1.
Provinces of Spain
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Spain and its autonomous communities are divided into fifty provinces. The layout of Spains provinces closely follows the pattern of the division of the country carried out in 1833. The only major change of provincial borders since that time has been the sub-division of the Canary Islands into two rather than one. Historically, the provinces served mainly as transmission belts for policies enacted in Madrid, the importance of the provinces has declined since the adoption of the system of autonomous communities in the period of the Spanish transition to democracy. They nevertheless remain electoral districts for national elections and as references, for instance in postal addresses. A small town would normally be identified as being in, say, Valladolid province rather than the community of Castile. The provinces were the building-blocks from which the communities were created. Consequently, no province is divided more than one of these communities. Only two capitals of autonomous communities—Mérida in Extremadura and Santiago de Compostela in Galicia—are not also the capitals of provinces, seven of the autonomous communities comprise no more than one province each, Asturias, Balearic Islands, Cantabria, La Rioja, Madrid, Murcia, and Navarra. These are sometimes referred to as uniprovincial communities, the table below lists the provinces of Spain. For each, the city is given, together with an indication of the autonomous community to which it belongs. The names of the provinces and their capitals are ordered according to the form in which they appear in the main Wikipedia articles describing them. Unless otherwise indicated, their Spanish-language names are the same, locally valid names in Spains other co-official languages are indicated where they differ
2.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
3.
Spain
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By population, Spain is the sixth largest in Europe and the fifth in the European Union. Spains capital and largest city is Madrid, other urban areas include Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Bilbao. Modern humans first arrived in the Iberian Peninsula around 35,000 years ago, in the Middle Ages, the area was conquered by Germanic tribes and later by the Moors. Spain is a democracy organised in the form of a government under a constitutional monarchy. It is a power and a major developed country with the worlds fourteenth largest economy by nominal GDP. Jesús Luis Cunchillos argues that the root of the span is the Phoenician word spy. Therefore, i-spn-ya would mean the land where metals are forged, two 15th-century Spanish Jewish scholars, Don Isaac Abravanel and Solomon ibn Verga, gave an explanation now considered folkloric. Both men wrote in two different published works that the first Jews to reach Spain were brought by ship by Phiros who was confederate with the king of Babylon when he laid siege to Jerusalem. This man was a Grecian by birth, but who had given a kingdom in Spain. He became related by marriage to Espan, the nephew of king Heracles, Heracles later renounced his throne in preference for his native Greece, leaving his kingdom to his nephew, Espan, from whom the country of España took its name. Based upon their testimonies, this eponym would have already been in use in Spain by c.350 BCE, Iberia enters written records as a land populated largely by the Iberians, Basques and Celts. Early on its coastal areas were settled by Phoenicians who founded Western Europe´s most ancient cities Cadiz, Phoenician influence expanded as much of the Peninsula was eventually incorporated into the Carthaginian Empire, becoming a major theater of the Punic Wars against the expanding Roman Empire. After an arduous conquest, the peninsula came fully under Roman Rule, during the early Middle Ages it came under Germanic rule but later, much of it was conquered by Moorish invaders from North Africa. In a process took centuries, the small Christian kingdoms in the north gradually regained control of the peninsula. The last Moorish kingdom fell in the same year Columbus reached the Americas, a global empire began which saw Spain become the strongest kingdom in Europe, the leading world power for a century and a half, and the largest overseas empire for three centuries. Continued wars and other problems led to a diminished status. The Napoleonic invasions of Spain led to chaos, triggering independence movements that tore apart most of the empire, eventually democracy was peacefully restored in the form of a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Spain joined the European Union, experiencing a renaissance and steady economic growth
4.
Autonomous communities of Spain
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Spain is not a federation, but a highly decentralized unitary state. Some scholars have referred to the system as a federal system in all. There are 17 autonomous communities and two cities that are collectively known as autonomies. The two autonomous cities have the right to become autonomous communities, but neither has yet used this right and this unique framework of territorial administration is known as the State of Autonomies. The autonomous communities are governed according to the constitution and their own organic laws known as Statutes of Autonomy, since devolution was intended to be asymmetrical in nature, the scope of competences vary for each community, but all have the same parliamentary structure. Spain is a country made up of different regions with varying economic and social structures, as well as different languages. While the entire Spanish territory was united under one crown by the 16th century, the constituent territories—be it crowns, kingdoms, principalities or dominions—retained much of their former institutional existence, including limited legislative, judicial or fiscal autonomy. These territories also exhibited a variety of customs, laws. From the 18th century onwards, the Bourbon kings and the government tried to establish a more centralized regime, leading figures of the Spanish Enlightenment advocated for the building of a Spanish nation beyond the internal territorial boundaries. This culminated in 1833, when Spain was divided into 49 provinces and these were the Basque Country and Catalonia. This gave rise to peripheral nationalisms along with Spanish nationalism, therefore, economic and social changes that had produced a national cultural unification in France had the opposite effect in Spain. In a response to Catalan demands, limited autonomy was granted to Catalonia in 1913 and it was granted again in 1932 during the Second Spanish Republic, when the Generalitat, Catalonias mediaeval institution of government, was restored. During General Francos dictatorial regime, centralism was most forcefully enforced as a way of preserving the unity of the Spanish nation, peripheral nationalism, along with communism and atheism were regarded by his regime as the main threats. When Franco died in 1975, Spain entered into a phase of transition towards democracy, the then Prime Minister of Spain, Adolfo Suárez, met with Josep Tarradellas, president of the Generalitat of Catalonia in exile. An agreement was made so that the Generalitat would be restored and limited competencies would be transferred while the constitution was still being written. In the end, the constitution, published and ratified in 1979, found a balance in recognizing the existence of nationalities and regions in Spain, within the indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation. The starting point in the organization of Spain was the second article of the constitution. In order to exercise this right, the established a open process whereby the nationalities
5.
