Valencian Community

TheValencian Communityis anautonomous communityofSpain. It is the fourth most populous Spanishautonomous communityafterAndalusia,Cataloniaand theCommunity of Madridwith more than five million inhabitants.ItshomonymouscapitalValenciais the third largest city and metropolitan area in Spain. It is located along theMediterraneancoast on the east side of theIberian Peninsula. It bordersCataloniato the north,AragonandCastilla–La Manchato the west, andMurciato the south, and the Balearic Islands are to its east. The Valencian Community is divided into threeprovinces:Castellón,ValenciaandAlicante.
According to Valencia'sStatute of Autonomy, the Valencian people are a"historical nationality".Their origins date back to the1238 Aragonese conquestof theTaifa of Valencia. The newly-foundedKingdom of Valenciaenjoyed its own legal entity and administrative institutions as a component of theCrown of Aragon, under the purview of theFurs 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 theearly modern Spanish Monarchy, but were suspended in 1707 as a result of theSpanish War of Succession.Valencian nationalismemerged towards the end of the 19th century, leading to the modern conception of theValencian Country.The current autonomous community under theGeneralitat Valencianaself-government institution was established in 1982 after theSpanish Transition.
Official languages are Spanish andValencian(the official and traditional name used in the Valencian Community to refer to what is commonly known as theCatalan language).As of 2020, the population of the Valencian Community comprised 10.63% of the Spanish population.
The city of Valencia (capital of the Valencian Community) was founded by theRomansunder the name ofValentiaEdetanorum, or simplyValentia, which translates to "strength" or "valour", in full "strength of theEdetani" (the centre of Edetania wasEdeta, an important old Iberian settlement 25 km north of Valencia, in what is now modern dayLlíria, other important nearby settlements includedArse–Saguntum,SaetabisandDianium).
With the establishment of the MuslimTaifa of Valencia, during theAl-Andalusperiod, the name developed toبلنسية(Balansiya). The modern names of the city areValencia(Spanish) andValència(Valencian). The older spellingsValençia,UalençiaandUalènciaare 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 theKingdom of Valencia. In the last decades,Valencian Communityhas become the preferred name to avoid anycontroversy.
"Valencian Community" is the standard translation of the official name in Valencian recognized by the Statute of Autonomy of 1982 (Comunitat Valenciana).This is the name most used in public administration, tourism, the media and Spanish written language. However, the variant of "Valencian Country" (País Valencià) that emphasizes the nationality status of the Valencian people is still the preferred one by left-wing parties, civil associations, Valencian written language and major Valencian public institutions.
"Valencian Community" is aneologismthat 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 thatresurgedin the 19th century. It became well-established during theSecond Spanish Republicand later on with the works ofJoan Fusterin the 1960s, implying the existence of the "Catalan Countries" (Països Catalans). This nationalist subtext was opposed by anti-Catalanblaverists, who proposed "Former Kingdom of Valencia" (Antic Regne de València) instead, in order to emphasize Valencian independence from Catalonia. Currently, blaverists have accepted the official denomination.
The autonomous community can be homonymously 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 many Valencians because it could deny their nationality status.
In popular culture, the Valencian Community is commonly referred to asLa Terreta(The Little Land).
The pre-Roman autochthonous people of the Valencian Community were theIberians, who were divided in several groups (theContestani, theEdetani, theIlercavonesand theBastetani).
The Greeks establishedcoloniesin the coastal towns ofSaguntumandDianiumbeginning in the 5th century BC, where they traded and mixed with the local Iberian populations. After the end of theFirst Punic WarbetweenCarthageandRomein 241 BC, which established their limits of influence in the Ebro river, theCarthaginiansoccupied the whole region. The dispute over the hegemony ofSaguntum, a Hellenized Iberian coastal city with diplomatic contacts with Rome, destroyed byHannibalin 219 BC, ignited theSecond Punic War, which ended with the incorporation of the region to the Roman Empire.
