Alzira, Valencia

Municipality in Valencian Community, Spain

Alzira

Alzira (Valencian)
Alcira (Spanish)

Municipality

Flag

Coat of arms

Location of Alzira

Alzira

Show map of Valencian Community

Alzira

Show map of Spain

Coordinates: 39°09′00″N 0°26′06″W﻿ / ﻿39.15000°N 0.43500°W﻿ / 39.15000; -0.43500
Country| Spain
Autonomous community| Valencian Community
Province| Valencia
Comarca| Ribera Alta
Judicial district| Alzira
Government

• Mayor| Alfons Domínguez Gento (2023) (Compromís)
Area

• Total| 110.4 km2 (42.6 sq mi)
Elevation

| 14 m (46 ft)
Population

(2018)[1]

• Total| 44,393
• Density| 400/km2 (1,000/sq mi)
Demonyms| Alziran
•alzireny (va)
•alcireño (es)
Time zone| UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)| UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code|

46600
46268 (La Garrofera)

Official language(s)| Valencian
Website| Official website

Alzira[a] (Spanish: Alcira)[b] is a city and municipality of 46,451 inhabitants (62,094 floating population) in Valencia, eastern Spain. It is the capital of the comarca of Ribera Alta in the province of Valencia. The city is the heart of the second largest urban agglomeration in the province, with a population of over 100,000.

## Geographic situation[edit]

Alzira is located in the province of Valencia, on the left bank of the Júcar river, and on the Valencia-Alicante railway.[2]

Alzira's climate is typically Mediterranean: warm with no extremes of temperature either in summer or winter. Rainfall is scarce and irregular. Torrential rains usually follow periods of relative drought.

The town is situated on the shores of the Júcar river and contains the Murta and Casella valleys. Alzira's borough extends over 111 square kilometres.

## History[edit]

Alzira was founded by Andalusīs under the name Jazīrah Shukr (Arabic: جَزِيرَة شُقْر) Arabic for "island along the Xúquer", shortened to al-Jazìra in late Andalusī Arabic and early Valencian Romance, from which it was taken into Spanish.

It was a prosperous trading station during Andalusīs' time, which lasted over five hundred years. During that time the city had a local administrative government and was considered as a cultural hub for writers, philosophers, and law experts.

The city was conquered by James I of Aragon on 30 December 1242.

Alzira, located right on the bank of the Júcar, has suffered devastating floods throughout its history - in particular in 1472, 1590, 1864, 1916, 1982 and 1987.

Alzira has historically been a walled town, surrounded by palm, orange and mulberry groves, and by low-lying rice-swamps, which rendered its neighborhood somewhat unhealthy. It is sometimes identified with the Roman Saetabicula[2][3] or with the pre-Roman Sucro.[4][5] The mutiny at Sucro of 206 BC, suppressed by Scipio Africanus, was possibly at or near present-day Alzira.[6]

## Economy[edit]

Agriculture was the prime economic driving force in Alzira up to the mid-20th century. The most important produce are oranges and they are distributed by important local co-operatives.

During the 20th century, Alzira changed from an agricultural economy to a diverse industry-orientated city with an important commercial infrastructure and associated services. Many companies have their head-office in the city: building and publishing companies, diverse manufacturers, textile and ice cream factories, etc. Alzira has become a very important commercial city due to its influence area, which is estimated about 300,000 inhabitants.

## Healthcare[edit]

Alzira has a 250-bed Community Hospital, the Hospital de la Ribera, which was built in 1999 by UTE-Ribera, under a Private Finance Initiative scheme.[7] This capitation based system with integration between primary and secondary care providers and a unified IT system across all services has become known as the Alzira model and received a great deal of attention. The quality of services appears to be considerably higher than other health care systems.[8]

