IN Roman Times


Valencia, although reputedly founded by the Romans, has been home to many different cultures. There is ample evidence all around that besides the Romans The Visigoths, Moors, Argonese, and indeed the Iberians lived in this green and fertile province. Throughout the centuries it has continually been the centre of important cultural and financial activity.
Of the most famous historical characters there is EL CID , the legendary 11 th century LORD, or Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, the El Cid Campeador who, conquered the fortress city from the Moors for The Christians in the year 1094 ad. Indeed, made famous in cinema by Charlton Heston and a cast of thousands. The castle still stands magnificently on the beach at Peniscola and must be seen along with all the other multitude of sights in and around the city and beyond, right out into every part of the countryside, moors and christians in valencia




In the town of Lliria for example, the historical footprints are rarely from ones view, even from antiquity and to the earliest records of human history. Settlements here have been dated to beyond the Mesolithic Period and along with Bronze Age remains they lie in testament to an unbroken thread of humanity in the town itself. Very impressive indeed. The Romans were probably the first of these inhabitants to keep properly written records so we know that Lliria was the birthplace of Marcus Cornelius Nigrinus, a powerful military leader from an Edetan family who from an early age advanced himself in the social and martial apparatus of Rome and soon became Consul and Commander of the V111 Augustus Legion, Commander of the provincial armies of Aquitania and Mesia, and the Praetor of the Province of Syria. In the first century AD he rivalled with the great Trajan himself for the crown of the Caesars with the latter eventually gaining it.

One of the main streets in Lliria today is called Pla de la Arc, place of the arch, where today at the side of the busy street there can still be seen the remains of a large Roman archway. One can only imagine the diversity in cultures it has witnessed.

There are of course too many to begin to elaborate on within the confines of this site but from Trajan to Napoleon, Cabrera to Franco and right up today even those with not much interest in history can only marvel and enjoy the result of so many layers of culture. Yet somehow, Lliria has remained relatively small and most of all it has still remained Spanish with its own unrivalled charm.

The province of Valencia, now known as the Land of Valencia, with certain autonomy from the central government was incepted in 1982 and replaced the system that was in place from the end of the 1930,s when Franco gained power