The Romans founded the city ofValentiain 138 BC, which, over the centuries overtookSaguntumin importance. After theFall of the Western Roman Empire, during theBarbarian Invasionsin the 5th century AD, the region was first invaded by theAlansand finally ruled by theVisigoths(seeValencian Gothic), until the arrival of theArabsin 711, which left a broad impact in the region, still visible in today's Valencian landscape and culture. After the fall of theCaliphate of Cordova, two main independenttaifaswere established at the region,ValenciaandDénia, along with the small and short living taifas ofOrihuela,Alpuente, Jérica andSaguntand the short Christian conquest of Valencia byEl Cid.
However, the origins of present-day Valencia date back to theKingdom of Valencia, which came into existence in the 13th century.James I of Aragonled theChristian conquestand colonization of the existingIslamictaifaswith Aragonese and Catalan colonizers in 1208; they founded the Kingdom of Valencia as a third independent country within theCrown of Aragonin 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 thechivalric romanceofTirant 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 ValencianHouse of Borjain Rome (seeRoute of the Borjas,Route of the MonasteriesandRoute of the Classics).
After a slow decline following thedynastic unionof the Crown of Aragon with the Kingdom of Castile, Valencia's successful status came to a definite end with theExpulsion of the Moriscosin 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.
In 1707, in the context of theWar of the Spanish Succession, and by means of theNova Plantadecrees, kingPhilip V of Spainabolished the Kingdom of Valencia, and the rest of the states belonging to the formerCrown of Aragonand which had retained some autonomy, and subordinated it to the structure of theKingdom of Castileand its laws and customs. As a result of this, the institutions and laws created by theLaw of Valencia(Furs de València) were abolished and the usage of the Valencian language in official instances and education was forbidden. Consequently, with theHouse of Bourbon, a new Kingdom of Spain was formed implementing a more centralized government and absolutist regime than the formerHabsburg Spain.
The first attempt to gainself-government, or autonomous government, for the Valencian Community in modern-day Spain was during theSecond Spanish Republic, in 1936, but theCivil Warbroke out and the autonomist project was suspended.In 1977, afterFranco'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 aStatute of Autonomy(Estatut d'Autonomia) creating several self-government institutions under theGeneralitat Valenciana.  The first democratically electedPresident 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 duringSecond Spanish Republic, 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 theforal civil law, using the traditional conception of a kingdom, and, on the other hand, it also recognizes Valencia as anationality, in accordance with the modern conception.
Valencia was affected by the2024 Spanish floods.
The inland part of the territory is craggy, with some of the highest peaks in the Valencia and Castellón provinces forming part of theIberian Mountain Range. The mountains in the Province of Alicante are in turn a part of theSubbaetic Range.
The most emblematic mountain of the Valencian Community is thePenyagolosa, in theAlcalaténarea. It is widely thought to be the highest peak with 1,813 m, but actually the highest peak is theCalderón(1,839 m) located in theRincón de Ademuz, a ValencianexclavebetweenAragonandCastilla–La Mancha. The most emblematic mountain in the southern part of the territory is theAitana(1,558 m).
The rather thin coastal strip is a veryfertileplain without remarkable mountains except those around theCap de la Nauarea in northern Alicante province and thePeñíscolaarea in the Castellón province. Typical of this coastal area are wetlands and marshlands such asL'Albuferaclose to Valencia,El FondoinElcheandCrevillent,La MarjalnearPego,Albufera of GayanesinGayanesorEl PratinCabanes, also the former wetlands andsalt evaporation pondsin theSanta PolaandTorreviejaarea. All of them are keyRamsar siteswhich make Valencia of high relevance for both migratory and resident seabirds and waterbirds.
There are many importantcoastal dunesin theSalerarea near the Albufera and in theGuardamararea, 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 tinyColumbretes Islandsand the coastal inhabited islet ofTabarca.
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:
Thewarm-summer Mediterranean climate(KöppenCsb),humid subtropical climate(KöppenCfa),oceanic climate(KöppenCfb) and thedesertic climate(KöppenBWh) are also found in the Valencian Community. TheCsbclimate is more common and is found in inland, high altitude areas (generally starting above 1,000 metres (3,300 ft)) across the 3 provinces of the Valencian Community, especially in the interior ofCastellónbut also inEl Rincón de Ademuzand the north ofLos Serranoscomarcas in the province ofValencia. In the province ofAlicantethis climate is only found in the highest altitudes ofSerra de MariolaandSierra de Aitana. BothCfaandCfbclimates 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 ofElche.
