The first attempt to gain

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

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

, in 1936, but the

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

broke out and the autonomist project was suspended. In 1977, after Franco's dictatorship Valencia started to be partially autonomous with the creation of the Council of the Valencian Country (''Consell del País Valencià''), and in 1982 the self-government was finally extended into a Statute of Autonomy (''Estatut d'Autonomia'') creating several self-government institutions under the Generalitat Valenciana. The first democratically elected President of the Generalitat Valenciana, Joan Lerma, took office in 1982 as part of the transition to autonomy. The Valencian Statute of Autonomy make clear that Valencia is intended to be the modern conception of self-government of the Valencian Community from the first autonomist movements during the

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

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

, in accordance with the modern conception. Valencia was affected by the 2024 Spanish floods.

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

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

between

and

. The most emblematic mountain in the southern part of the territory is the Aitana (1,558 m). The rather thin coastal strip is a very fertile plain without remarkable mountains except those around the Cap de la Nau area in northern Alicante province and the Peñíscola area in the Castellón province. Typical of this coastal area are wetlands and marshlands such as '' L'Albufera'' close to Valencia, '' El Fondo'' in

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

and Crevillent, ''La Marjal'' near Pego, Albufera of Gayanes in Gayanes or ''El Prat'' in Cabanes, also the former wetlands and

salt evaporation pond A salt evaporation pond is a shallow artificial salt pan designed to extract salts from sea water or other brines. The salt pans are shallow and expansive, allowing sunlight to penetrate and reach the seawater. Natural salt pans are formed thr ...

s in the

Santa Pola Santa Pola (; ) is a coastal town located in the comarca of Baix Vinalopó in the Valencian Community, Spain, by the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of and has a population of 36,174 inhabitants of whom 6,000 are residents of the nearby to ...

and Torrevieja area. All of them are key

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

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

in the ''Saler'' area near the Albufera and in the Guardamar area, both of them were planted with thousands of trees during the 19th century in order to fix the dunes, thus forming now protected areas of remarkable ecologic value. In addition to mainland Valencia, the Valencian territory administers the tiny Columbretes Islands and the coastal inhabited islet of Tabarca.

Climate

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

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

(

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

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

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

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

and

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

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

and the Safor ''comarques'' just north of Cap de la Nau cape, which accumulates an average of up to 1000 mm. due to an orographic lift phenomenon. *

with continental influences (

''Csa'') and Mediterranean highland climate (

''Csb''). These are the innermost lands and those at a higher elevation (cities included here are, amongst others, Alcoy, Morella, Requena and Villena). Here winters are cool to cold, especially at night (a few days of snow are not unusual), summers mild to hot and rainfall more evenly distributed through the year. The lower registered temperatures in the Valencian Community were in these inland areas during the cold wave of 1956. Temperatures plunged to nearly −20 °C; as in Vistabella del Maestrat (−19 °C) and Castellfort (–17 °C). *

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

(

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

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

. It roughly goes along the coastal plain from Villajoyosa through the southernmost border of the territory (cities included here are, amongst others,

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

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

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

effect caused by hills to the west of the Alicante province (and, to a lesser degree, those in the northern part of the province which, in turn, enhance the inverse orographic lift effect around Cap de la Nau). The

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

(

''Csb''),

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

(

''Cfa''),

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

(

''Cfb'') and the desertic climate (

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

. In the province of

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

Hydrography

There are only two major rivers: the Segura in the province of Alicante, whose source is in

, and the Júcar (or ''Xúquer'') in the province of Valencia, whose source is in

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

. Most

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

in the area, such as the

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

, are usually short, have little current (due to agricultural usage, climatic reasons or both) and are often completely dry during the summer. Other Valencian rivers are the Serpis and Sénia. File:Assut d'Antella.JPG, Xúquer river with irrigated orange orchards near Antella File:2. Assut de Cullera (entre Sueca i Fortaleny, País Valencià).jpg, Cullera

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

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

Demographics

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

Evolution

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

Urbanization

Valencian population traditionally concentrated in localities with fertile cultivation and growing lowlands by the most important rivers ( Júcar or ''Xúquer'', Turia or ''Túria'', Segura, and

), also in harbour cities important to the agricultural trade. In actuality, population is particularly dense along the coast as well as in central and southern regions of the territory, and more sparse around the inner and northern regions. Important historical cities include

Sagunto Sagunto () is a municipality of Spain, located in the province of Valencia, Valencian Community. It belongs to the modern fertile ''comarca'' of Camp de Morvedre. It is located approximately north of the city of Valencia, close to the Costa ...

