Alzira, Valencia
Encyclopedia
Alzira is a town and municipality
of 45,000 inhabitants in Valencia, eastern Spain
. It is the capital of the comarca
of Ribera Alta
in the province of Valencia.
river, and on the Valencia–Alicante
railway.
Alzira's climate is typically Mediterranean: warm with no extremes of temperature either in summer or winter. Rainfall is scarce and irregular. Torrential rains usually follow periods of relative drought.
The town is situated on the shores of the Júcar
river. The Murta and Casella valleys are well worth visiting as they are by far the most beautiful areas in the Alzira area. Alzira's borough extends over 111 square kilometres.
Alzira was founded by the Muslim Moors under the name Jazirat Shukr (Arabic: جزيرة شَقْر) which later became known as Júcar Island.
It was a prosperous trading-station during the reign of the Muslim Moors which lasted over five hundred years. During that time the city had a local administrative government and was considered as a cultural hub for writers, philosophers, and law experts.
The city was conquered by James I of Aragon
on 30 December 1242.
Alzira, located right on the bank of the Júcar, has suffered devastating floods throughout its history - in particular in 1472, 1590, 1864, 1916, 1982 and 1987.
Alzira has historically been a walled town, surrounded by palm
, orange
and mulberry
groves, and by low-lying rice-swamps, which rendered its neighborhood somewhat unhealthy. It is sometimes identified with the Roman Saetabicula or with the pre-Roman Sucro. According to one source, the mutiny at Sucro
of 206 BC, squelched by Scipio Africanus
, was at or near present-day Alzira, a few kilometers east of the mouth of the Sucro/Jucar River.
Agriculture was the prime economic driving force in Alzira up to the mid-20th century. The most important produce are oranges and they are distributed by important local co-operatives.
During the 20th century, Alzira changed from an agricultural based economy to a diversified industry-orientated city with an important commercial infrastructure and associated services. Many outstanding companies have their head-office in the city: building and publishing companies, diversed manufactures, textil and ice cream factories, etc.
Alzira has become a vey important commercial city due to its influence area, which is estimated about 300,000 inhabitants.
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
of 45,000 inhabitants in Valencia, eastern Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. It is the capital of the comarca
Comarca
A comarca is a traditional region or local administrative division found in parts of Spain, Portugal, Panama, Nicaragua, and Brazil. The term is derived from the term marca, meaning a "march, mark", plus the prefix co- meaning "together, jointly".The comarca is known in Aragonese as redolada and...
of Ribera Alta
Ribera Alta (comarca)
Ribera Alta is a comarca in the province of Valencia, Valencian Community, Spain.-Municipalities:*Alberic*Alcàntera de Xúquer*L'Alcúdia*Alfarb*Algemesí*Alginet*Alzira*Antella*Beneixida*Benifaió*Benimodo*Benimuslem*Carcaixent*Càrcer*Carlet...
in the province of Valencia.
Geographic situation
Alzira is located in the province of Valencia, on the left bank of the JúcarJúcar
The Júcar or Xúquer is a river on the Iberian Peninsula of Spain. The river runs for approximately 509 km from its source at Ojuelos de Valdeminguete, on the eastern flank of the Montes Universales, Sistema Ibérico...
river, and on the Valencia–Alicante
Alicante
Alicante or Alacant is a city in Spain, the capital of the province of Alicante and of the comarca of Alacantí, in the south of the Valencian Community. It is also a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city of Alicante proper was 334,418, estimated , ranking as the second-largest...
railway.
Alzira's climate is typically Mediterranean: warm with no extremes of temperature either in summer or winter. Rainfall is scarce and irregular. Torrential rains usually follow periods of relative drought.
The town is situated on the shores of the Júcar
Júcar
The Júcar or Xúquer is a river on the Iberian Peninsula of Spain. The river runs for approximately 509 km from its source at Ojuelos de Valdeminguete, on the eastern flank of the Montes Universales, Sistema Ibérico...
river. The Murta and Casella valleys are well worth visiting as they are by far the most beautiful areas in the Alzira area. Alzira's borough extends over 111 square kilometres.
History
It was a prosperous trading-station during the reign of the Muslim Moors which lasted over five hundred years. During that time the city had a local administrative government and was considered as a cultural hub for writers, philosophers, and law experts.
The city was conquered by James I of Aragon
James I of Aragon
James I the Conqueror was the King of Aragon, Count of Barcelona, and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276...
on 30 December 1242.
Alzira, located right on the bank of the Júcar, has suffered devastating floods throughout its history - in particular in 1472, 1590, 1864, 1916, 1982 and 1987.
Alzira has historically been a walled town, surrounded by palm
Arecaceae
Arecaceae or Palmae , are a family of flowering plants, the only family in the monocot order Arecales. There are roughly 202 currently known genera with around 2600 species, most of which are restricted to tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate climates...
, orange
Orange (fruit)
An orange—specifically, the sweet orange—is the citrus Citrus × sinensis and its fruit. It is the most commonly grown tree fruit in the world....
and mulberry
Mulberry
Morus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae. The 10–16 species of deciduous trees it contains are commonly known as Mulberries....
groves, and by low-lying rice-swamps, which rendered its neighborhood somewhat unhealthy. It is sometimes identified with the Roman Saetabicula or with the pre-Roman Sucro. According to one source, the mutiny at Sucro
Mutiny at Sucro
The Roman army's mutiny at Sucro, a no longer existing ancient fort in Spain, took place in early 206 BC, during the Roman conquest of Hispania in the Second Punic War against Carthage. The mutineers had several grievances, including not having received the pay due to them and being under-supplied...
of 206 BC, squelched by Scipio Africanus
Scipio Africanus
Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus , also known as Scipio Africanus and Scipio the Elder, was a general in the Second Punic War and statesman of the Roman Republic...
, was at or near present-day Alzira, a few kilometers east of the mouth of the Sucro/Jucar River.
Economy
During the 20th century, Alzira changed from an agricultural based economy to a diversified industry-orientated city with an important commercial infrastructure and associated services. Many outstanding companies have their head-office in the city: building and publishing companies, diversed manufactures, textil and ice cream factories, etc.
Alzira has become a vey important commercial city due to its influence area, which is estimated about 300,000 inhabitants.