Llíria
Encyclopedia
Llíria or Liria (Spanish
) is a medium sized town off the CV35 motorway to the north of Valencia
, Spain
. Known as Edeta in ancient Iberian times, it is the musical capital of the region.
in the province
of Valencia
. It is approximately 25 km (15.5 mi) north-west of the city of Valencia
. It sits at an altitude of 164m (530'). The population in 2006 totalled approximately 21,500. The traditional economy is based on agriculture
, but industries such as textiles, construction materials, plastic
s, and furniture are becoming increasingly important. The city is at the end of the Valencia's metro
train system. Construction of a new general hospital in Lliria began in 2007.
The local Fiesta
s are Romería of San Vicente Ferrer (29 April), and Saint Michael (29 September).
n cities in Spain. The city was then known as Edeta and it was the administrative centre of Edetania, an extensive territory between the rivers Júcar and Palancia.
Edeta was built on a hilltop known as San Miguel – which overlooks the modern city. The city was moved downhill to it current location by Quintus Sertorius
after Roman troops destroyed the town in 76 BC.
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Under the Romans
, Llíria was as important as Valencia or Sagunto
. The town is very rich in Roman finds, including a large Roman leisure centre with a temple, shops, pools, and hot baths.
Recent archaeological excavations have uncovered one of Spain’s largest-ever caches of buried coins. Known as the Treasure of the Calle Duque of Lliria, it totals some 6,000 silver denarii
minted in the first and third centuries. Another archaeological find was a mosaic
of The Twelve Labours of Hercules
, currently on show at the National Archaeological Museum of Spain
(Madrid
).
The first church in Llíria was built in 1238 by King James I of Aragon
, after his victory over the Moors
and the conquest of the Valencian region. The Church of the Blood (església de la Sang) was built on the site of a mosque
and is a typical example of Gothic architecture
with Roman and Valencian influences. Some remains of the original mosque can still be seen.
In 1919 the church was gazetted as a National Monument and was the first religious monument in the Valencian Community to receive this distinction. The church was recently restored and opened to the public.
, but with slight continental influence and some frosts in winter and spring. The average temperature is between 10º/11º C
(50º/52º F
)in January and 26º/29°C (79º/84°F) in July and August. Rainfall is very irregular but with heavy showers common in September and October.
systems and practically no residential streets are paved or illuminated. Utility services are struggling to keep up with largely unplanned growth. Sedesa SA has been given approval to construct a golf course with a hotel and luxury housing on a site some three kilometres to the north-east of the city. Work on the development was expected to begin in 2007, but now seem to have been suspended following the economic downturn. The largest immigrant communities are from Morocco
(434), Romania
(344) and the United Kingdom
(323).
", was formed by a Franciscan
monk Fray Antoni Albarracín Enguídanos in 1838 and the subsequent band divided in 1903 to form the rival Unió Musical.
and Valencian are spoken in the town; however, the number speaking Valencian in their homes is steadily decreasing as the town is slowly absorbed into the Spanish-speaking conurbation of Valencia.
Spanish & Valencian language schools (State): Sant Vicent (962 780 374), Sant Miquel (962 781 217), Camp de Túria (962 780 503), and Laurona (962 790 125).
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
) is a medium sized town off the CV35 motorway to the north of Valencia
Valencia (city in Spain)
Valencia or València is the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third largest city in Spain, with a population of 809,267 in 2010. It is the 15th-most populous municipality in the European Union...
, 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...
. Known as Edeta in ancient Iberian times, it is the musical capital of the region.
Location
Llíria is the capital of the area known as Camp de TúriaCamp de Túria
Camp de Túria is a comarca in the province of Valencia, Valencian Community, Spain.- Geography :It comprises the lower reaches of the river Turia and its adjacent territories. Borders with the region of Field Morvedre and the counties of Huerta de Valencia...
in the province
Provinces of Spain
Spain and its autonomous communities are divided into fifty provinces .In other languages of Spain:*Catalan/Valencian , sing. província.*Galician , sing. provincia.*Basque |Galicia]] — are not also the capitals of provinces...
of Valencia
Valencia (province)
Valencia or València is a province of Spain, in the central part of the Valencian Community.It is bordered by the provinces of Alicante, Albacete, Cuenca, Teruel, Castellón, and the Mediterranean Sea...
. It is approximately 25 km (15.5 mi) north-west of the city of Valencia
Valencia (city in Spain)
Valencia or València is the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third largest city in Spain, with a population of 809,267 in 2010. It is the 15th-most populous municipality in the European Union...
. It sits at an altitude of 164m (530'). The population in 2006 totalled approximately 21,500. The traditional economy is based on agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, but industries such as textiles, construction materials, plastic
Plastic
A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...
s, and furniture are becoming increasingly important. The city is at the end of the Valencia's metro
Valencia Metro
Metrovalencia is a modern amalgamation of former FEVE narrow gauge diesel and electric operated suburban/regional railways. It is a large suburban network that crosses the city of Valencia, with all trains continuing out to far-flung suburbs. It also has destinations on lines that make it more...
train system. Construction of a new general hospital in Lliria began in 2007.
The local Fiesta
Festival
A festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival....
s are Romería of San Vicente Ferrer (29 April), and Saint Michael (29 September).
