Land of Valencia?

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Comunitat Valenciana
Comunidad Valenciana

Land of Valencia official flag Land of Valencia official coat of arms
Image:Locator map of Valenciana.png
Capital	Valencia
Official languages	Valencian (Catalan) and Castillian (Spanish)
Area – total – % of Spain	Ranked 8th 23 255 km² 4,6%
Population – Total (2003) – % of Spain – Density	Ranked 4th 4 326 708 10,3% 186,05/km²
Demonym – English – Valencian – Spanish	Valencian valencià/valenciana valenciano/valenciana
Statute of Autonomy	July 10, 1982
ISO 3166-2	VC
Parliamentary representation Congress seats Senate seats	32 5
President	Francisco Enrique Camps Ortiz (PP)
Generalitat Valenciana

The Land of Valencia is the historical territory of the former Kingdom of Valencia which was created in the 13th century, as a result of Christian colonization by Catalans and Aragonese of the Islamic taifas Valencia and Dénia, commanded by James I "the Conqueror". It is situated in the East of the Iberian Peninsula, between the Sènia and Segura rivers, and it has 840 km of land border and 518 km of coast along the Merranean Sea, where are situated the island of Nova Tabarca and the Columbretes islands, which are under Valencian administration.

Today it is an autonomous community of Spain, and Comunitat Valenciana (Comunidad Valenciana in Spanish) has been its official name since 1982, when its Statute of Autonomy was approved. It is also known as País Valencià (Sp. País Valenciano), and this name is also included in the same Statute. It borders Castile-La Mancha and Aragon to the West, the Region of Murcia to the South, and Catalonia to the North. The official languages are Castillian (Spanish) and Valencian (Catalan), although the last one is considered legally the proper language, according the "Law of Use and Education of Valencian" approved in 1983.

Traditionally the territory is divided into comarques, and in 1883 it was, along with the rest of Spain, divided into provinces. There are 32 comarques, and three provinces: Castellón/Castelló, Valencia/València, and Alicante/Alacant.

Major Valencian cities and important towns include:

• València (Sp. Valencia) 780.653, capital of the province of the same name, in the river Turia. Famous festival of the Fallas on March 19.
• Alacant (Sp. Alicante) 316.178, capital of the province of the same name, in the Merranean coast. Famous for its hard nougat or turrón duro (Valencian torró dur) and Postiguet, Albufereta and San Juan Beaches. The famous festival of the Bonfires of Saint John is in June. The city hall and the Santa Barbara Castle are historical monuments.
• Castelló de la Plana (Sp. Castellón de la Plana) 160.714, capital of the province of the same name.
• Elx (Sp. Elche) 207.163, famous for the wood of palm trees called Palmeral, and for the Mystery Play, which has been declared part of World Heritage by UNESCO.
• Torrevieja (Vl. Torrevella) 77.943, in the south, very important tourist centre with a lot of hotels, apartments and tourist accommodation. With La Mata Beach.
• Orihuela (Vl. Oriola) 67.731, on the Segura river, historical city with palaces, churches and the Cathedral, in the "Vega Baja" (Valencian Vega Baixa), a very rich kitchen garden with oranges, lemon and other products.
• Benidorm 64.267, a major holiday resort, dubbed Beniyork because of its many skyscrapers — including Spain's tallest, the 52-storey Gran Hotel Bali.
• Elda,54.086 important producer of shoes and wine in the Vinalopo land.
• Xixona (Sp. Jijona), near Alicante, famous for its soft nougat or torró de Xixona (Sp. turrón de Jijona).
• Vila-real (Sp. Villarreal), important producer of ceramics and brick.
• Buñol (Vl. Bunyol) famous for the tomatina, on the last Wednesday of August.

Major rivers:

• River Turia (Valencian: Túria)
• River Júcar (Valencian: Xúquer)
• River Segura

Top of a guard tower at the end of a bridge spanning the River Turia, with the Valencian flag fluttering.