and

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

in Roman times;

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

, Orihuela,

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

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

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

in the 20th century, including Alcoy or ''Alcoi'', Elda, Ontinyent, Petrer, Villena, and La Vall d'Uixó. In recent decades, the concentration of population around the large capitals has increased and large metropolitan areas have been formed, although the demographic concentration has also occurred in coastal towns and cities, so that traditionally small populations, such as

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

Metropolitan areas

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

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

. The most populous one is the metropolitan area of

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

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

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

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

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

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

, Paterna, Burjassot, or San Vicente del Raspeig. According to the INE, the largest metropolitan areas are:

Government

Institutions of government: ''La Generalitat''

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

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

and regionalist parties pressed to grant

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

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

'' of Spain, and in accordance to the second article of the Spanish Constitution which grants autonomy to the " ''nationalities'' and regions" that compose the Spanish nation, Valencia was granted self-government and constituted itself as an

in 1982, with the promulgation of its first Statute of Autonomy, the basic organic law, later approved by the General Courts of Spain. All autonomous communities were organized politically within a

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

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

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

, whose members elect him by

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

. A new Statute of Autonomy was promulgated in 2006. The government of Valencia is represented by the Generalitat Valenciana (statutorily referred to simply as ''La Generalitat'') constituted by three institutions: * the

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

(Valencian parliament), the

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

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

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

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

for a four-year period; * the President of the Generalitat Valenciana must obtain the vote of confidence from the Courts; the current President is

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

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

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

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

Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua The Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua ("Valencian Academy of the Language"), also known by the acronym An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of ...

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

Administrative divisions

Prior to the

1833 territorial division of Spain The 1833 territorial division of Spain divided the country into provinces, in turn classified into "historic regions" ().

Valencia was divided into four administrative

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

, Castellón,

and

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

, capital:

* Castellón, capital:

, capital:

The Valencian Community is further divided into 34 '' comarques'' (including the city of Valencia) and 542

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

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

Economy

La Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias de Valencia

Valencia is long and narrow, running mainly north–south; historically, its rather steep and irregular terrain has made communications and the exploitation of the soil difficult, although the soil of the coastal plain is particularly fertile. This coastal axis has facilitated connections with Europe, either by sea through the Mediterranean, or by land through

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

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

quarried in Alicante province. Hydrological resources (see

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

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

and Catalonia. Agriculture—more specifically,

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

cultivation for the export market—was responsible for Valencia's first economic boom in the late 19th century, after centuries of slow development and even decay. Although in absolute terms the agricultural sector has continued to grow, the boom in the secondary and tertiary sectors during the Spanish miracle of the 1960s, has meant that its relative importance has decreased over time. The provinces of Castellón and Valencia still have thousands of hectares of citrus-producing groves and citrus continues to be a major source of income on the countryside.

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

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

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

, especially in the

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

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

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

(AVL) under the Generalitat Valenciana. ''Valencian'' is the historical, traditional and official name of the native language of the Valencian Community. Valencians use ''Valencian'' to refer to the

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

also known as

. In the

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

, due to Valencia becoming its own kingdom, Valencians popularized the term ''Valencian'' over the term ''Catalan''. Valencian was marginalized during Franco's dictatorship (1939–1975) in favor of Spanish. Since it regained official status in 1982 in the Valencian Statute of Autonomy, Valencian has been implemented in public administration and the education system, leading to a dramatic increase in knowledge of its formal standard. According to the general survey from 2015, Valencian is understood by almost the entire population living within the Valencian Community and is spoken by a wide majority, but almost half of the population cannot write it. Modern Valencian shares similar

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

and lexical features with the Western Catalan dialects, which includes seven stressed vowels (being especially remarkable the distinction of vs and vs ), unstressed

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

(normally five) and

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

; the preservation of yod () before in the digraph '' ix''; the addition of '' n'' in the plural of certain terms with etymological ''n''; and a tendency to affrication of '' g'' (before ''e'' and ''i'') and '' j'' , and '' x'' , especially in initial position. Common specific lexicon includes: '' granera'' (broom), '' xiquet'' (boy), '' espill'' (mirror), '' corder'' (lamb), etc. Valencian Sign Language is widely used by Valencian deaf persons and is also granted protection under the Statute. The Spanish spoken in the cities is little affected by Valencian and features ''distinción'', i.e. the differentiation of ('' s'') and ('' c'' before ''e'' and ''i'', and z), and (the merger of –'' ll'' in Spanish orthography–into , represented as '' y''). In the south of the Valencian Community, dialects similar to neighbouring

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

are spoken, featuring both ''distinción'' and ''

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

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

Areas of linguistic predominance

Not all of the Valencian territory is historically Valencian-speaking; about 1 million people, or 20% of the population, live in inland or southern areas that are traditionally Spanish-speaking. This area comprises around 35–40% of the extension of the Valencian Community. These regions include the areas where Aragonese rather than Catalan settlers introduced the Castilian- Aragonese language in the historic

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

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

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

and

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

Knowledge

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

Social use

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

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

and the

metropolitan area.

