Editing Valencia (section)

==Culture==
{{Multiple image
| image1            = Paella hirviendo.jpg
| caption1          = Traditional preparation of paella.
| direction         = vertical
| image2            = Horchata de chufa 2.jpg
| caption2          = A glass of [[orxata]] and [[fartons]]
}}

Valencia is known internationally for the [[Falles]] (''Les Falles''), a local festival held in March, as well as for ''[[paella]] valenciana'', traditional Valencian [[ceramics]], craftsmanship in traditional dress, and the architecture of the [[Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències|City of Arts and Sciences]], designed by [[Santiago Calatrava]] and [[Félix Candela]].

There are also a number of well-preserved traditional Catholic festivities throughout the year, like those of the [[Semana Santa|Holy Week]], which are considered some of the most colourful [[Holy Week in Spain|in Spain]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Maritime Holy Week |url=https://www.visitvalencia.com/en/events-valencia/festivities/maritime-holy-week |website=visitvalencia.com |access-date=16 July 2019 |archive-date=16 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190716082341/https://www.visitvalencia.com/en/events-valencia/festivities/maritime-holy-week |url-status=live}}</ref>

Valencia used to be the place of the [[Formula One]] [[European Grand Prix]], first hosting the event on 24 August 2008, but was dropped later at the beginning of the [[2013 Formula One World Championship|2013]] Formula 1 season. However, Valencia still holds the annual Moto GP race at the [[Circuit Ricardo Tormo]], usually the last race of the season, in November.

The [[University of Valencia]] (officially ''Universitat de València Estudi General''), founded in 1499, is one of the oldest surviving universities in Spain and the oldest in the Valencian Community. It was listed as one of the four leading Spanish universities in the 2011 Shanghai Academic Ranking of World Universities.

In 2012, Boston's [[Berklee College of Music]] opened a satellite campus at the [[Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia]], their first and only international campus outside the U.S.<ref>{{cite news |last=Minder |first=Raphael |title=Berklee to Open a Campus in Spain |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/14/world/europe/14iht-educSide14.html |access-date=12 April 2012 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=15 March 2011 |archive-date=23 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120423222340/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/14/world/europe/14iht-educSide14.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Since 2003, Valencia has also hosted the music courses of [[Musikeon]], the leading musical institution in the Spanish-speaking world.

===Food===
{{Main|Valencian cuisine}}
Valencia is known for its gastronomic culture. The ''[[paella]]'', a simmered rice dish with meat (usually chicken or rabbit) or seafood, was born in Valencia. Other traditional dishes of Valencian gastronomy include [[fideuà]], [[arròs a banda]], [[arròs negre]] (black rice), [[fartons]], [[buñuelos|bunyols]], [[Tortilla de patatas|Spanish omelette]], [[pincho]]s or [[tapas]] and [[Squid (food)|calamares]] (squid).

Valencia was also the birthplace of the cold ''[[Cyperus esculentus|xufa]]'' beverage known as ''[[orxata]]'', popular in many parts of the world, including the Americas.

===Languages===
[[File:Carrer de la Pau, sign of street in Valencia.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|right|[[:ca:Carrer de la Pau|Carrer de la Pau]] street sign]]
[[Valencian language|Valencian]] and [[Spanish language|Spanish]] are the [[official language]]s. Spanish is currently the predominant language in the city proper.<ref>{{cite web |title=Institut Valencià d'Estadística |access-date=9 March 2011 |url=http://www.ive.es/portal/page/portal/IVE_PEGV/CONTENTS/censos/censo2001definitivos/ini_val.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928084558/http://www.ive.es/portal/page/portal/IVE_PEGV/CONTENTS/censos/censo2001definitivos/ini_val.htm |archive-date=28 September 2011 |work=[[Generalitat Valenciana]] |url-status=dead}}</ref> Valencia proper and its surrounding metropolitan area are—along with the [[Alicante]] area—the traditionally Valencian-speaking territories of the Valencian Community where the Valencian language is less spoken and read.{{Sfn|Briz|2004|p=120}} According to a 2019 survey commissioned by the local government, 76% of the population use only Spanish in their daily life, 1.3% use only the Valencian language, while 17.6% of the population use both languages.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.levante-emv.com/valencia/2019/09/22/1--ciudadania-habla-habitualmente/1924371.html |website=[[Levante-EMV]] |first=Sandra |last=Urbina |title=Solo el 1,3 % de la ciudadanía habla habitualmente en valenciano |date=21 September 2019 |access-date=20 July 2020 |archive-date=20 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200720210234/https://www.levante-emv.com/valencia/2019/09/22/1--ciudadania-habla-habitualmente/1924371.html |url-status=live}}</ref> However, vis-à-vis the education system and according to the 1983 regional Law on the Use and Teaching of the Valencian Language, the municipality of Valencia is included within the territory of Valencian linguistic predominance.{{Sfn|Zabaltza|2017|p=69}} In 1993, the municipal government agreed to use exclusively Valencian for the plaques that serve as street signs.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.levante-emv.com/valencia/2016/01/29/nuevo-nomenclator-calles-valenciano/1371962.html |website=[[Levante-EMV]] |date=29 January 2016 |title=Nuevo nomenclátor de calles en valenciano |first=Hortensia |last=García |access-date=20 July 2020 |archive-date=20 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200720170526/https://www.levante-emv.com/valencia/2016/01/29/nuevo-nomenclator-calles-valenciano/1371962.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The variety of Valencian spoken in and around the city of Valencia is known as ''[[Central Valencian|apitxat]]''.<ref>{{Cite book|first=Kim|last=Schulte|page=96|year=2021|isbn=978-3-11-073965-7|title=Convergence and divergence in Ibero-Romance across contact situations and beyond|publisher=[[Walter de Gruyter]]|chapter=Structural convergence of two Ibero-Romance varieties. The case of colloquial Valencian as the outcome of contact between Catalan and Spanish|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6YWFEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA96}}</ref>