There are only two major rivers: theSegurain the province of Alicante, whose source is inAndalusia, and theJúcar(orXúquer) in the province of Valencia, whose source is inCastilla–La Mancha. Both are subjected to very intense human regulation for cities, industries and, especially, agricultural consumption. The riverTuria(orTúria) is the third largest and has its source inAragon. Mostriversin the area, such as theVinalopó, 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 theSerpisandSénia.
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.
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.
Valencian population traditionally concentrated in localities withfertilecultivation and growing lowlands by the most important rivers (JúcarorXúquer,TuriaorTúria,Segura, andVinalopó), 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 includeSaguntoandDéniainRomantimes;Valencia,Alicante,Xàtiva,Orihuela,Elche,Gandia, andVillarrealorVila-reallater on in history and, more recently,AlziraandCastellón de la Plana. Another set of noncoastal cities increased significantly in numbers due toindustrializationin the 20th century, includingAlcoyorAlcoi,Elda,Ontinyent,Petrer,Villena, andLa 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 asBenidorm,Gandia,CalpeorTorreviejahave experienced a very considerable population increase, even greater during the summer season, mainly due to the seasonal migrations of the tourism industry workforce.
The main metropolitan areas of the Valencian Community according to their population are three, plus a fourth one shared with theRegion of Murcia. The most populous one is the metropolitan area ofValencia, 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 ofAlicante-Elchehas 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 ofCastellón de la Plana,Almassora,Villarreal,Benicàssim,BorriolandBurrianaor 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.
TheMurcia-Orihuelametropolitan area includes the urban area of Orihuela in the Valencian Community, plus the metropolitan agglomerations of Murcia, Molina de Segura and Alcantarilla, in the neighboringRegion of Murcia. 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 asTorrent,Mislata,Paterna,Burjassot, orSan Vicente del Raspeig.
According to the INE, the largest metropolitan areas are:
In the process whereby democracy was restored in Spain between 1975 and 1978, thenationalistandregionalistparties pressed to granthome ruleto 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 anationalityof Spain, and in accordance to the second article of theSpanish Constitutionwhich grants autonomy to the "nationalitiesand regions" that compose the Spanish nation, Valencia was granted self-government and constituted itself as anautonomous communityin 1982, with the promulgation of its firstStatute of Autonomy, the basic organic law, later approved by the General Courts of Spain.
All autonomous communities were organized politically within aparliamentary system; that is, the executive branch of government. The "President" is dependent on the direct support of thelegislative power, whose members elect him bymajority.
A new Statute of Autonomy was promulgated in 2006. The government of Valencia is represented by theGeneralitat Valenciana(statutorily referred to simply asLa Generalitat) constituted by three institutions:
The Generalitat can also be integrated by the institutions that the Valencian Courts create. The Courts have approved the creation of theSíndic de Greuges(Ombudsman), theSindicatura de Comptes(Public Audit Office), theConsell Valencià de Cultura(Valencian Council of Culture), theAcadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua(Valencian Academy of the Language), theConsell Jurídic Consultiu(Juridic and Consultative Council) and theComité Econòmic i Social(Social and Economic Committee).
Prior to the1833 territorial division of SpainValencia was divided into four administrativeprovinces of Spain:Alicante,Castellón,ValenciaandXàtiva.
From 1833, the current three-province system was consolidated:
The Valencian Community is further divided into 34comarques(including the city of Valencia) and 542municipalities(141 in the Province of Alicante, 135 in the Province of Castellón, and 266 in the Province of 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 particularlyfertile. This coastal axis has facilitated connections with Europe, either by sea through the Mediterranean, or by land throughCatalonia.
The Valencian territory has few natural resources; the only important mineral deposit is themarblequarried in Alicante province.
Hydrological resources (seeGeographyabove) 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 asCastilla–La Manchaand Catalonia.
