Valencia

City and capital of Valencia province in the Valencian Community, eastern Spain, on the estuary of the Guadalaviar River; population (2001 est) 746,600. It is the centre of a very rich agricultural plain noted for the high quality of its citrus fruits, particularly oranges; industries include textiles, metal products, chemicals, ship repair, motor vehicles, furniture, coloured tiles, and wine.

Valencia was a Roman colony, first mentioned in the 2nd century BC. It was under Moorish rule from the 8th to the 13th centuries, except during 1094–99, when it was ruled by El Cid. After its conquest by James I of Aragón in 1238, Valencia rose to great commercial and cultural importance, rivalling Barcelona. It was the seat of the Valencia school of painting in the 16th and 17th centuries, and experienced an economic revival during the 19th and 20th centuries. During the Spanish civil war, Valencia was the seat of the Republican government in 1936–37. There is a Gothic and baroque cathedral (13th–15th centuries), called La Seo; the Torres de Serranos, 14th-century fortified towers built on Roman foundations; La Lonja, the Gothic silk exchange; and a university founded in 1501.

Valencia

Province of the Valencian Community, western Spain, with a coastline on the Mediterranean Sea; area 10,764 sq km/4,156 sq mi; population (1995 est) 2,200,300. The rivers Guadalaviar and Júcar flow through it. The province is mountainous in the interior, and has a fertile, irrigated coastal plain. Products include oranges, olives, grapes, mulberries, figs, and rice. The capital is Valencia.

Valencia

Industrial city and capital of Carabobo state, northern Venezuela; it is situated on the west bank of the Cabriales River, at an altitude of 478 m/1,569 ft above sea level and 160 km/99 mi west of Caracas, with which it is linked by road, rail, and air; population (2007 est) 1,457,900. It is the country's third-largest city, and the centre of its most developed agricultural region, lying near Lake Valencia. Industries include cars, brewing, food-processing, textiles, leather, sugar, and, like Valencia in Spain, oranges.

Valencia was founded in 1555 and has several colonial buildings, including the cathedral (built 1580), which contains the statue of the Virgen del Socorro; the bullring is the second largest in South America (after Mexico City). There is also an airport and a university, which dates from 1852.