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| Names | |
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Main article: Names of the Valencian Community
The official name of the autonomous community, Comunitat Valenciana, has seen a variety of renditions in English; including "Valencian Community",[1] "Valencian Country", "Land of Valencia", "Region of Valencia" or most commonly, simply "Valencia". The Spanish name, Comunidad Valenciana, was co-official under the first Statute of Autonomy of 1982. At the present moment, the Valencian Government translates the name as "Region of Valencia" and, sometimes, "Land of Valencia", as the Department of Tourism states in publications edited both in Spanish and English.[4][5][6]
Although Comunitat Valenciana, out of official consideration, is the most widely used name and the one that has become officially enshrined, there were two competing names at the time of the forging of the Valencian Statute of Autonomy. On the one hand PaÃs Valencià (PaÃs Valenciano in Spanish), was first reported in the 18th century, but its usage only became noticeable from the 1960s onwards, with a left-wing or Valencian nationalist subtext which began with the Spanish Transition to democracy in the late 1970s and early 1980s.[7] It can be translated as "Valencian Country",[8][9] or "Region of Valencia".[10] An example of this use is the so-called Consell pre-autonòmic del PaÃs Valencià , the forerunner of the modern Generalitat Valenciana in 1978, and it is also referred to in the preamble of the Statute of Autonomy.[11]
In order to solve the gap between the two competing names –the traditional Regne de València and the contemporary PaÃs Valencià – a compromise neologism, Comunitat Valenciana, was created ("Comunitat or Community" such as in Autonomous Community, which is the official name of the Spanish regions constituted as political autonomous entities).
In any case, the generic name of "Valencia" in English could refer to the city of Valencia, the Valencia province or the autonomous community.[12]
[edit] Tags:Country,Valencia,Valencian,Spanish,Statute Of Autonomy,Autonomous Community,Valencian Nationalist,Spanish Transition,Generalitat Valenciana,English,City Of Valencia,Valencia Province,Valencian Government,Nationalist, | |
| History | |
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Archeological site of Tossal de Manises, ancient Iberian-Carthaginian-Roman city of Akra-Leuke or Lucentum
Morella castle and wall, Castellón province
The origins of present day Valencia date back to the former Kingdom of Valencia (Regne de València), which came into existence in the 13th century. James I of Aragon led Christian conquest and colonization of the existing Islamic taifas with Aragonese and Catalan people in 1208 and founded the Kingdom of Valencia as a third independent country within the Crown of Aragon in 1238.
In 1707, in the context the War of the Spanish Succession, and by means of the Nueva Planta decrees, king Philip V of Spain subordinated the Kingdom of Valencia, and the rest of the countries belonging to the former Crown of Aragon and which had retained some autonomy, to the structure of the Kingdom of Castile and its laws and customs. As a result of this, the institutions and laws created by the Furs 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, a new Kingdom of Spain was formed implementing a more centralized government than the former Habsburg Spain.
The first attempt to gain self-government for the Region of Valencia in modern-day Spain was during the 2nd Spanish Republic, in 1936, but the Civil War broke out and the autonomist project was suspended.[13] In 1977, after Franco's dictatorship Valencia started to be partially autonomous with the creation of the Consell Pre-autonòmic del PaÃs Valencià (Pre-autonomous Council of the Valencian Country),[14] and in 1982 the self-government was finally extended into a Statute of Autonomy (devolved government) 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.[15]
The Valencian Statute of Autonomy make clear that Valencia is intended to be the modern conception of self-government of the Valencian Country from the first autonomist movements (autogovern) during Second Spanish Republic, but also joining it to the traditional conception of Valencian identity, as being the successor to the historical Kingdom of Valencia (furs).[16] 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, in accordance with the modern conception.