Aragon
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Aragon is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces, Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel, the current Statute of Autonomy declares Aragon a nationality of Spain. Aragons northern province of Huesca borders France and is positioned in the middle of the Pyrenees, within Spain, the community is flanked by Catalonia to the east, Valencia and Castile–La Mancha to the south, and Castile and León, La Rioja, and Navarre to the west. Aragon is home to many rivers—most notably, the river Ebro, Spains largest river in volume and it is also home to the Aneto, the highest mountain in the Pyrenees. As of 2015, the population of Aragon was 1,317,847, with more than half of it living in Zaragoza. As of 2015, half of Aragons population,50. 45%, Huesca is the only other city in the region with a population greater than 50,000. The majority of Aragonese citizens,71. 8%, live in the province of Zaragoza,17. 1% in Huesca and 11. 1% in Teruel, the population density of the region is the second lowest in Spain, only 26, 8/km2, after Castilla La Mancha. Only four cities have more than 20,000 inhabitants, Zaragoza 700,000, Huesca 50,000, Teruel 35,000 and Calatayud 20,000. Spanish is the language in most of Aragon, and it is the only official language, understood. The strip-shaped Catalan-speaking area in Aragon is often called La Franja, with such a low population density large areas of Aragon remain wild and relatively untouched. It is a land of natural contrasts, both in climate and geologically, from the green valleys and snow-capped peaks of the Pyrenees to the dry plains. Aragons Pyrenees include splendid and varied mountain landscapes with soaring peaks, deep canyons, dense forests and its rugged peaks include the Aneto, the highest in the range, the misty Monte Perdido, Perdiguero, Cotiella and many others. The park is one of the last sanctuaries of birds of prey in the range. Many beautiful mountain butterflies and flowers can be seen in the summer, the principal valleys in the mountains include those of Hecho, Canfranc, Tena, Benasque and others. The green valleys hide pretty villages with nice Romanesque churches and typical Pyrenean houses with flowers on the balconies, the oldest Romanesque cathedral in Spain is located in the medieval town of Jaca in the very northern part of Huesca Province. In the Pyrenean foothills, or pre-Pyrenees, the Mallos de Riglos are a natural rock formation. Ancient castles nestle on lonely hills, the most famous being the magnificent Loarre Castle, further south, the Ebro valley, irrigated by the river Ebro, is a rich and fertile agricultural area covered with vast fields of wheat, barley and other fruit and vegetable crops. Many beautiful and little-known settlements, castles and Roman ruins dot the landscape here, some of the most notable towns here include Calatayud, Daroca, Sos del Rey Catolico, Caspe and others
6.
Zaragoza
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Zaragoza, also called Saragossa in English, is the capital city of the Zaragoza province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the Huerva, on 1 September 2010 the population of the city of Zaragoza was 701,090, within its administrative limits on a land area of 1,062.64 square kilometres, ranking fifth in Spain. It is the 32nd most populous municipality in the European Union, the population of the metropolitan area was estimated in 2006 at 783,763 inhabitants. The municipality is home to more than 50 percent of the Aragonese population, the city lies at an elevation of 199 metres above sea level. Zaragoza hosted Expo 2008 in the summer of 2008, a fair on water. It was also a candidate for the European Capital of Culture in 2012, the city is famous for its folklore, local gastronomy, and landmarks such as the Basílica del Pilar, La Seo Cathedral and the Aljafería Palace. Together with La Seo and the Aljafería, several other buildings part of the Mudéjar Architecture of Aragon which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Fiestas del Pilar are among the most celebrated festivals in Spain, the city was called by the ancient Romans Caesaraugusta, from which the present name derives. The Iberian town that predated the Roman city was called Salduie, see also, Caesar Augusta The Sedetani, a tribe of ancient Iberians, populated a village called Salduie. Later on, Augustus founded a city called Caesaraugusta at the location to settle army veterans from the Cantabrian wars. The foundation date of Caesaraugusta has not been set with exact precision, the city did not suffer any decline during the last centuries of the Roman empire and was captured peacefully by the Goths in the fifth century AD. From 1018 to 1118, Zaragoza was one of the taifa kingdoms, during the first three decades of this period, 1018–1038, the city was ruled by the Banu Tujibi. After the death of El Cid his kingdom was overrun by the Almoravids, who, by 1100, had managed to cross the Ebro into Barbastro, the Banu Hud stubbornly resisted the Almoravids and ruled until they were eventually defeated by them in May 1110. On 18 December 1118, the Aragonese led by Alfonso I conquered the city from the Almoravids, after Alfonsos death without heirs in 1134, Zaragoza was swiftly occupied by Alfonso VII of León and Castile. The wedding never happened, as Petronila ended up marrying Ramon Berenguer IV, the marriage union was the origin of the Crown of Aragón. While the reality of the existence of Saint Dominguito del Val is questioned, despite a decline in the outlying rural economy, Zaragoza has continued to grow. The General Military Academy, a training center of the Spanish Army, was re-established on September 27,1940 by Minister of the Army José Enrique Varela Iglesias. During the second half of the 20th century, Zaragozas population boomed as a number of factories opened in the region, in 1979, the Hotel Corona de Aragón fire killed at least 80
7.