Agriculture—more specifically,citruscultivation 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 thesecondaryandtertiary sectorsduring theSpanish miracleof the 1960s, has meant that its relative importance has decreased over time. The provinces ofCastellónand 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 Alicantealso grows citrus, but its agriculture is more diversified with a higher presence ofvegetables, especially in theVega Baja del Seguraarea.
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 the2008–13 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 (Fordhas an assembly line inAlmussafes), which make the port of Valencia one of the busiest in Europe.
The unemployment rate stood at 15.6% in 2018 and was higher than the national average.
Spanish(españolorcastellano) has official status in all of Spain, including the Valencian Community. Aside from it, theStatute of AutonomyrecognizesValencian(valencià) as the language native (llengua pròpia) to the Valencian people,and commends its protection and regulation to theAcadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua(AVL) under theGeneralitat Valenciana.
Valencianis the historical, traditional and official name of the native language of the Valencian Community. Valencians useValencianto refer to theRomance languagealso known asCatalan language.In theLate Middle Ages, due to Valencia becoming its ownkingdom, Valencians popularized the termValencianover the termCatalan.
Valencian was marginalized during Franco's dictatorship (1939–1975) in favor ofSpanish.Since it regained official status in 1982 in the ValencianStatute 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 similarphoneticandlexicalfeatures with theWestern Catalandialects,which includes seven stressed vowels (being especially remarkable the distinction of/ɛ/vs/e/and/ɔ/vs/o/), unstressedvowel reduction(normally five) andvowel harmony; the preservation ofyod(/j/) before/ʃ/in the digraphix; the addition ofnin the plural of certain terms with etymologicaln; and a tendency to affrication ofg(beforeeandi) andj/dʒ/, andx/tʃ/, especially in initial position. Common specific lexicon includes:granera(broom),xiquet(boy),espill(mirror),corder(lamb), etc.
Valencian Sign Languageis widely used by Valencian deaf persons and is also granted protection under the Statute.
TheSpanishspoken in the cities is little affected by Valencian and featuresdistinción, i.e. the differentiation of/s/(s) and/θ/(cbeforeeandi, andz), andyeísmo(the merger of/ʎ/–llin Spanish orthography–into/ʝ/, represented asy). In the south of the Valencian Community, dialects similar to neighbouringMurcian Spanishare spoken, featuring bothdistinciónandseseo(the merger of/θ/into/s/), 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.
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 whereAragoneserather than Catalan settlers introduced the Castilian-Aragoneselanguage in the historicKingdom of Valencia, as well as severalCastilianmunicipalities 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 theMiddle Ages. 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 oflinguistic substitution, especially in the 2 largest cities of the community,ValenciaandAlicante, 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.
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.
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 ofAlcoy–GandiaandJúcar–Turia, approximately 40% inCastellónand about 15% inAlicanteand theValenciametropolitan area.
Despite differences in dialect and denomination, linguists considerCatalanandValenciantwo 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 singleGerman language(High German). Furthermore, there is adialect continuumwhere speakers at the Catalania–Valencia border share the same dialect. In practice, Catalan and Valencian share the same written standard, as established by theInstitut d'Estudis Catalans(IEC) and theAcadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua(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, theUniversities of ValenciaandAlicanterefer 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.
The Valencian Community is served by three international airports:Alicante Airport,Valencia AirportandCastellón–Costa Azahar Airport.Alicante Airport, located in the south, is mainly tourist-oriented and is currently the busiest airport in the Valencian Community.Valencia Airportis 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 awhite elephantdue 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.
The Valencian Community has an extensive rail system which connects the principal cities with the rest of Spain such as theEuromedtowardsCataloniaandAVEtowardsMadrid, or northern and southern Spain, both run by the Spanish national rail companyRENFE.
In December 2010 thehigh-speed rail(AVE) Madrid–Valencia opened as part of theMadrid–Levante high-speed rail line. High-speed lines arrive toValencia-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 mainValencia-Estació del Nordthrough a tunnel under the newValencia 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 viaZaragozaor theMediterranean high-speed rail corridor.
In addition, theGeneralitat Valencianahas 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.