[edit] Tags:Spain,Castellón,Devolved Government,Catalan,Kingdom Of Valencia,Nationality,Iberian,Carthaginian,Roman,Lucentum,Morella,James I Of Aragon,Christian Conquest,Islamic,Taifas,Crown Of Aragon,War Of The Spanish Succession,Philip V Of Spain,Kingdom Of Castile,Furs Of Valencia,House Of Bourbon,Habsburg Spain,Self-government,2nd Spanish Republic,Civil War,Franco,President Of The Generalitat Valenciana,Joan Lerma,Second Spanish Republic,Foral Civil Law,Aragon, | |
| Relief | |
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Satellite picture of the Land of Valencia; the dry area in the South is easily noticed. Original by NASA
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 Alicante province 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 between Aragon and Castile–La Mancha. 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 mainly free of remarkable mountains except those around the Cap de la Nau area in northern Alicante province and the PenÃscola area in the Castellón province. Typical of this coastal area are wetlands and marshlands such as L'Albufera close to Valencia, El Fondo in Elx/Elche and Crevillent, La Marjal near Pego or El Prat in Cabanes, also the former wetlands and salt evaporation ponds in the Santa Pola and Torrevieja area. All of them are key RAMSAR sites which make Valencia of high relevance for both migratory and resident seabirds and waterbirds.
There are many important coastal dunes 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.
[edit] Tags:Provinces,Alicante,Dry Area,Nasa,Iberian Mountain Range,Subbaetic Range,Penyagolosa,Alcalatén,Rincón De Ademuz,Exclave,Castile–la Mancha,Aitana,Fertile,Cap De La Nau,PenÃscola,L'albufera,El Fondo,Elx/elche,Crevillent,Pego,Cabanes,Salt Evaporation Ponds,Santa Pola,Torrevieja,Ramsar,Guardamar,Columbretes Islands,Tabarca, | |
| Climate | |
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Dénia, capital of Marina Alta
Valencia has a generally mild climate, heavily influenced by the neighbouring Mediterranean sea. Still, there are important differences between areas:
Proper Mediterranean climate (Köppen 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, Gandia and Valencia). It covers in various grades the lower inland areas. In this area, winters are cool, 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 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.
Mediterranean to continental Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csa) and highland climate (Köppen H). These are the innermost lands and those at a higher elevation (cities included here are, amongst others, Alcoi, 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).[17]
Mediterranean to semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk). It roughly goes along the coastal plain from La Vila Joiosa through the southernmost border of the region (cities included here are, amongst others, Alicante, Elx/Elche, Orihuela and Torrevieja). Summers are very long, hot to very hot and very dry, winters are cool to 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 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).
[edit] Tags:Capital,Dénia,Marina Alta,Mediterranean Climate,Köppen,Benidorm Area,Castellón De La Plana,Gandia,Micro Climate,Safor,Orographic Lift, | |
| Hydrography | |
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There are only two major rivers: the Segura in the Alicante province (whose source is in Andalusia) and the Júcar (Valencian: Xúquer) in the Valencia province (whose source is in Castile–La Mancha) both are subjected to very intense human regulation for cities, industries and -specially- agricultural consumption. The river Turia (Valencian: Túria) is the third largest and has its source in Aragon. Most rivers in the area, such as the Vinalopó, are usually short, and have little current (due to agricultural usage, climatic reasons or both) and often completely dry during the summer. Other Valencian rivers are the Serpis and Sénia.
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| Demographics | |
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Main article: Valencian people
Quart Towers, city of Valencia
Castle of Santa Bárbara, Alicante
Old quarter of Castellón de la Plana
The Valencian population traditionally concentrated in localities with fertile cultivation and growing lowlands by the most important rivers (Júcar, Turia, Segura, Vinalopó), also in harbour cities important to the agricultural trade.
The most important population centers used to be, during the Roman times, Sagunt and Dénia; later on in history, Valencia, Alicante, Xà tiva, Orihuela, Elx/Elche, Gandia, and Vila-real and, more recently, Alzira and Castellón de la Plana.