Demonym
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A demonym is a word that identifies residents or natives of a particular place, which is derived from the name of that particular place. It is a neologism, previously gentilic was recorded in English dictionaries, e. g. the Oxford English Dictionary, thus a Thai may be any resident or citizen of Thailand, of any ethnic group, or more narrowly a member of the Thai people. Conversely, some groups of people may be associated with multiple demonyms, for example, a native of the United Kingdom may be called a British person, a Brit, or a Briton. In some languages, when a parallel demonym does not exist, in English, demonyms are capitalized and are often the same as the adjectival form of the place, e. g. Egyptian, Japanese, or Greek. Significant exceptions exist, for instance the adjectival form of Spain is Spanish, English widely includes country-level demonyms such as Ethiopian or Guatemalan and more local demonyms such as Seoulite, Wisconsinite, Chicagoan, Michigander, Fluminense, and Paulista. Some places lack a commonly used and accepted demonym and this poses a particular challenge to those toponymists who research demonyms. The word gentilic comes from the Latin gentilis and the English suffix -ic, the word demonym was derived from the Greek word meaning populace with the suffix for name. National Geographic attributes the term demonym to Merriam-Webster editor Paul Dickson in a recent work from 1990 and it was subsequently popularized in this sense in 1997 by Dickson in his book Labels for Locals. However, in What Do You Call a Person From, a Dictionary of Resident Names attributed the term to George H. Scheetz, in his Names Names, A Descriptive and Prescriptive Onymicon, which is apparently where the term first appears. Several linguistic elements are used to create demonyms in the English language, the most common is to add a suffix to the end of the location name, slightly modified in some instances. Cairo → Cairene Cyrenaica → Cyrene Damascus → Damascene Greece → Greek Nazareth → Nazarene Slovenia → Slovene Often used for Middle Eastern locations and European locations. Kingston-upon-Hull → Hullensian Leeds → Leodensian Spain → Spaniard Savoy → Savoyard -ese is usually considered proper only as an adjective, thus, a Chinese person is used rather than a Chinese. Monaco → Monégasque Menton → Mentonasque Basque Country → Basque Often used for French locations, mostly they are from Africa and the Pacific, and are not generally known or used outside the country concerned. In much of East Africa, a person of an ethnic group will be denoted by a prefix. For example, a person of the Luba people would be a Muluba, the plural form Baluba, similar patterns with minor variations in the prefixes exist throughout on a tribal level. And Fijians who are indigenous Fijians are known as Kaiviti and these demonyms are usually more informal and colloquial. In the United States such informal demonyms frequently become associated with mascots of the sports teams of the state university system. In other countries the origins are often disputed and these will typically be formed using the standard models above
8.
Spanish language
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Spanish —also called Castilian —is a Romance language that originated in the Castile region of Spain, with hundreds of millions of native speakers around the world. It is usually considered the worlds second-most spoken native language after Mandarin Chinese and it is one of the few languages to use inverted question and exclamation marks. Spanish is a part of the Ibero-Romance group of languages, which evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in Iberia after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century. Beginning in the early 16th century, Spanish was taken to the colonies of the Spanish Empire, most notably to the Americas, as well as territories in Africa, Oceania, around 75% of modern Spanish is derived from Latin. Greek has also contributed substantially to Spanish vocabulary, especially through Latin, Spanish vocabulary has been in contact from an early date with Arabic, having developed during the Al-Andalus era in the Iberian Peninsula. With around 8% of its vocabulary being Arabic in origin, this language is the second most important influence after Latin and it has also been influenced by Basque as well as by neighboring Ibero-Romance languages. It also adopted words from languages such as Gothic language from the Visigoths in which many Spanish names and surnames have a Visigothic origin. Spanish is one of the six languages of the United Nations. It is the language in the world by the number of people who speak it as a mother tongue, after Mandarin Chinese. It is estimated more than 437 million people speak Spanish as a native language. Spanish is the official or national language in Spain, Equatorial Guinea, speakers in the Americas total some 418 million. In the European Union, Spanish is the tongue of 8% of the population. Spanish is the most popular second language learned in the United States, in 2011 it was estimated by the American Community Survey that of the 55 million Hispanic United States residents who are five years of age and over,38 million speak Spanish at home. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 uses the term castellano to define the language of the whole Spanish State in contrast to las demás lenguas españolas. Article III reads as follows, El castellano es la lengua española oficial del Estado, las demás lenguas españolas serán también oficiales en las respectivas Comunidades Autónomas. Castilian is the official Spanish language of the State, the other Spanish languages as well shall be official in their respective Autonomous Communities. The Spanish Royal Academy, on the hand, currently uses the term español in its publications. Two etymologies for español have been suggested, the Spanish Royal Academy Dictionary derives the term from the Provençal word espaignol, and that in turn from the Medieval Latin word Hispaniolus, from—or pertaining to—Hispania
9.
