The quantity of wine produced annually In Valencia amounts to about 0,000,000 gallons. lu the districts of Benicarlo and Peniscola • strong red wine la produced, of which a large quantity Is exported to Germany and to Ilotirdeaux, for mixing with the recohd-class clarets to give them body and colour. Large quantities of raisins are exported to England, which are called Valencia; and are used for making plum-puddings. The exports of fruit are large, especially of figt.
No great number of cattle or horses is kept In Valencia; and the sheep, though numerous, yield wool of indifferent quality. Mercury, copper, sulphur, arsenic, argentiferous-lead, Iron, &o. are among the mineral products, but they are procured only in small quantities. The manufactures are unimportant. Woollen and liueu stuff. are Indeed made In several towns of the province, and silk goods in Valen cis and other places, but they are chiefly consumed within the province.
The manufacture of satins, silk-ribands, and velvets, has to much Improved and Increased as to render a supply from France ho longer necessary. Cloth of superior quality Is made at Alcoy, and silk Is no longer exported in its raw state, but is spun at Valencia and other places by steam. Cordage and matting are made from the fibro of the esparto-rush ; and tiles, soap, glass, paper, pottery, and earthen ware, are exported to other parts of Spain.
city of Valencia is the capital of the ancient province and also of the modern. (VALENCIA.) Alcoy, 60 miles S. by W. from Valencia, stands ou the main road from Alicaute to Valencia, on a tongue of laud between two streams which are the head-waters of the river Alcoy. The houses are built among terraced gardens iu a ravine overlooked by hills. There are many new houses, for it is a busy commercial place, and has considerable manufactures of paper, and of woollen-cloths of a superior quality. It coutains three parish churches, and has a population of about 27,000. The city of Alicante, capital of the province of Alicante, is described under that head. (Aucesrm.] Benicarlo, 80 miles N.N.E. from Valencia, is a walled town with a ruined castle, and with a small fishing port. It is a straggling ill-built place, and contains a population of about 6000. The vicinity is celebrated for full-flavoured red wines, which aro exported to Bourdeaux and elsewhere to give body to the inferior clareta. Caztdlon de la Plana, 40 mike N.N.E. from Valencia, tho capital of the province of Castellon, stands in a well-irrigated and fruitful plain, whence the addition to the name. It is a well-built and flourishing town, surrounded by walls, and contains some fine old churches, and a remarkable octagon bell-tower, Torre de las Campahtas, 200 feet high. It has brandy distilleries and an active trade. Ribalta, the Spanish painter, was born here, March 25, 1551. The churches and convents onco contained several of his finest works, and a few still remain. The population in 1845 was 16,952. Con centaina, 55 miles S. from Valencia, contains a square Moorish tower, and has manufactures of woollen-cloths. The population in 1845 was 5972. Cullera, 28 miles S.S.W. from Valencia, is a small town on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, at the mouth of the Jucar. It contains an old castle and a church, and had in 1845 a population of 7114. Elche, the Mici of the Romans, 15 miles S.W. from Alicante, stands at a short distance from the left bank of the Elda, a tributary of the Segura; it occupies both sides of a ravine, over which them is a handsome bridge. The houses are Moorish, with fiat roofs and few windows, and rise above each other on the rugged slopes. The old castle has been turned into a prison. The church of Santa Maria is handsome, and has a fine portico, and a tower from which may be seen a vast extent of plantations of date-trees, which encircle the town ou all sides : these trees are tens of thousands in number, and many of them are of great ago. The dates are exported from Alicante, and are sold as Barbary dates. Elche is a flourishing place, and in 1845 contained a population of 13,068. Jativa (Xativa), or San Felipe, 40 miles S. by W. from Valencia, was the Roman Setabia, celebrated for its castle, and its fine linen handkerchiefs, which were greatly prized at Rome. The castle, of very large size, occupies a rocky height above the town. The town is well-built, and well supplied with public fountains. It contains a collegiate church and five parish churches. There are beautiful public walks, and the huerts, abundant in grain, fruits, and flowers, extends northward till it communicates with the huerta of Valencia. The population of the town is about 15,000. Monovar, 27 miles W.N.W. from Alicante, has manufactures of coarse woollens, and contained in 1845 a population of 7590. Morella, 50 miles N. from Castellon, stands on a rugged slope, with a castle above it. The town contains many good houses, and has