===Festivals===
;Falles
{{Main|Falles}}
[[File:Crema falla 2015.jpg|thumb|upright|''La cremà'' (burning of the ''ninots'') during the 2015 falles]]

Every year, the five days and nights from 15 to 19 March, called [[Falles]], are a continual festival in Valencia; beginning on 1 March, the popular pyrotechnic events called ''[[mascletà]]es'' start every day at 2:00 pm. The [[Falles]] (''Fallas'' in Spanish) is an enduring tradition in Valencia and other towns in the [[Valencian Community]],<ref name="fiestas">{{cite web |url=http://www.fvmp.es/fvmp3/guia/4.2.guia-cul-fiestas.html?codine=46250 |title=Fiestas de Valencia |author=City Council of Valencia |date=2008 |work=www.fvmp.es |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120113131540/http://www.fvmp.es/fvmp3/guia/4.2.guia-cul-fiestas.html?codine=46250 |archive-date=13 January 2012}}</ref> where it has become an important tourist attraction. The festival started being celebrated in the 18th century,<ref name="fallasvalencia.es">{{cite web |url=http://www.fallasvalencia.es/fallas/historia/historia-las-fallas/ |title=Historia de las Fallas – Fallas Valencia 2015 |first=Las |last=Provincias |work=fallasvalencia.es |access-date=1 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919234928/http://www.fallasvalencia.es/fallas/historia/historia-las-fallas/ |archive-date=19 September 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and came to be celebrated on the night of the feast day of [[Saint Joseph]], the patron saint of carpenters, with the burning of waste planks of wood from their workshops, as well as worn-out wooden objects brought by people in the neighborhood.<ref name="RodgersRodgers2002">{{cite book |author=Eamonn Rodgers |title=Encyclopedia of Contemporary Spanish Culture |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6KKFAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA174 |date=11 March 2002 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-78858-3 |page=174 |access-date=2 October 2016 |archive-date=29 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160429223427/https://books.google.com/books?id=6KKFAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA174 |url-status=live}}</ref>

This tradition continued to evolve, and eventually the ''parots'' were dressed with clothing to look like people—these were the first ''ninots'', with features identifiable as being those of a well-known person from the neighborhood often added as well. In 1901 the city inaugurated the awarding of prizes for the best Falles monuments,<ref name="fallasvalencia.es"/> and neighborhood groups still rival with each other to make the most impressive creations.<ref name="Villarroya1992">{{cite book |author=Antonio Ariño Villarroya |title=La ciudad ritual: la fiesta de las Fallas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aUzLVON2UdMC&pg=PA13 |date=1 January 1992 |publisher=Anthropos Editorial |isbn=978-84-7658-368-5 |page=60 |access-date=2 October 2016 |archive-date=11 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160611013844/https://books.google.com/books?id=aUzLVON2UdMC&pg=PA13 |url-status=live}}</ref> Their intricate assemblages, on top of pedestals for better visibility, depict famous personalities and topical subjects of the past year, presenting humorous and often satirical commentary on them.

On the night of 19 March, Valencians burn all the Falles in an event called "La Cremà".

;Holy Week
The ''Setmana'' or ''{{ill|Holy Week in Valencia|es|Semana Santa Marinera|lt=Semana Santa Marinera}}'', as the [[Holy Week]] is known in the city, was declared "Festival of National Tourist Interest" by 2012.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.lasprovincias.es/v/20120322/valencia/semana-santa-quiere-fiesta-20120322.html |website=[[Las Provincias]] |date=22 March 2012 |title=La Semana Santa quiere ser fiesta internacional |first=Marina |last=Costa |access-date=15 June 2020 |archive-date=24 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120424162222/http://www.lasprovincias.es/v/20120322/valencia/semana-santa-quiere-fiesta-20120322.html |url-status=live}}</ref>