Cortes Generales
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The Cortes Generales is the legislature of Spain. It is a parliament, composed of the Congress of Deputies. The Cortes has power to any law and to amend the constitution. Moreover, the house has the power to confirm and dismiss the President of the Government. The system of Cortes arose in the Middle Ages as part of feudalism, a Corte was an advisory council made up of the most powerful feudal lords closest to the king. The Cortes of León was the first parliamentary body in Western Europe, from 1230, the Cortes of Leon and Castile were merged, though the Cortes power was decreasing. Prelates, nobles and commoners remained separated in the three estates within the Cortes, with the reappearance of the cities near the 12th century, a new social class started to grow, people living in the cities were neither vassals nor nobles themselves. Furthermore, the nobles were experiencing very hard times due to the Reconquista, so now the bourgeoisie had the money. So the King started admitting representatives from the cities to the Cortes in order to get money for the Reconquista. The frequent payoffs were the Fueros, grants of autonomy to the cities, at this time the Cortes already had the power to oppose the Kings decisions, thus effectively vetoing them. In addition, some representatives were permanent advisors to the King, isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, the Catholic Monarchs, started a specific policy to diminish the power of the bourgeoisie and nobility. They greatly reduced the powers of the Cortes to the point where they simply rubberstamped the monarchs acts, one of the major points of friction between the Cortes and the monarchs was the power of raising and lowering taxes. The role of the Cortes during the Spanish Empire was mainly to rubberstamp the decisions of the ruling monarch, however, they had some power over economic and American affairs, especially taxes. This allowed the Cortes to become influential, even when they did not directly oppose the Kings decisions. The abolition in the realms of Aragon was completed by 1716, Cortes existed in each of Aragon, Catalonia, Valencia and Navarre. It is thought that these legislatures exercised more power over local affairs than the Castilian Cortes did. Executive councils also existed in each of these realms, which were tasked with overseeing the implementation of decisions made by the Cortes. Thus, the Cortes in Spain did not develop towards a system as in the British case
10.
Ebro River
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The Ebro or Ebre is one of the most important rivers on the Iberian Peninsula. It is the second longest river in the Iberian peninsula after the Tagus, the source of the river Ebro is in Fontibre, from the Latin words Fontes Iberis, source of the Ebro. Close by is the big artificial lake Embalse del Ebro created by the damming of the river, the upper Ebro rushes through rocky gorges in Burgos Province. Karst geological processes shaped the landscape of layers of carbonate rock of extensive limestone bedrock formed in an ancient seabed. Aragonite, a named for Aragon, attests to the fact that carbonates are abundant in the central Ebro Valley. The valley expands and the Ebros flow then becomes slower as its volume increases. There, larger tributaries flowing from the Central Pyrenees and the Iberian System discharge large amounts of water, as it flows through Zaragoza the Ebro, is already a sizeable river. There, the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar stands next to the Ebro, the soils in most of the valley are primarily poor soils, calcareous, pebbly, stony, and sometimes salted with saltwater endorheic lagoons. The semi-arid interior of the Ebro Valley has either drought summers and it is covered with chaparral vegetation. Summers are hot and winters are cold, the dry summer season has temperatures of more than 35 °C, occasionally reaching over 40 °C. In winter, the temperatures drop below 0 °C. In some areas the vegetation depends heavily on moisture produced by condensation fogs and it is a continental Mediterranean climate with extreme temperatures. There are many ground frosts on clear nights, and sporadic snowfalls, the biomes are diverse in these Mediterranean climate zones, Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub. Hinterlands are particularly distinctive on account of extensive sclerophyll shrublands known as maquis, the dominant species are Quercus coccifera and Quercus ilex. These trees form monospecific communities or communities integrated with Pinus, Mediterranean buckthorns, Myrtus, Chamaerops humilis, junipers, Pistacia, Rosmarinus, Thymus, etc. The mountain vegetation is mostly coniferous forests that are drought adapted and their presence is related to the marine origin of the Ebro valley and the extensive marine deposits in the same area. After reaching Catalonia, the Ebro Valley narrows, and the river becomes constrained by mountain ranges, massive dams have been built in this area, such as the dams at Mequinenza, Riba-roja, Flix. In the final section of its course the river bends southwards, the massive calcareous cliffs of the Serra de Cardó range constrain the river during this last stretch, separating the Ebro Valley from the Mediterranean coastal area
11.