Pre-Roman Age
Under Llíria lie the ruins of what was one of the most important IberiaIberians
The Iberians were a set of peoples that Greek and Roman sources identified with that name in the eastern and southern coasts of the Iberian peninsula at least from the 6th century BC...
n cities in Spain. The city was then known as Edeta and it was the administrative centre of Edetania, an extensive territory between the rivers Júcar and Palancia.
Edeta was built on a hilltop known as San Miguel – which overlooks the modern city. The city was moved downhill to it current location by Quintus Sertorius
Quintus Sertorius
Quintus Sertorius was a Roman statesman and general, born in Nursia, in Sabine territory. His brilliance as a military commander was shown most clearly in his battles against Rome for control of Hispania...
after Roman troops destroyed the town in 76 BC.
Roman Age
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
, Llíria was as important as Valencia or Sagunto
Sagunto
Sagunto or Sagunt is an ancient city in Eastern Spain, in the modern fertile comarca of Camp de Morvedre in the province of Valencia. It is located in a hilly site, c. 30 km north of Valencia, close to the Costa del Azahar on the Mediterranean Sea...
. The town is very rich in Roman finds, including a large Roman leisure centre with a temple, shops, pools, and hot baths.
Recent archaeological excavations have uncovered one of Spain’s largest-ever caches of buried coins. Known as the Treasure of the Calle Duque of Lliria, it totals some 6,000 silver denarii
Denarius
In the Roman currency system, the denarius was a small silver coin first minted in 211 BC. It was the most common coin produced for circulation but was slowly debased until its replacement by the antoninianus...
minted in the first and third centuries. Another archaeological find was a mosaic
Mosaic
Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral...
of The Twelve Labours of Hercules
Heracles
Heracles ,born Alcaeus or Alcides , was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, foster son of Amphitryon and great-grandson of Perseus...
, currently on show at the National Archaeological Museum of Spain
National Archaeological Museum of Spain
The National Archaeological Museum of Spain is a museum in Madrid, Spain, located beside the Plaza de Colón , sharing its building with the National Library....
(Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
).
Mediaeval Age
James I of Aragon
James I the Conqueror was the King of Aragon, Count of Barcelona, and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276...
, after his victory over the Moors
Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...
and the conquest of the Valencian region. The Church of the Blood (església de la Sang) was built on the site of a mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
and is a typical example of Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
with Roman and Valencian influences. Some remains of the original mosque can still be seen.
In 1919 the church was gazetted as a National Monument and was the first religious monument in the Valencian Community to receive this distinction. The church was recently restored and opened to the public.
Climate
The climate is MediterraneanMediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...
, but with slight continental influence and some frosts in winter and spring. The average temperature is between 10º/11º C
Celsius
Celsius is a scale and unit of measurement for temperature. It is named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius , who developed a similar temperature scale two years before his death...
(50º/52º F
Fahrenheit
Fahrenheit is the temperature scale proposed in 1724 by, and named after, the German physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit . Within this scale, the freezing of water into ice is defined at 32 degrees, while the boiling point of water is defined to be 212 degrees...
)in January and 26º/29°C (79º/84°F) in July and August. Rainfall is very irregular but with heavy showers common in September and October.
Population
The city has about 21,500 residents (2006) of which some 16,500 live in the city centre and 5,000 live in surrounding residential estates. Llíria and the surrounding area has one of fastest rates of population growth in the entire nation. Outside of the city centre there are few sewageSewage
Sewage is water-carried waste, in solution or suspension, that is intended to be removed from a community. Also known as wastewater, it is more than 99% water and is characterized by volume or rate of flow, physical condition, chemical constituents and the bacteriological organisms that it contains...
systems and practically no residential streets are paved or illuminated. Utility services are struggling to keep up with largely unplanned growth. Sedesa SA has been given approval to construct a golf course with a hotel and luxury housing on a site some three kilometres to the north-east of the city. Work on the development was expected to begin in 2007, but now seem to have been suspended following the economic downturn. The largest immigrant communities are from Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
(434), Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
(344) and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
(323).
Music
Several thousand of Llíria’s residents play musical instruments and the city is well known for its two intensely rival bands. The first band, the "Banda PrimitivaBanda Primitiva of Llíria
La Banda Primitiva of Llíria was founded in 1819 by the Franciscan father Fray Antoni Albarracín Enguídanos . It is the oldest civil band in Spain....
", was formed by a Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
monk Fray Antoni Albarracín Enguídanos in 1838 and the subsequent band divided in 1903 to form the rival Unió Musical.
Language
Both SpanishSpanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
and Valencian are spoken in the town; however, the number speaking Valencian in their homes is steadily decreasing as the town is slowly absorbed into the Spanish-speaking conurbation of Valencia.
Schools
- Spanish-language grant-aided schools: El Prat (962 780 071)
- Valencian-language grant-aided schools: La Unió (962 780 254)
- Spanish language church schools: Francisco Llopis (962 781 091) and Santa Ana (962 781 091)
Spanish & Valencian language schools (State): Sant Vicent (962 780 374), Sant Miquel (962 781 217), Camp de Túria (962 780 503), and Laurona (962 790 125).