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Valencia
car hire
Back to: Spain car hire Valencia spain information Founded by the Romans, Valencia has been the home of
many cultures over its history: Romans, Visigoths, Moors and the Aragonese
all made the city an important cultural and financial centre.
In the year 1094, Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, called El Cid Campeador,
conquered Valencia on behalf of the Christians, but the city later fell
to the Almoravids in 1102. Following the Moorish domination, it was
in 1238 that James I of Aragon ( 9Kb ) finally reconquered the city,
and founded the Kingdom of Valencia, with its characteristic legislative
privileges (Furs).
During the 15th and 16th centuries, Valencia became one of the major
economic powers on the Mediterranean seaboard. It was the time of the
Valencian siglo de oro (Golden Age), which was characterized by splendour
in the arts at the hands of Joanot Martorell (author of Tirant lo Blanc,
the first modern European novel), Ausias March, Roig de Corella, Isabel
de Villena, Jordi de Sant Jordi and Jaume Roig, among others.
During the War of Spanish Succession, Valencia sided with archduke Charles
of Austria, and after the victory of the Bourbons at the Battle of Almansa
(April 1707), Phillip V abolished the local privileges, or fueros. In
1874, Alfonso XII was proclaimed constitutional king at Sagunto, north
of Valencia.
When democracy was restored, the Land of Valencia was given its present
Autonomous Statutes in 1982. The history of the city, now the capital
of the Land of Valencia, is both rich and varied, providing a patrimony
that has converted it into one of the major cities in Spain on both
cultural and economic levels.
Of historical interest yet cosmopolitan, the city
has grown and adapted to the times, conserving its rich heritage while
becoming a leading economic and financial centre in present day Spain.
Bathed in Mediterranean sun, giving warmth and that special kind of
light that Sorolla immortalized on canvas, it is by no means strange
that the poet in the Cantar del Mio Cid spoke of the "luminous
city of Valencia".
You'll be pleasantly surprised by the City itself and the warm, inviting
character of its inhabitants. We ask you to discover it for yourself
and enjoy the the extensive range of activities that await you.
In the meantime you can have a "Virtual Trip", just "picking"
one of the underlined items on each page, as usual. You will reach a
page with more information or just a picture of the place that is mentioned.
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