Cathedral-Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar
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The Cathedral-Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar is a Roman Catholic church in the city of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain. The Basilica venerates Blessed Virgin Mary, under her title Our Lady of the Pillar praised as Mother of the Hispanic Peoples by Pope John Paul II and it is reputed to be the first church dedicated to Mary in history. This is the reported apparition of Mary to have occurred before her believed Assumption. Many of the kings of Spain, many foreign rulers. Saint John of the Cross, Saint Teresa of Ávila, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar is one of two minor basilicas in the city of Zaragoza, and is co-cathedral of the city alongside the nearby La Seo Cathedral. The architecture is of Baroque style, and the present building was built between 1681 and 1872. According to ancient local tradition, soon after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, Saint James was preaching the Gospel in Spain, but was disheartened because of the failure of his mission. About a year after the believed apparition James is believed to have arranged to build a chapel in Marys honor. After James returned to Jerusalem, he was executed by Herod Agrippa in about 44 AD, several of his disciples took his body and returned it for final burial in Spain. This first chapel was destroyed with various other Christian shrines, but the statue. Numerous churches have been built upon this site through the years, the tiny chapel built by Saint James later gave way to a basilicalike enclosure during Constantine Is time, subsequently being transformed into Romanesque, then Gothic then Mudéjar styles. The venerated shrines at Zaragoza date to the Christian Reconquest by King Alfonso I in 1118, a church in the Romanesque style was built under the pontificate of Pedro de Librana who is also credited with the oldest written testimonial to the Virgin at Zaragoza. A tympanum on the wall of this Romanesque church still stands. The Romanesque church was damaged by fire in 1434, and reconstruction began in the Mudéjar Gothic style. A Gothic-style church was built in the 15th century but only a few parts of it remain intact or were restored, including the choir stand. The present spacious church in Baroque style was begun in 1681 by Charles II, King of Spain, the early constructions were supervised by Felipe Sanchez and were later modified by Francisco Herrera the Younger under John of Austria the Younger. The area most visited is the part of the chapel, because this is where the Holy Chapel by Ventura Rodríguez is built. Around the Holy Chapel are the vaults or domes painted with frescoes by Francisco Goya, The Queen of Martyrs, by 1718 the church had been vaulted over
12.
Moncayo Massif
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Moncayo is a 15 km long and about 7 km wide mountain massif giving name to the Tarazona y el Moncayo comarca, Aragon, Spain. The Moncayos highest summit, San Miguel, is the highest point in the 500 km long Sistema Ibérico, the Moncayo is located between the provinces of Zaragoza in Aragon and Soria in Castile and León. The ridges highest summits are covered in snow between October and May every year. Besides the San Miguel, the Moncayo massif includes two peaks that are almost identical and are located close together, Cerro San Juan. This mountain was mentioned as Mons Caius by Marcus Valerius Martialis in Ancient Roman times, the nearest large town to Moncayo is Tarazona, with many old and historical buildings, located on the massifs northern side 10 km away from it. There are also smaller villages closer to the mountain, the Sierra de Nava Alta and Sierra del Bollón are eastern prolongations of the Moncayo Massif. Moncayo is one of the most popular hiking places in Spain, there are few buses during the winter season, but almost hourly connections in the summer time. From the village of San Martín de la Virgen de Moncayo starts a road for hikers, the lower ranges of the mountain are covered by forest, including oak trees and spiky shrubs. There is a path at the northern side of the mountain zigzagging upwards. In the north east corner of the mountain is a hut made of stone which can be used as shelter in emergency situations. The shelter is located at the car north of the Lobera peak before the slope. At the north west side of the mountain is a tiny river, one can ascend the highest peak going up from Agramonte or from the eastern side of the mountain range, also via Lobera peak. Going up takes about three hours, there are a few loose stone sections which can be avoided when following the paths. On the top of the highest peak one can see the Pyrenees in clear weather, Tarazona Sistema Ibérico List of mountains in Aragon Mendikat Geodesy - Moncayo Parque Natural de la Dehesa del Moncayo
13.