With a total population of 5,111,706 (2009),[18] the Valencian Community ranks the 4th most populated autonomous community of Spain. The population density which is higher in the central and southern regions and minor in the northern and inner ones, is derived from the traditional distribution of people which originated in the orographic characteristics of the Valencian territory and the possibility to obtain irrigated land agriculture. Demographics were also affected by (being perhaps the exception to the mentioned distribution) the great industrial activity and the commerce of agriculturally derived products during the 20th century of noncoastal cities like Alcoi, Elda, Ontinyent, Petrer, Villena, and La Vall d'Uixó.
In the last years, concentration in the provincial capitals and its metropolitan areas has augmented considerably (e.g. Torrent, Mislata, Paterna, Burjassot, San Vicente del Raspeig/Sant Vicent del Raspeig, etc.) especially in all the coastal cities and towns. Thus, traditionally small populations such as Benidorm or Torrevieja have undergone a considerable population increase (still more remarkable during summertime) due to the seasonal migration of tourists.
Therefore, Valencia's population is nowadays clearly urban and coastal, also influenced by seasonal tourism. See major core cities (municipalities) and metropolitan areas of the Land of Valencia:
Rank
Municipality
Province
Population
1
Valencia
Valencia
809,267
2
Alicante
Alicante
334,418
3
Elx/Elche
Alicante
230,822
5
Castellón de la Plana
Castellón
180,690
6
Torrevieja
Alicante
101,091
7
Orihuela
Alicante
87,113
8
Torrent
Valencia
79,843
9
Gandia
Valencia
79,430
10
Benidorm
Alicante
71,198
Rank
Metropolitan Areas
Province
Population
1
Valencia
Valencia
1,705,742
2
Alicante–Elx/Elche
Alicante
785,020
3
Castellón de la Plana
Castellón
386,906
4
Alzira–Xà tiva
Valencia
348,582
5
Benidorm–La Vila Joiosa
Alicante
183,253
[edit] Tags:4th, | |
| Economics | |
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Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències, city of Valencia
Skyline of Benidorm
Horta of Gandia
Valencia conforms an elongated territory, with a rather steep and irregular orography that has made communications and the exploitation of the soil historically difficult, despite the soil being particularly fertile in the coastal plain. This coastal axis has facilitated connections with Europe, either by sea through the Mediterranean, or by land through Catalonia.
The natural resources of the Valencian territory are small with regard to minerals other than the important marble quarrying industry in the Alicante province.
As for hydrological resources (see Geography above) there is a demand of water superior to the supply, making this imbalance especially serious in the Alicante province. In years when drought is particularly severe, the problem is mitigated if necessary, with occasional nocturnal restrictions during Summer and water-bearing subterraneans exploitation. This remains a source of harsh controversy over hydrological resources with neighbouring regions such as Castile–La Mancha and Catalonia.
Due to the secondary and tertiary sectors boom by the times of the Spanish miracle during the 1960s, the agricultural sector has seen its relative importance reduced over time (not so the absolute figures), but it remains to be credited -under the form of citrus cultivation for the export market- for the first economic boom by the late 19th century after centuries of slow development, if not decay. Castellón and Valencia provinces still have thousands of hectares of citrus producing groves and it continues to be a major source of income on the countryside. In the Alicante province, citrus is also present but agriculture is more diversified with a higher presence of vegetables, especially in the Vega Baja del Segura area.
The high insulation rate and overall stable weather which during the Summer may pose a threat to water supplies either for agricultural or human consumption, conversely allow tourism to be the main economic industry with a very high density of 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) which seasonally boost population (and hydrological demands) in the summertime.
In 2004, Valencia's GDP was 93.9% of the European Union average[19] even though this figure may be affected positively by the important presence of foreign residents either from other regions of Europe or economic immigrants which are not properly represented in the official statistics. Growth rates after 2004 have been significant in overall Spain and additional progress from present figures is going on as of 2007.