Cercanías(Rodaliain Valencian) is thecommuter railservice that serves all three provincial capitals of Valencia and their metropolitan areas. It is operated byCercanías Renfe, the commuter rail division ofRENFE.
While the Valencian-owned company,Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Valenciana(FGV) operates atram-trainline betweenAlicante,BenidormandDénia. It also operates the citytramandmetrosystem ofValencia(Valencia Metro) andAlicante(Alicante Tram). There is as well a third new tram andtrolleybussystem being built inCastellón de la Planaand its metropolitan area. Additionally both, 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 theUniversity of AlicanteandSant Vicent del Raspeig.
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 theSpanish Constitution, referring to the exclusive powers of the State, direct reference is made to the ownership of the ports ofgeneral interest, which in the Valencian case are those ofAlicante,Castellón,Valencia,SaguntandGandia. 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 thegovernmentand of coordinating and controlling the efficiency of the port system, made up of 28 Port Authorities that they administer the 46portsof general interest of the State. There are 3 Port Authorities of the Valencian Community, which manage the 5 Valencian ports of general interest. Thus, thePort Authority of Valenciais in charge of managing the ports of Valencia,SaguntandGandia, while those ofAlicanteandCastellónonly 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.
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 theLlei Orgànica d'Educació).
Children from three to five years old in the Valencian Community have the option of attending theinfantilorpre-schoolstage, 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 undergoprimaryandsecondary schooleducation, 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 theirBatxillerat(Spanish:Bachillerato), they can take the PAU exams (Proves d'Accés a la Universitat), commonly known asSelectiu.
The secondary stage of education is normally referred to by their initials, e.g.ESOstanding forEducació Secundària Obligatòria.
The Valencian Community is home to a number of prestigious universities like theUniversity of Valencia, founded in 1499. At the request ofJames I of Aragon,Pope Innocent IVin 1246, authorized by apapal bullthe establishment ofestudis generalsin 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, PopeAlexander VIsigned the bill of approval and one year laterFerdinand II of Aragonproclaimed 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 includedLatin,Greek,Hebrew,Arabic,philosophy,mathematics,physics,theology,Canon law, andmedicine.
Nowadays thePolytechnic University of Valenciahas 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 inGandiaandAlcoy.
Other universities areUniversity of Alicante,Miguel Hernández Universityin Elche,Jaume I UniversityandValencian International Universityin Castellón de la Plana,Catholic University of Valencia, andCEU Cardenal Herrera Universityin Valencia.
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 thefreedom of informationof the Valencian people intheir own language.
Prior to its dissolution, the administration of RTVV under thePeople'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 theValencia Metro derailmentin 2006 and the indictment of President de la GeneralitatFrancisco Campsin theGürtelscandal in 2009.Supervisors appointed by the PP were accused ofsexual harassment.
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 theNational Courtafter trade unions appealed against it. On that same day, the President de la GeneralitatAlberto Fabraannounced 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 otherautonomous communities in Spain, 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. TheValencian Media Corporationwas founded in July 2016, as it started the creation of a new TV channel and radio station, by the name ofÀ Punt(ɑ̀). In June 2018 the new public TV channel was launched by Valencian Media Corporation, the newly formed agency of theGeneralitat Valenciana.
The Valencian gastronomy is of great variety, although their more international dishes are rice-based (arròsin Valencian), like the Valencianpaellaknown worldwide. Rice is a basic ingredient in many of the typical dishes, like thearròs a banda,arròs al forn,arròs amb costra,arròs caldós,arròs del senyoret,arròs negre, among many.
Pastadishes include thefideuà. 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 theorange(Valencian:taronja) being perhaps of highest importance as one of the typical fruits of Valencianagriculture.
Horchata(orxatain Valencian), production of which has traditionally been centred aroundAlboraya(Alboraia), is a typical drink, accompanied withfartons. Also traditional are the production of coffee liqueur (typical ofAlcoy), andmistela(inMarina BaixaandHoya de Buñol(Foia de Bunyol)). Another one isagua de Valencia, in Valencianaigua de València, 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 ofValencia.
