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Llíria

Coordinates:39°37′33″N0°35′39″W/ 39.62583°N 0.59417°W/39.62583; -0.59417
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected fromEdeta)
Not to be confused withLliira.
"Liria" redirects here. For other uses, seeLiria (disambiguation).
Llíria
Municipality
Liria
Coat of arms of Llíria
Coat of arms
Llíria is located in Spain
Llíria
Llíria
Location in Spain
Coordinates:39°37′33″N0°35′39″W/ 39.62583°N 0.59417°W/39.62583; -0.59417
CountrySpain
Autonomous communityValencian Community
ProvinceValencia
ComarcaCamp de Túria
Judicial districtLiria
Government
•AlcaldeJoanma Miguel León(2021-) (Coalició compromís)
Area
• Total228 km2(88 sq mi)
Elevation
164 m (538 ft)
Population
(2018)[1]
• Total22,972
• Density100/km2(260/sq mi)
Demonym(s)VA: Llirià, lliriana; ES: Liriano, liriana
Time zoneUTC+01:00(CET)
• Summer (DST)UTC+02:00(CEST)
Postal code
46160
Official language(s)Valencian language,Spanish
WebsiteOfficial website

Llíria(Valencian pronunciation:[ˈʎiɾia];Spanish:Liria) is a medium-sized town off the CV35motorwayto the north ofValencia,Spain. Known asEdetainancient Iberiantimes, it is the musical capital of the region. On October 30, 2019, Llíria was declared a Creative City in the category of Music by theUNESCO.[2]

Location

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Llíria is the capital of the area known asCamp de Túriain theprovinceofValencia.It is approximately 25 km (16 mi) north-west of the city ofValencia.It sits at an altitude of 164m (530'). The traditional economy is based onagriculture,but industries such astextiles,construction materials,plastics,and furniture are becoming increasingly important. The city is at the end of theMetrovalenciatrain system. Construction of a new general hospital in Llíria began in 2007 and finished in 2015. Due to the severe financial crisis, the building of the hospital took much longer than initially expected.

The localFiestasareRomería of San Vicente Ferrer(29 April), andSaint Michael(29 September).

History and architecture

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Pre-Roman Age

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Detail ofThe Twelve Laboursmosaic (3rd century).

Under Llíria lie the ruins of what was one of the most importantIberiancities in Spain. The city was then known as Edeta and it was the administrative centre of Edetania, an extensive territory between the riversJúcar / XúquerandPalancia River[es]/ Riu Palància.

Edeta was built on a hilltop known as Sant Miquel, which overlooks the modern city. The city was moved downhill to its current location byQuintus Sertoriusafter Roman troops destroyed the town in 76 BC.

Roman Age

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L'Assumpció/La AsunciónBaroquechurch (17th century).
Església de la Sang.

Under theRomans,Llíria was as important as Valencia orSagunt.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. Popularly known as theTreasure of Carrer Duc de Llíria,it totals some 6,000 silverdenariiminted in the first and third centuries. Another archaeological find was amosaicofThe Twelve LaboursofHercules,which was excavated from aDomus Romana(Roman home) at Can Porcar or Casa de Porcar (Porcar House) in Llíria. It is currently displayed at theNational Archaeological Museum of Spain(inMadrid). Additionally, Llíria's own archaeological museum contains imagery from its original location including details of each of the labors along with other Roman artifacts from the town.

Mediaeval Period

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The first church in Llíria was built in 1238 by KingJames I of Aragon,after his victory over theMoorsand the conquest of the Valencian region. The Church of the Blood (església de la Sang) was built on the site of amosqueand is a typical example ofValencian Gothicarchitecture 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

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The climate isMediterranean,but with slight continental influence due to the inland location with occasional cool nights in winter, snow is a very rare phenomenon. The average temperature is between 10°/11°C(50°/52°F) in January and 26°/29 °C (79°/84 °F) in July and August. Rainfall is very irregular but with heavy showers common in September and October.

Population

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The city has about 24,000 residents (2022).[3]Llíria and the surrounding area has one of fastest rates of population growth in the entire nation. 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 fromMorocco(434),Romania(344) and theUnited Kingdom(323).

Festivals

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  • Holy Week in Llíria:(Valencian:Setmana Santa de Llíria,Spanish:Semana Santa de Liria) is one of the most important traditional events in the city and also one of the most ancient traditional Holy Week celebrations in theRegion of Valencia.It is celebrated betweenFriday of SorrowsandResurrection Sunday,including alsoPalm Sunday,Maundy Thursday(Holy Thursday),Good Friday,andHoly Saturday.Llíria has elaborate processions during Holy Week, a tradition that dates from medieval times. Like in other regions of Spain, its Holy Week is notable for featuring the procession of "imágenes", lifelike wood or plaster sculptures of individual scenes of the events that happened between Jesus' arrest and his burial, or images of the Virgin Mary showing grief for the torture and killing of her son.
  • Saint Michael's Festivalor Feast Day: on 29 September
  • Saint Vincent's Festivalor Feast Day: Next Monday after Easter
  • Festival of the Immaculate Conception:end of August
  • Festival of Our Lady of the Remedy:mid-September
  • Taurine Week:First week of October

Music

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Several thousand of Llíria's residents play musical instruments and the city is well known for its two intensely rival bands (wind orchestras). The first band, the "Banda Primitiva",was formed by aFranciscanfriarAntoni Albarracín Enguídanosin 1819 and the subsequent band divided in 1903 to form the rivalUnió Musical.

TheConservatory of Lliriais a public center created by the city council in the 1990s.

Language

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BothSpanishandValencianare 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

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  • 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) andSanta 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), andLaurona(962 790 125).

References

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  1. ^Municipal Register of Spain 2018.National Statistics Institute.
  2. ^"UNESCO designates 66 new Creative Cities".
  3. ^"Población por sexo, municipios y edad".Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE).Retrieved13 September2023.
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