three or four churches, and several fountains supplied from an aqueduct. The population in 1845 was 6211. 21furviedro, 18 miles N.N.E. from Valencia, stands on the site of the Saguntum of tho Romans, which was besieged and taken by Hannibal, s.c. 219. The town is built on the south bank of the Palencia at the base of a mountain, and is now a poor straggling place. It contained in 1845 a population of 7476. Long lines of walls and towers crown tho heights above the town, where are also the remains of the Roman theatre. There are portions of the walls of the Circus Maximus and other Roman antiquities. There is a large Moorish castle, and the place, with its fortifications, is of the highest military importance for the defence of Valencia. Navclda, 20 miles W. from Alicante, stands on the western bank of the Elda, which enters the Segura at its mouth. The town stands in a flue plain, and has manufactures of hi-Andy and lace. Population, 8095. Orihuela, 35 miles S.E. from Alicante, a city, and the see of a bishop, is situated at the foot of a mountain which overlooks it on the north, and is built on both banks of tho Segura, which Is here crossed by two bridges. The plain, or huerta, is about 17 miles from east to west, and about 5 miles in average breadth from north to south. It is bounded N. and S. by ranges of hills and mountains bare of trees, E. by the Mediterranean, and NV. by the Huerta of Murcia, of which it is a prolongation. This huerta is of extraordinary fertility, and produces in abundance all kinds of grain, fruits, and vegetables. There are large plantations of olive-trees, mulberry-trees, and orange-trees. Tho town is long and narrow, winding round tho base of the mountain. The streets are wide, but not paved, the houses tolerably good, and the general aspect agreeable. It contains a cathedral, and ten other churches, n population In 1919 was 1,110,960. It Is divided Into the three following modem provinces:— university-college, hospital, barracks, manufactures of linen and hats, and also tanneries, corn-milla, and The population in 1845 was 17,459. It is of very ancient foundation, and has been possessed successively by the Carthagioians, the Romans, the Moors, and Spaniards. Penitcola, 75 miles N.N.E. from Valeocia, is a small town and fortress, situated on a rock 240 feet high, and connected with the mainland only by a narrow strip of sand, It possesses a fountain of fresh water. Population. 2000. Saguntoras is the name of the Roman town which occupied the rite of Mareiedro. Segorbe, 30 miles N.N.W. from Valeucite, stands near the right bank of the Palencia. It is the see of a bishop, and is tolerably well built. It has 0 plazas, 13 public fountains, and more than 40 fountains not public. The cathedral is used as the parish church, and there is a handsome bishop'. palace. There are manufactures of earthenware, paper, starch, and brandy. The population in 1345 was 6015. Villareal, 35 miles N.N.E. (corn Valencia, and 4 miles inland from the Mediter ranean, is inclosed by ruined walls, which are entered by four gates. It has manufactures of woollens and tape, and brandy distilleries. The population in 1845 was 8207. Vinctroe, 85 miles N.N.E. from Valencia, is a sea-port town near the months of the Ebro. It is an ill-built town, partly inclosed by ruined walla. It contains a fine parish church, and has a ship-building yard, a considerable coasting trade, and active fisheries. The population in 1845 was 10,600.
history, &a—Valencia under the Moors formed a part of the kingdom or kalifate of Cordova. It was taken by the Cid, Rodrigo Diaz de Bivar, in 1004, and he held the city and province till his death in 1009. The Moore diapossisaed his widow Ximena in 1101, but Valencia was retaken in 1238 by Jaime I. of Aragon. It was brought under the crown of Castilla by the marriage of Fernando with Isabel, and afterwards became a province of the kingdom of Spain. Like the other provinces composing the kingdom of Aragon, Valeocia preserved its representative body and its privileges ; but the inhabitants having taken an active against the Bourbon dynasty during the War of the Succession, belie V. deprived the province of its old constitution, and obliged the inhabitants to conform in every respect to the general laws of Spain. It retained however its title of kingdom (Rein° de Valencia) till the ancient province was divided Into the present three rnoderu provinces.
The dialect spoken in the province, though much akin to the Catalonian, differs considerably from it, as it retains more of the Provençal.
(Sfadoz, Dircionario Grogrefico de Espeiin; Ford, Handbook of Spoils; Swinburne, Townsend, Hoskins, and other travellers.)