Valencia, Spain

Valencia (Spanish: Valencia, Valencian: València) is a medium-sized port city and industrial area on the east coast of Spain. It is the capital of the Valencian autonomous region, and with over 800,000 people in the city and more than a million in the metropolitan area it is the third largest city in Spain.

Founded by the Romans in 137 BC on the site of a former Iberian[?] town, by the river Turia[?]. The city has been occupied by the Visigoths, Moors and the Aragonese. In 1094, Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (El Cid) conquered Valencia, but the city returned to the Almoravids in 1102. The king James I of Aragon reconquered the city in 1238 and incorporated it to the new formed Kingdom of Valencia[?].

In the 15th and 16th centuries, Valencia was one of the major cities in the Mediterranean. The writer Joanot Martorell, author of Tirant lo Blanch, and the poet Ausias March are famous valencians of that era. The first printing press in the Iberian Peninsula was located in Valencia. Valencian bankers loaned funds to Queen Isabella for Columbus' trip in 1492.

War of the Germanies 1519-1522.

Expulsion of Moriscos in 1609.

During the War of Spanish Succession, Valencia sided with Charles of Austria. After the victory of the Bourbons at the Battle of Almansa (April 25 of 1707), the city lost its privileges or furs.

In the Spanish Civil War, Valencia was filled by republicans arriving to the last capital of the Republic in the last days of the war. The city suffered from the blockade and siege by Franco's forces. The postwar period was hard for Valencians. Valencian was illegal to teach or to speak throughout the Franco years, using the language at all was subject to criminal penalties.

Valencia was granted Autonomous Statutes in 1982. It is famous for the Falles festival in 17-19 March and for paella Valenciana.

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Other cities and places named Valencia:

1. Comunidad Valenciana: Autonomous region of Spain.
2. Kingdom of Valencia: ancient kingdom created by James I of Aragon in the 13th century. See Kings of Aragon.
3. Valencia (Province)[?]: Province of Comunitat Valenciana, Spain.
4. Valencian country, or País Valencià: historical denomination of the Comunitat Valenciana.
5. Valencia (Region)[?]: Region of Spain, old administrative denomination from 1833 to 1982.
6. Valencia, Venezuela[?]
7. Valencia, California[?], United States of America
8. Valencia, New Mexico, United States of America
9. Valencia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
10. Valencia County, New Mexico, United States of America
11. Valencia West, Arizona, United States of America