Hospital de La Ribera

## Main sights[edit]

Plaça Major in the city center Moorish walls Murta monastery

* Monastery of la Murta: It is constituted of buildings rising in the following three periods: 11th to 15th century, 16th century, and 17th century. In the 19th century, after the expropriation, his new owner raised a manor over the hospice of the monastery. The Monastery also has a partition battlemented wall. Nowadays, In the garden. There are still remainders gathering in the walls. In that way, it has prepared to increase the defensive function. The elements of the group are: Monastery: The new church and the Tower of the Bells._ Fortified tower of la Porteria. Ruins of the monastery and adjacent elements. Foster chapel of ’La Virgen de la Murta’, after it was a sacristy.
* Alzira walled circuit: The walls of Alzira were built around a possible river island, from which derives its name in Arabic (Al-Yazira: The Island) had a dual purpose, first the defense, and second the flood protection of Júcar river. The walls were buried by the river, which floods the city from three to four times a year. The walled circuit was formed by a double wall which today contains the historical center of “la Vila”, dated in the Islamic period where some of the mosques and baths were settled. Nowadays, the remains are located in two areas of the city, “el parque de las murallas” and “las murallas del Antiguo Mercado”
* Town council hall of Alzira: This building has a civil Gothic style of the Crown of Aragon. Its oldest part dates from the 16th century and, although we can say that the construction of its plant obeys to medieval patterns alternating the Ghotic style and the Baroque. It is a building with a quadrangular plant and a three water covered with Arabic tiles in whose construction the following local unions have collaborated: stonecutters, carpenters and mull wall. Its interior rooms are arranged around a rectangular gallery. In 1930 it was declared an Artistic National Monument
* Santa Catalina church of Alzira : The building was rebuilt in the 17th century on an earlier mosque, with a Gothic basilica and a Gothic factory. It is inserted into the so-called “reconquista” churches with a single ground covered with a cannon vault open with lunettes and open chapels between buttresses, covered with a mid-cannon vault. Over the transept, a drum covered by a dome over scallops sets up. This was replaced by a new double-sloped roof that covers the entire temple [9]
* Mare de Déu del Lluch Sanctuary of Alzira: Construction built in a neo-Romanesque style. The temple of three naves is covered with groin vault, while the major chapel is fixed with another kind of vault. The access is through a big door which emulates the Romanesque style on which there are three big windows topped by an oculus. They allow the entrance of the light inside of the enclosure. To the left, the bell tower rises separated into three sections and covered with pyramidal spire. In the central part of the second section, there are two windows which placed one above the other emphasizes the verticality of the entire monument. The third section separated from the previous one by a decorated wide strip includes the group of bells.
* Museum: Noble Gothic-Renaissance house that houses the Municipal Museum of Alzira. It brings together the cultural heritage of Alzira and the Ribera Alta, so it is possible to contemplate the evolutionary aspects under both, physical and human settlements established in the territory, from prehistory to the present day. It has interesting historical and artistic funds of the city and its region. Permanent exhibitions are divided into four sections: cartography, archeology, ethnology and history, and arts.

## Notable people[edit]

* 'Abū 'Isḥāq ibn Khafājah, Andalusī poet
* Raúl Albentosa, footballer
* Adrián Campos, Formula One driver and Campos Racing founder.
* Mónica Carrió, weightlifter
* Lorenzo Carrió, weightlifter
* Jorge Martínez, motorcycle racer
* Elisa Ramírez, actress

## See also[edit]

* Route of the Monasteries of Valencia

## Notes[edit]

1. ^ Valencian pronunciation: [alˈziɾa]
2. ^ Spanish pronunciation: [alˈθiɾa]

## References[edit]

1. ^ Municipal Register of Spain 2018. National Statistics Institute.
2. ^ a b One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Alcira". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 523.
3. ^ Smith, William (1854). "Saetabicula". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, illustrated by numerous engravings on wood. London: Walton and Maberly; John Murray.
4. ^ "Alzira". The Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. 2014. ISBN 978-0-191-75139-4.
5. ^ Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary (3rd ed.). Merriam-Webster. 1997. p. 27\. ISBN 0-877-79546-0.
6. ^ Boix, Vicente (1865). Memoria histórica de la inundacion de la Ribera de Valencia en los dias 4 y 5 de Noviembre de 1864 (in Spanish). Imprenta de La Opinion, á cargo de José Domenech. p. 145-148. "Esa es la villa de Alcira; esa es la antigua Sucro. [...] En Sucro, que era mansion romana, se insurreccionaron las cohortes, que Scipion habia dejada, por haber cundido en sus filas la noticias de la muerte de su general en Cartagena."
7. ^ "Private finance and "value for money" in NHS hospitals: a policy in search of a rationale?". British Medical Journal. 18 May 2002. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
8. ^ Zanon, Elisabetta (17 November 2014). "The Alzira model gives us a great deal to think about". NHS Confederation. Archived from the original on 3 September 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
9. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-09-24. Retrieved 2014-09-20.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

## External links[edit]

* Town city site Archived 2015-11-07 at the Wayback Machine

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Category:Alzira.

Articles related to Alzira / Alcira

* v
* t
* e

Municipalities of Ribera Alta

* Alberic
* Alcàntera de Xúquer
* L'Alcúdia
* Alfarb
* Algemesí
* Alginet
* Alzira
* Antella
* Beneixida
* Benifaió
* Benimodo
* Benimuslem
* Carcaixent
* Càrcer
* Carlet
* Castelló
* Catadau
* Cotes
* L'Énova
* Gavarda
* Guadassuar
* Llombai
* Manuel
* Massalavés
* Montroi
* Montserrat
* La Pobla Llarga
* Rafelguaraf
* Real
* Sallent de Xàtiva
* Sant Joanet
* Senyera
* Sumacàrcer
* Tous
* Turís