Tarazona
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Tarazona is a town and municipality in the Tarazona y el Moncayo comarca, province of Zaragoza, in Aragon, Spain. It is the capital of the Tarazona y el Moncayo Aragonese comarca and it is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tarazona. During the Roman era, Tarazona was a city whose inhabitants were full Roman citizens. The city declined after the fall of the Roman Empire, and it was conquered in 1119 by Alfonso I of Aragon and became the seat of the diocese of Tarazona. Construction on Tarazona Cathedral first began in the 12th century in the French Gothic style, after the crucifixion of Alfonso I, Tarazona became a town situated on the frontiers between Castile, Navarre, and Aragon, and was thus of strategic importance. During centuries of Arabic rule, the population was diverse, and Christians, Jews. The Muslim presence was evident in the architecture, the cathedral itself was later rebuilt in Mudéjar style. The city suffered a crisis when the Moriscos were expelled. During the War of the Two Peters, the city was occupied by Castilian troops for nine years, in the 20th century, Tarazona became an important producer of matches and textiles, but these industries were replaced by others from the 1980s onwards. The city is now an important tourist destination with various restaurants, agramont Conchiellos Tortoles Comarca de Tarazona y el Moncayo. Article on The Diocese of Tarazona in The Catholic Encyclopedia, Tarazona entry at a travel site. Off the Beaten Path in Tarazona, Spain, Rescuing A Corner Of The Past by Walter Ruby, on Jewish Heritage
14.
Calatayud
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Calatayud is a municipality in the Province of Zaragoza, within Aragón, Spain, lying on the river Jalón, in the midst of the Sistema Ibérico mountain range. It is the second-largest town in the province after the capital, Zaragoza, and it is the seat of the comarca of Calatayud. The city has the title Muy noble, leal, siempre augusta y fidelísima ciudad de Calatayud, the first democratic elections after General Francos regime were called for 15 June 1977. In Calatayud they were one day earlier than all the rest of Spain, in order to prepare for a visit there by King Juan Carlos I. The town is located by the Carretera Nacional N-II highway, the Autovía A-2, the AVE Madrid–Barcelona high-speed rail line, as well as the RENFE line from Madrid to Barcelona stop in Calatayud. The city was founded on the site of a Celt-Iberian settlement by the Romans with the name Augusta Bilbilis and was the birthplace of the poet Martial in 40 CE. The site of the ruins of Augusta Bilbilis are approximately four kilometers to the north of the city of Calatayud. The modern town was founded by the Moors around the Ayyub castle, the name Calatayud came from the Arabic Qalat Ayyūb = Ayyubs castle. The ancient inhabitants of Bilbilis moved to the new site, occupying a strategic placement between the central meseta of Spain and the Ebro valley the city retained its importance in succeeding centuries. By the eleventh century a substantial Jewish community was present, surviving the reconquista until the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492, the city was conquered from the Muslims by Alfonso I of Aragón in 1119. Many surviving examples of church architecture show that the Moorish influence lived on. During the Peninsular Wars a notable siege of French occupied Calatayud led to its capture by guerillas in 1811, the city was the capital of its own province in 1822–23, during the Trieno Liberal. One of the most notable Mudéjar towers of Aragón is the 15th-century bell tower of the church of Santa María. The Muslim fortress is the biggest and oldest one on the Iberian peninsula, the church of San Pedro was founded by Ferdinand II of Aragón and it was there that the first cortes of Aragon was held in 1411. Given that reputation, traditionally boys went to the town in order to ask for Dolores to be favoured by local girls, nowadays this tradition has dismissed although in festivities, boys from the surroundings, even from Zaragoza, visit the town with that aim. - Glen Ellyn, Illinois, USA List of municipalities in Zaragoza Calatayud Mudéjar Comunidad de Calatayud Glen Ellyn City website Local wines Calatayud travel guide from Wikivoyage
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Borja, Aragon
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Borja is a town and municipality in the province of Zaragoza, community of Aragon, north-eastern Spain. As of 2014, its population was of 4,931, the municipality borders with Ablitas Agón, Ainzón, Alberite de San Juan, Albeta, Ambel, Bulbuente, El Buste, Fréscano, Magallón, Maleján, Mallén, Tabuenca, Tarazona, and Vera de Moncayo. It is the seat of the comarca of Campo de Borja. The towns origins date back to the 5th century BC, when a Celtiberian settlement, known as Bursau or Bursao, existed near the current ruins of the castle. After the Roman conquest also the slopes of the hill were populated and it received the title of city by King Alfonso V of Aragon in 1438. During the reign of the Catholic Monarchs, the Jews, forming an important part of the Borjan community, were expelled, Borja lived through a period of recession and plagues in the 17th and 18th centuries. It recovered economically starting from the 19th century, when a railway connecting the city to Cortes de Navarra was inaugurated, the industrial sector is intended to be boosted by businesses being attracted to the ongoing development Polígono Industrial Barbalanca, the Barbalanca Industrial Estate. Church of San Miguel, in Gothic– style, with a Romanesque apse
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Ejea de los Caballeros
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Ejea de los Caballeros, Aragonese, Exeya dos Caballers, is a town and municipality in the province of Zaragoza, part of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It is one of the five towns in the Comarca de las Cinco Villas. The five villages are Ejea de los Caballeros itself, Sos del Rey Católico, Uncastillo, Sádaba and they became part of the medieval Kingdom of Aragon in 1105 during the Spanish Reconquista, as Muslim rule in the region was falling back. The town retains many buildings, including, the Romanesque church of Santa María de la Corona. The main local fiesta honours the Virgin of the Olive, the local saint, in June, it is also celebrated the patron saint, Saint John the Baptist, in a medieval way. Another local festival commemorates The Vote Day, an event during the Black Plague, the plague is purported to have ended that day in Ejea de los Caballeros. Alberto Zapater, footballer Marmande, France Portogruaro, Italy