The great majority ofdessertstypical of Valencia have their origin in Arabic times and play an important part in the local festive activities. Some  are internationally famous.Xixonais the place of traditional manufacture ofturrón(torróin Valencian), a soft nougat, consumed during Christmas in Spain and the rest of the Hispanic world. InCasinostheturrónis typical too but the most important manufacture of the village ispeladillasorconfit(dragéesandsugared almonds). InXàtivaand theCentral comarques, thearnadí, a dessert elaborated withpumpkinis made.Orihuelaand its region have thealmojábanas.
The official Valencian anthem is the Hymn of the Regional Exhibition of 1909 (Himne de l'Exposició Regional de 1909in Valencian; commonly known as theHimne de València, "Anthem of Valencia"), in whose composition the old hymn of the City of Valencia of the 16th century is included. Theemblem of the Valencian Generalitat(coat of arms) includes the heraldry of KingPeter IV of Aragon, representative of the historicalKingdom of Valencia, whose shield is inclined towards the right, or, four bars Gules.
The official flag, theRoyal Senyera(Reial Senyera), also known asSenyera Coronada(Crowned Senyera) orSenyera Tricolor(Tricolour Senyera) is the same as Valencia's City flag, which, in turn, is a historical derivation of theSenyera, the heraldic symbol of theCrown 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,cultural associations,or political partieswhich simply use theSenyeraas Valencian flag.
Other symbols are used at different levels by the Valencian society, like the heraldic animals ofrat-penat(abat) anddrac alat(a wingeddragonwhich was the emblem ofJames I).
One of the most recognized and representative Valencian symbols are the music and dance of theMuixeranga, ancient tradition of human towers preserved for the last 4 centuries, during the Festivity ofLa Mare de Déu de la Salut FestivalofAlgemesí, recognized-UNESCO "intangible heritage of humanity". Typical folk music in celebrations is played with thetabalet(a drum) and thedolçaina(a flute). Valencian traditional costumes and dresses includeespardenyes(shoes) and traditionalfalleradresses (the Falles dresses).
TheautochthonousValencian sport is theValencian pilota, which features a professionalValencian Pilota Squadfor international matches with relatedball gamesall around the world. This sport has many variants, that may be played at the streets or at special courtfields like thetrinquet. 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 ongoingbookmakerstake bets forredsorblues, since these are the colours players must wear, red being the colour of the strongest team or player. TheValencian pilotacan 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 footballis the most widely known and played sport. There are teams in every town or village, two of which are currently playing inLa Liga, Spanish top professional division:Valencia CF(widely considered one of the most successful clubs in Spanish football history, having won six La Liga titles and 8 Copa del Rey) andVillarreal CF. There are two clubs playing in theSegunda División,Levante UDandElche CF. Other historical teams that have been in La Liga in the past areCD Alcoyano,Hércules CFandCD Castellón.
Professionalbasketballis represented currently inLiga ACB, the top professional division, byValencia Basket, who won its first league title in 2017. Two more teams,CB Lucentum AlicanteandAB Castellóare present in the second division.
Regarding female professional sports, the historicalBM Sagunto, now disbanded, dominated the women's professionalhandballscene in Spain through the 1980s and 1990s, with a total of 27Spanish Division of Honour - Women's handballwins, 20 Cup titles and 1Women's EHF Champions League. Other important women's handball teams areCB Amadeo Tortajada(dissolved in 2009),CBF Elda,CB Mar AlicanteandCB Elche. In female basketball,Ros Casares Valenciahas been 8 times champion of theSpanish Women's Leagueand 3 times winner of theEuroLeague Women.
Motorcycle racesare very popular, as theCircuit of Valenciarace track and its hostedValencian Community Grand Prixprove. Many ValencianMotoGPpilots such asHéctor Barberá,Héctor FaubelorNicolás Terolhave been competing in different MotoGP classes.
In early February, the annual cycling stage raceVolta a la Comunitat Valenciana, which dates back to 1929, is held as the first stage race of the European season.
Another relevant game is thepigeon sport, with an autochthonousdoverace being trained, thegavatxut valencià.
Petancaand its variantCalitxare traditional sports as well, especially in towns or among elders.