* v
* t
* e

Municipalities of the province of Valencia

* Ademuz
* Ador
* Agullent
* Aielo de Malferit
* Aielo de Rugat
* Alaquàs
* Albaida
* Albal
* Albalat de la Ribera
* Albalat dels Sorells
* Albalat dels Tarongers
* Alberic
* Alborache
* Alboraya
* Albuixech
* Alcublas
* Alcàntera de Xúquer
* Alcàsser
* Aldaia
* Alfafar
* Alfara de la Baronia
* Alfara del Patriarca
* Alfarp
* Alfarrasí
* Alfauir
* Algar de Palancia
* Algemesí
* Algimia de Alfara
* Alginet
* Almiserà
* Almoines
* Almussafes
* Almàssera
* Alpuente
* L'Alqueria de la Comtessa
* Alzira
* Andilla
* Anna
* Antella
* Aras de los Olmos
* Atzeneta d'Albaida
* Ayora
* Barx
* Barxeta
* Bellreguard
* Bellús
* Benaguasil
* Benagéber
* Benavites
* Beneixida
* Benetússer
* Beniarjó
* Beniatjar
* Benicolet
* Benifairó de la Valldigna
* Benifairó de les Valls
* Benifaió
* Beniflà
* Benigànim
* Benimodo
* Benimuslem
* Beniparrell
* Benirredrà
* Benissanó
* Benissoda
* Benissuera
* Bicorp
* Bocairent
* Bolbaite
* Bonrepòs i Mirambell
* Bufali
* Bugarra
* Burjassot
* Buñol
* Bèlgida
* Bétera
* Calles
* Camporrobles
* Canals
* Canet d'En Berenguer
* Carcaixent
* Carlet
* Carrícola
* Casas Altas
* Casas Bajas
* Casinos
* Castelló
* Castelló de Rugat
* Castielfabib
* Castellonet de la Conquesta
* Catadau
* Catarroja
* Caudete de las Fuentes
* Cerdà
* Chella
* Chelva
* Chera
* Cheste
* Chiva
* Chulilla
* Cofrentes
* Corbera
* Cortes de Pallás
* Cotes
* Cullera
* Càrcer
* Daimús
* Domeño
* Dos Aguas
* El Genovés
* El Palomar
* Emperador
* Enguera
* Estivella
* Estubeny
* Faura
* Favara
* Foios
* Fontanars dels Alforins
* Fortaleny
* Fuenterrobles
* Gandia
* Gavarda
* Gestalgar
* Gilet
* Godella
* Godelleta
* Guadasséquies
* Guadassuar
* Guardamar de la Safor
* Gátova
* Higueruelas
* Jalance
* Jarafuel
* L'Alcúdia
* L'Alcúdia de Crespins
* L'Eliana
* L'Énova
* L'Olleria
* La Font d'En Carròs
* La Font de la Figuera
* La Granja de la Costera
* La Llosa de Ranes
* La Pobla Llarga
* La Pobla de Farnals
* La Pobla de Vallbona
* La Pobla del Duc
* La Yesa
* Llanera de Ranes
* Llaurí
* Llocnou d'En Fenollet
* Llocnou de Sant Jeroni
* Llombai
* Llutxent
* Llíria
* Loriguilla
* Losa del Obispo
* Lugar Nuevo de la Corona
* Macastre
* Manises
* Manuel
* Marines
* Massalavés
* Massalfassar
* Massamagrell
* Massanassa
* Meliana
* Millares
* Miramar
* Mislata
* Mogente
* Moncada
* Montserrat
* Montaverner
* Montesa
* Montichelvo
* Montroy
* Museros
* Navarrés
* Novelé
* Náquera
* Oliva
* Olocau
* Ontinyent
* Otos
* Paiporta
* Palma de Gandía
* Palmera
* Paterna
* Pedralba
* Petrés
* Picanya
* Picassent
* Piles
* Pinet
* Polinyà de Xúquer
* Potries
* Puebla de San Miguel
* El Puig
* Puçol
* Quart de Poblet
* Quart de les Valls
* Quartell
* Quatretonda
* Quesa
* Rafelbunyol
* Rafelcofer
* Rafelguaraf
* Real de Gandía
* Real de Montroi
* Requena
* Riba-roja de Túria
* Riola
* Rocafort
* Rotglà i Corberà
* Rugat
* Ráfol de Salem
* Rótova
* Sagunt
* Salem
* San Antonio de Benagéber
* San Juan de Énova
* Sedaví
* Segart
* Sellent
* Sempere
* Senyera
* Serra
* Siete Aguas
* Silla
* Simat de la Valldigna
* Sinarcas
* Sollana
* Sot de Chera
* Sueca
* Sumacàrcer
* Tavernes Blanques
* Tavernes de la Valldigna
* Teresa de Cofrentes
* Terrateig
* Titaguas
* Torrebaja
* Torrella
* Torrent
* Torres Torres
* Tous
* Turís
* Tuéjar
* Utiel
* Valencia
* Vallada
* Vallanca
* Vallés
* Venta del Moro
* Vilamarxant
* Villalonga
* Villar del Arzobispo
* Villargordo del Cabriel
* Vinalesa
* Xeraco
* Xeresa
* Xirivella
* Xàtiva
* Yátova
* Zarra

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* Spain
* France
* BnF data
* Germany
* Israel
* United States
* Czech Republic

Geographic|

* MusicBrainz area

Other|

* IdRef

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template