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Catalan language
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Catalan is a Romance language derived from Vulgar Latin and named after the medieval Principality of Catalonia, in northeastern modern Spain and adjoining parts of France. It is the national and only language of Andorra, and a co-official language of the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands. It also has status in the commune of Alghero, situated on the northwestern coast of the island of Sardinia. All these territories are often called Catalan Countries. 4% with Catalan and 47. 5% only Spanish, in order to integrate newcomers, the Generalitat de Catalunya spends part of its annual budget on the promotion of the use of Catalan in Catalonia and in other territories. Catalan evolved from Vulgar Latin in the Middle Ages around the eastern Pyrenees, during the Low Middle Ages it saw a golden age as the literary and dominant language of the Crown of Aragon, and was widely used all over the Mediterranean. The union of Aragon with the territories of Spain in 1479 marked the start of the decline of the language. In 1659 Spain ceded Northern Catalonia to France, and Catalan was banned in both states in the early 18th century, 19th-century Spain saw a Catalan literary revival, which culminated in the 1913 orthographic standardization, and the official status of the language during the Second Spanish Republic. However, the Francoist dictatorship banned the use of Catalan in schools and in the public administration, there is no parallel in Europe for such a large, bilingual, non-state speech community. Catalan dialects are relatively uniform, and are mutually intelligible and they are divided into two blocks, Eastern and Western, differing mostly in pronunciation. The terms Catalan and Valencian are two varieties of the same language, there are two institutions regulating the two standard varieties, the Institute of Catalan Studies in Catalonia and the Valencian Academy of the Language in the Valencian Community. Catalan shares many traits with its neighboring Romance languages, thus, the similarities are naturally most notable with eastern Occitan. Nouns have two genders, and two numbers, pronouns additionally can have a neuter gender, and some are also inflected for case and politeness, and can be combined in very complex ways. Verbs are split in several paradigms and are inflected for person, number, tense, aspect, mood, in terms of pronunciation, Catalan has many words ending in a wide variety of consonants and some consonant clusters, in contrast with many other Romance languages. The word Catalan derives from the territory of Catalonia, itself of disputed etymology, in English, the term referring to a person first appears in the mid 14th century as Catelaner, followed in the 15th century as Catellain. It is attested a language name since at least 1652, Catalan can be pronounced as /ˈkætəlæn/, /kætəˈlæn/ or /ˈkætələn/. The endonym is pronounced /kə. təˈɫa/ in the Eastern Catalan dialects, in the Valencian Community, the term valencià is frequently used instead. The names Catalan and Valencian are two names for the same language, see also status of Valencian below. By the 9th century, Catalan had evolved from Vulgar Latin on both sides of the end of the Pyrenees, as well as the territories of the Roman province of Hispania Tarraconensis to the south
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Mequinenza
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Mequinenza or Mequinensa is a town and municipality of the province of Zaragoza, in the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It is located by the confluence of the rivers Segre and Ebro and it was conquered from the Moors by the Count Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona in 1149. In 1412, during the Compromise of Caspe, Antonio de Luna and supporters of James of Urgell created in Mequinenza his own parliament of Aragón, but they werent recognized by the parliament of Tortosa. In the Siege of Mequinenza in May and June 1810, a French army under Marshal Louis Gabriel Suchet wrested the town, during the Battle of the Ebro in the Spanish Civil War there were violent battles in the Auts, south across the river from Mequinensa. This town is located in La Franja, the dialect is a variant of Catalan. The town celebrates festivals in honor of Santa Agatoclia from September 16 to 20, many fishing guides operate in this area using boats due to the large expanse of water created by the building of an artificial dam, the Mequinenza Reservoir. A little further downriver are the towns and villages of Flix, Asco and Vinebre, the town is most well known amongst northern European fishermen for the large but elusive Wels catfish, which are found in the vast reservoir. This area is now very heavily fished as a result and it seems that many fishermen are travelling further down river to the less frequented places to catch almost equally large fish and this is only if you dont know the river exceptionally well though. Borbón Oliver Aranzazu Godía Berenguer Manuel Molina Ibarz Aragonese Party Jorge Aguilar Blas Official Website
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Province of Lleida