Valencian language controversy

Despite differences in dialect and denomination, linguists consider Catalan and

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

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

(High German). Furthermore, there is a

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

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

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

(IEC) and the

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

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

Transports

Air

The Valencian Community is served by three international airports: Alicante Airport,

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

and Castellón–Costa Azahar Airport. Alicante Airport, located in the south, is mainly tourist-oriented and is currently the busiest airport in the Valencian Community.

is located in the capital and carries more business traffic. The third airport, 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 A white elephant is a possession that its owner cannot dispose of without extreme difficulty, and whose cost, particularly that of maintenance, is out of proportion to its usefulness. In modern usage, it is a metaphor used to describe an object, ...

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

Train

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

and

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

towards

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

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

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

(

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

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

or the Mediterranean high-speed rail corridor. In addition, the Generalitat Valenciana 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 Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...

service that serves all three provincial capitals of Valencia and their metropolitan areas. It is operated by Cercanías Renfe, the commuter rail division of RENFE. While the Valencian-owned company, Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Valenciana (FGV) operates a

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

line between

and

. It also operates the city

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

and metro system of

( Valencia Metro) and

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

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

system being built in

and its metropolitan area. Both the Valencia metro and Alicante tram are being extended to serve uncovered areas, like the new tram line planned to open in the coming months towards the University of Alicante and 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, referring to the exclusive powers of the State, direct reference is made to the ownership of the ports of general interest, which in the Valencian case are those of

, Castellón,

, Sagunt and

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

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

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

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

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

, while those of

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

Public services

Education

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

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

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

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

and

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

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

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

, founded in 1499. At the request of

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

in 1246, authorized by a

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

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

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

signed the bill of approval and one year later

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

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

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

, and

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

. Nowadays the Polytechnic University of Valencia 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 Alcoy. Other universities are University of Alicante, Miguel Hernández University in Elche, Jaume I University and Valencian International University in Castellón de la Plana, Catholic University of Valencia, and CEU Cardenal Herrera University in Valencia.

Media

Until its dissolution in November 2013, the public-service Ràdio Televisió Valenciana (RTVV) was the main broadcaster of radio and television in the Valencian Community. The Generalitat Valenciana constituted it in 1984 in order to guarantee the freedom of information of the Valencian people in their own language. Prior to its dissolution, the administration of RTVV under the People's Party (PP) had been controversial due to accusations of ideological manipulation and lack of plurality. The news broadcast was accused of giving marginal coverage of the Valencia Metro derailment in 2006 and the indictment of President de la Generalitat Francisco Camps in the Gürtel scandal in 2009. Supervisors appointed by the PP were accused of

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

. In face of an increasing debt and shrinking audiences that had fallen under 10 and even 5% of share in recent years, RTVV announced in 2012 a plan to shed 70% of its labour. The plan was nullified on 5 November 2013 by the National Court after trade unions appealed against it. On that same day, the President de la Generalitat Alberto Fabra announced RTVV would be closed, claiming that reinstating the employees was untenable. On 27 November, the legislative assembly passed the dissolution of RTVV and employees organized to take control of the broadcast, starting a campaign against the PP. Nou TV's last broadcast ended abruptly when Spanish police pulled the plug at 12:19 on 29 November 2013. Having lost all revenues from advertisements and facing high costs from the termination of hundreds of contracts, critics question whether the closure of RTVV has improved the financial situation of the Generalitat, and point out to plans to benefit private-owned media. Currently, the availability of media in the Valencian language is extremely limited. All the other

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

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

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

dishes include the '' fideuà''. 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 () being perhaps of highest importance as one of the typical fruits of Valencian

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

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

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

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

. The great majority of

dessert Dessert is a course (food), course that concludes a meal; the course consists of sweet foods, such as cake, biscuit, ice cream, and possibly a beverage, such as dessert wine or liqueur. Some cultures sweeten foods that are more commonly umami, ...

s typical of Valencia have their origin in Arabic times and play an important part in the local festive activities. Some are internationally famous. Xixona is the place of traditional manufacture of ( in Valencian), a soft nougat, consumed during Christmas in Spain and the rest of the Hispanic world. In

Casinos Casinos may refer to: * Casinos, Valencia, municipality in Spain * David Casinos (born 1972), Spanish Paralympian athlete * The Casinos The Casinos was a nine-member doo-wop group from Cincinnati, Ohio, led by Gene Hughes and which included ...

