Valencia | History, Geography, & Points of Interest (2024)

Valencia, city, capital of both Valencia provincia (province) and the comunidad autónoma (autonomous community) of Valencia, and historical capital of the former kingdom of Valencia, eastern Spain. Located on the Mediterranean coast at the mouth of the Turia (Guadalaviar) River, it is surrounded by orchards in a region known as the Huerta de Valencia. The earliest mention (Valentia) is by the Roman historian Livy, who states that the consul Decimus Junius Brutus Callaicus settled the soldier veterans of the Lusitanian leader Viriathus there in 138 bce. It later became a prosperous Roman colony.

Taken by the Visigoths in 413 ce and in 714 by the Moors, it became in 1021 the seat of the newly established independent Moorish kingdom of Valencia, which extended from Almería to the Ebro estuary. From 1089 until the final capitulation of the city in 1094, the kingdom was fought for by the Spanish soldier-hero El Cid, who eventually secured it from the Moorish Almoravids. It remained in the hands of El Cid, after whom it is sometimes called Valencia del Cid, until his death there in 1099. The Moors recovered the city (and kingdom) in 1102.

In 1238 James I of Aragon added Valencia to his dominions, but the kingdom continued to be administered separately, with its own laws and parliament. In 1479, with the other countries of the Aragonese crown, the kingdom was united with Castile under the monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella, resulting in a long period of peace during which the city developed rapidly and the arts prospered. The first Spanish printing press is said to have been set up there in 1474, and during the next two centuries the city was the seat of the Valencian school of painting. During the Spanish Civil War it was the loyalist capital from 1936 to 1939.

Valencia has been called the city of the 100 bell towers, of which the most outstanding are the Gothic Miguelete Tower (1381–1424), adjoining the cathedral, and the hexagonal Tower of Santa Catalina (1688–1705), a fine example of Valencian Baroque style. The most important church is the cathedral, La Seo, situated in the ancient city centre. Begun in the 13th century (completed 1482), it represents several styles—its three doorways are respectively Romanesque, Baroque, and Gothic—and it possesses many works of art, including two large religious paintings by Goya. On Thursdays at noon the doorway opening onto the Plaza de la Constitución is the site of the Tribunal de las Aguas (Water Court), which has been in existence at least since the 10th century. It is composed of farmers who hear disputes over irrigation waters and dispense justice on the spot, conducting all proceedings orally in the Valencian dialect of Catalan.

Notable civic buildings include the splendid late Gothic (15th century) Lonja de la Seda (Silk Exchange); the Palacio de la Diputación, which housed the parliament of the kingdom of Valencia, with a 15th-century courtyard and beautifully paneled rooms; the Ayuntamiento (Town Hall), a modern building with important archives and the city historical museum; and the 18th-century Neoclassical Palacio de Justicia. Valencia was a walled town, but the walls were removed in the 19th century, and only two of its gates survive. Remains of Moorish buildings include the Almudín (the public granary), which houses the Museum of Paleontology, and the Baños (Baths) del Almirante (13th century).

Valencia has many botanical gardens and museums of art and ceramics. The City of Arts and Sciences is a large complex that features a planetarium, science museum, and arboretum. Noted for its unique architecture, the complex includes L’Hemisfèric (The Eye of Wisdom), an eye-shaped building designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, and L’Oceanogràfic (Underwater City), Europe’s largest marine centre. The city’s educational institutions include the University of Valencia (1499).

Valencia’s renowned annual Fallas Festival commemorates St. Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters, and draws thousands of spectators to the city each March. The fallas are towering monuments, effigies made of papier-mâché and wax (and sometimes cork and wood) that together create a scene. (Each individual figure is known as a ninot.) The monuments can take up to a year to create and are usually satirical or humorous in nature. On the eve of St. Joseph’s feast day, all the fallas are burned in the streets, except for those ninots that are voted the best, which are preserved in the city’s Museum of Las Fallas. The city also has a traditional bullfighting arena, and bullfights become a main attraction during the Fallas Festival.

From Valencia’s port, El Grao, are exported agricultural produce (rice, oranges, lemons, onions, wine) from the region and manufactured items, including furniture, glazed tiles and ceramics, automobiles, textiles, and iron products. Among the city’s other industries are shipbuilding and food processing. Services, including tourism, are also important to the economy. Pop. (2016 est.) mun., 790,201.