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The Province of Lleida is one of the four provinces of Catalonia. It is often referred to as Ponent. It is the province within Catalonia that is landlocked. Of the population of 414,015, about 30% live in the capital, some other towns in Lleida province are La Seu dUrgell, Mollerussa, Cervera, Tàrrega, Balaguer. There are 231 municipalities in Lleida, located in the Pyrenees, the Aran Valley is a special comarca with greater autonomy and with Aranese, a variety of Occitan, as its official language. The Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park is located in this province, the province enjoys a thriving fruit-growing industry, including pears and peaches. The plan is on hold for the time being, one example of the pronunciation is the a at the end of the word that is pronounced like an e. The local dialect, properly known as North-Western Catalan is part of the Western Catalan block, the Province of Lleida is the only one in Catalonia where a language other than Catalan is native, Occitan, in the Aran Valley. In terms of its environment, Lleida offers a wide variety of landscapes. In the high area of the Pyrenees, visitors will find nature in its purest form. Special mention should be made of, the Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park, which is the only National Park in Catalonia, and the Alt Pirineu and Cadí-Moixeró natural parks. In the Pre-Pyrenees, amongst other places of interest, visitors find the Collegats-Terradets Territorial Park, the Boumort Natural Hunting Reserve. In contrast, the Lleida Plain offers more peaceful landscapes, in some cases, these are rather sober, while in others, visitors will find fertile land with century-old olive trees, fruit trees, meadows and crop fields. In this area, it is relevant to highlight such spectacular settings as the Estany dIvars i Vila-sana pool. This area is also Spains leading ski destination, Lleida has 11 different ski resorts which are marketed under the brand Neu de Lleida and offer over 450 km of ski slopes. Their 81 ski lifts have the capacity to carry 115,000 skiers per hour and it is also important to pick out some of the many new initiatives that have helped to extend the seasonal offer of Lleidas tourism sector. These buildings coexist with equally interesting modern constructions such as La Llotja, in recent years, improved communications have also helped to strengthen Lleidas position as one of the Spains leading tourist destinations. The Patronat de Turisme of the Diputació de Lleida created the Ara Lleida tourism brand back in 1990 with the aim of promoting the whole of this territory, llista de monuments de Lleida Patronat de Turisme Diputació de Lleida Xanascat the National Network of Youth Hostels of Catalonia
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Province of Tarragona
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Tarragona is a province of eastern Spain, in the southern part of the autonomous community of Catalonia. It is bordered by the provinces of Castellón, Teruel, Zaragoza, Lleida, Barcelona, the provinces population is 888,895, of whom about one-fifth live in the capital Tarragona. Some of the cities and towns in Tarragona province include Reus, Salou, El Vendrell, Tortosa, Valls. The province includes several World Heritage Sites and is a popular tourist destination, there are Roman Catholic cathedrals in Tarragona and Tortosa. Abd al-Rahman I founded an independent dynasty that survived in the region until the 11th century, after the Muslim conquest, the bishopric of Tarragona came under the jurisdiction of the metropolitans of Narbonne or Auch in southern France. The province of Tarragona is in the northeast of Spain with a coast on the Mediterranean Sea, much of the province is hilly or mountainous and the main feature is the broad valley of the River Ebro and the coastal plain which is backed by the Catalan ranges. In general the development is on the coast and inland is predominantly forest. The climate is Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and warm, the area of the province is 6,500 square kilometres. The main crops are cereals, grapes, fruit, olives, hemp, the province has some mineral resources, copper, lead and silver are found and limestone and marble are quarried. As well as the city of Tarragona, the province has much to offer for the tourist. There are Catalan villages to visit, historic sites, sandy beaches, rocky shores, crags, rivers and woodlands, the area has been publicised under the Costa Daurada brand. The city of Tarragona may have founded by the Phoenicians and was a major city in Roman times that they called Tarraco. The Les Ferreres Aqueduct dates from the period and has survived intact. It was built to water to the ancient city and is part of the Archaeological Ensemble of Tarraco which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000. The city also houses a cathedral, dating from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, there are also many historic churches and convents. The Catalan authorities have designated four villages as family holiday destinations and these are Calafell, Cambrils, La Pineda and nearby Vila-seca, and Salou. Salou is the site of the PortAventura theme park, the most visited park in Spain. The Costa Daurada is served by Reus Airport which receives tourist traffic from passengers journeying to the resorts of Salou
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Province of Teruel
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Teruel is a province of Aragon, in the northeast of Spain. It is bordered by the provinces of Tarragona, Castellón, Valencia, Cuenca, Guadalajara, the area of the province is 14,809 km². Its population is 138,686, of whom about a live in the capital. It contains 236 municipalities, of more than half are villages of under 200 people. The main language throughout the province is Spanish, although Catalan is spoken in the comarca of Matarranya and this province is located in the mountainous Sistema Ibérico area. Most of the Teruel Province has undergone massive depopulation since the middle of the 20th century and this situation is shared with other areas in Spain, particularly with those near the Iberian mountain range and with other areas in Aragón. The exodus from the mountain areas in Teruel rose after General Francos Plan de Estabilización in 1959. As a consequence there are many ghost towns in different parts of the province, a great number of surviving towns in Teruel province have only a residual population, reviving somewhat during the summer when a few city-dwellers spend their holidays there. The Teruel Exists movement began at the turn of the 21st century and it is a platform of provincial authorities, institutions and sympathizers seeking to reverse the long-standing neglect of this province. org Teruel Info. - Caciquismo & desarrollismo – N. B and this text-only website is in Japanese
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