In 2008, the Land of Valencia generated 9.7% of the Spanish GDP. In human resources, the rate of unemployment was located over 21% in 2009 being greater among women,[20] and the rate of activity reached 56.8% in 2002. The typical Valencian business is rather small and medium company, mainly family-owned and operated, although there are some multinationals.
In addition to tourism, the Valencian economy is characterized by a marked exporting dimension, being the second exporting Spanish autonomous community, constituting 12% of the national total. The major exports are agricultural products, ceramic tiles, marble products and cars (Ford has an assembly line in Almussafes) among others, which make the port of Valencia one the busiest in Spain.
In 2010, the Valencian Community ranked the 100th largest country subdivision by GDP (nominal), just behind Rio Grande do Sul state (Brazil) and ahead Nord-Pas-de-Calais (France).
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| Institutions of government: | |
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Palau de la Generalitat Valenciana, seat of the Valencian government
In the process whereby democracy was restored in Spain between 1975–1978, the nationalist and regionalist parties pressed to grant home rule to certain territories in Spain. The constitution of 1978 opened a legal way for autonomous communities to be formed from provinces with common historical and cultural links. In recognition of the Region of Valencia as a historical nationality of Spain, and in accordance to the second article of the Spanish Constitution which grants autonomy to the "nationalities and regions" that comprise the Spanish nation, Valencia was granted self-government and constituted itself as an autonomous community 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; that is, the executive branch of government. The "President" is dependent on the direct support of the legislative power, whose members elect him by majority.
A new Statute of Autonomy was promulgated in 2006. The government of Valencia is represented by the Generalitat Valenciana (statutorily referred to simply as La Generalitat) constituted by three institutions:[21]
the Corts Valencianes (Valencian parliament), the legislature, which is to be integrated by a minimum of ninety-two representatives (diputats) elected through universal suffrage by proportional representation for a four-year period;
the President of the Generalitat Valenciana elected by the Courts from which s/he must obtain the vote of confidence; the current President is Alberto Fabra Part.
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 SÃndic de Greuges (the Ombudsman), the Sindicatura de Comptes (Public Audit Office), the Consell Valencià de Cultura (Valencian Council of Culture), the Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua (Valencian Academy of the Language), the Juridic and Consultative Council and the Social and Economic Committee.
[edit] Tags:Alberto Fabra Part,Parliament, | |
| Valencian symbols | |
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Valencian coat of arms over the entrance of the Torre del Serrans
Senyera Coronada, Valencian flag
The official Valencian anthem is the Hymn of the Regional Exhibition of 1909 (in Valencian, L'Himne de l'Exposició), in whose composition the old hymn of the City of Valencia of the 16th century is included. The emblem of the Valencian Generalitat includes the seal of King Peter IV of Aragon, representative of the historical Kingdom of Valencia, whose shield is inclined towards the right, or, four bars Gules.
The official flag, also known as Senyera Coronada or Crowned Senyera is the same as Valencia's City flag, which, in turn, is a historical derivation of the Senyera, the heraldic symbol of the Crown of Aragon, 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,[22] cultural associations,[23] or political parties[24] which simply use the Senyera as Valencian flag.
Other symbols are used at different levels by the Valencian society, like the heraldic animals of rat-penat (a bat) and drac alat (a winged dragon which was the emblem of James I), or the music of the Muixeranga, among others.
[edit] Tags:Himne De L'exposició, | |
| Languages | |
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Main articles: Valencian, Spanish language, and Valencian Sign Language
Valencian and Spanish are the official languages of Valencia. Spanish is the official language of the Spanish state,[n 1] while Valencian is the language considered by the Statute of Autonomy as llengua pròpia ("own language" or "language proper" to the territory). Valencian is traditionally spoken in the densely populated coastal areas rather than inland, where many places have Spanish as their traditional language, also those areas incorporated into the provinces of Alicante and Valencia at their creation in 1833 and which did not form part of the historical Kingdom of Valencia. Consequently, the 1984 Law on the "Use and Tags:Official Languages, | |
z³ote monety |