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

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

s and sugared almonds). In

and the Central comarques, the , a dessert elaborated with

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

is made. Orihuela and its region have the .

Valencian symbols

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

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

, representative of the historical

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

, also used today with few variations in all the former Kingdoms and Counties which were a part of this crown. There are also a number of Valencian private and civil entities such as trade unions, cultural associations, or political parties which simply use the ''Senyera'' as Valencian flag. Other symbols are used at different levels by the Valencian society, like the heraldic animals of ''rat-penat'' (a

bat Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...

) and ''drac alat'' (a winged

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

which was the emblem of James I). 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 '' tabalet'' (a drum) and the ''

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

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

Celebrations

* '' Falles'' of

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

– 19–24 June * '' Misteri'' of

– 14 and 15 August * '' Muixeranga'': Algemesí – 7 and 8 September * '' Moros i Cristians'': Alcoy – 22–24 April * '' Tomatina'' of

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

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

Valencian Community Day

* 9 October: (''9 d'Octubre'' or ''9 de Octubre'') Official day of the Valencian Community and public holiday in the entire autonomous community. This day commemorates the entrance of James I to the city of Valencia on the year 1238.

Fallas

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

Sports

The autochthonous 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 trinquet. It may also be played by teams or on individual challenges. An amazing trait of this sport is that spectators may sit very close or even in the middle of the court. Even while the match is ongoing

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

s take bets for ''reds'' or ''blues'', since these are the colours players must wear, red being the colour of the strongest team or player. The ''Valencian pilota'' can be traced to the 15th century, but it was abandoned during modern times, this decadence is being fought back with TV broadcasts, new built colleges have courtfields and a new professional players firm, ValNet

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

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

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

, Spanish top professional division:

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

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

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

. There are two clubs playing in the

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

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

and

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

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

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

and

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

. Professional

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

is represented currently in

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

, the top professional division, by Valencia Basket, who won its first league title in 2017. Two more teams, CB Lucentum Alicante and AB Castelló are present in the second division. Regarding female professional sports, the historical BM Sagunto, now disbanded, dominated the women's professional

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

scene in Spain through the 1980s and 1990s, with a total of 27 Spanish Division of Honour - Women's handball wins, 20 Cup titles and 1 Women's EHF Champions League. 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 Spanish Women's League and 3 times winner of the EuroLeague Women. Motorcycle races are very popular, as the Circuit of Valencia race track and its hosted Valencian Community Grand Prix prove. Many Valencian

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

pilots such as Héctor Barberá, Héctor Faubel or Nicolás Terol have been competing in different MotoGP classes. In early February, the annual cycling stage race Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, which dates back to 1929, is held as the first stage race of the European season.https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/vuelta-a-la-comunidad-valenciana Another relevant game is the pigeon sport, with an autochthonous

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

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

Image gallery

File:Castillo de Denia.jpg,

File:Alcoi vista aèria.jpg, Alcoy File:Vista de Alicante, España, 2014-07-04, DD 49.JPG,

File:Altea3.jpg, Altea File:Alzira.jpg, Alzira 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:Altamira Elche 01.JPG, Altamira Palace,

File:Palmeral de Elche 07.JPG, Elche palm grove File:CastilloElda restauracion.jpg, Elda File:Estança del Duc 1.jpg,

File:Vall de Uxó.Iglesia del Santo Ángel Custodio.jpg, La Vall d'Uixó File:06 Capella de la Comunió i església de l'Assumpció.jpg, Onda File:La Vila d'Ontinyent.jpg, Ontinyent File:Paterna. Ajuntament.JPG, Paterna 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 File:Torrent. Casa de Cultura.JPG, Torrent File:Torrevieja. Vista desde el dique de Levante.JPG, Torrevieja File:Orihuela-al-pie-de-la-sierra-que-lleva-su-nombre.jpg, Orihuela,

comarca File:Santa María y Rabal 1.jpg, Villena 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 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)
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