See also: Valence

Valence ( Valencian Valencia in /catalan, Castilian Valencia in ) is a town of Spain, located at the east of the country, on the coast the Mediterranean. Founded in 138 av. J-C, by the Roman consul Decimus Junius Brutus Callaicus, under the name of Valentia Edetanorum , it is crossed by the river Turia.

Third city of the country in term of population, it was the capital of the Royaume of Valence, with the Moyen-âge. Today, Valence is the capital of the autonomous community Valencian and of one from its three provinces, the Province of Valence.

Kingdom of the orange S, Valence is also re-elected for its Falles ( fallas in Castilian) which take place of the 16 to the March 19th.
The Paella and the Orxata ( horchata in Castilian) are its gastronomical specialities most known. In addition, the Fideuà, born with the Grau de Gandie, allured more and more the gourmets. The Agua of Valencia is a Cocktail containing undermined (or champagne, juice of orange, Vodka and gin.

Economic activities

With its beginnings, the town of Valence was used as center of supply and trade within the Roman Empire, then, with the arrival of the Islamic culture, of many infrastructures were built to fight against the aridity and to allow the irrigation of the fields surrounding the city. The area of Valence then will be transformed into an enormous orchard and kitchen garden.

Just like Tolède, Valence became one of the frontier cities most important, with the increase in the trade between the two cultures reigning on the peninsula. Institutions dedicated to the trade were especially created, and a currency specific to the city was beaten.

The economic activity of Valence today still is very impressed past of the city, and it is articulated around two axes: trade and the agriculture, for which it is necessary to add tourism (the city having a diversified tourist offer). Like all the major cities, Valence is also distinguished in fields such as the craft industry, industry, the textile, etc

Currently, the city constitutes the third economic center of the country. Its economic dynamism is such, that today, Valence is the only Spanish city to have the capacity to break bipolarity between Madrid and Barcelona. Its powerful industry, the trade and tourism are the pillars of the saving in this metropolis.

Valence is known also for its important international exhibitions, like the Foire of the Piece of furniture or the Car, located in the largest hall of exposure of Spain " Feria Valencia".

Moreover, its international projection, its infrastructures and its geographical position in the center of the Mediterranean Arc make Valence an ideal city to invest and create companies, as the economic directory European European Cities Monitor 2006 shows it.

Valence will appear in calendar 2008 of Formula 1 by accommodating the Grand Prix of Europe.

Climate

Spain is located in the Mediterranean climatic zone. The strength and the diversity of the reliefs contribute to introduce climatic nuances. From the Western Pyrenees in Galicia, Spain is included/understood in the oceanic field. Precipitations are abundant in all seasons (between 1.000 and 1.500 mm per annum). The vicinity of the ocean attenuates the estival temperatures and ensures of the very soft winters. The interior of the country knows a Mediterranean climate. Thermal contrasts are very marked there: estival strong heat, rigorous winter. The central plate is quasi desert. The summers are so arid there that almost all the rivers are drained.

Valence has one of the climates most pleasant d´Europe => Valence is bathed by the Mediterranean what softens its climate. The city is characterized by a soft climate, typically Mediterranean, with an annual average temperature higher than 17ºC. The summers are hot and the very moderate winters. During the winter months, the temperature usually does not descend below 10ºC (Remark; it is not rare that the temperature reaches 20° hanging the days of winter). Precipitations are rare in summer, as in all Mediterranean, and a little more abundant in autumn like at the end of L winter and the beginning of spring. With an annual average of 17,8ºC, as one can see it on the graph. Minimum being an average of 11,5º in January, and the maximum 25,7º in August.