Ribera Alta (comarca)

Coordinates: 39°12′09″N 0°32′33″W / 39.2025°N 0.5424°W / 39.2025; -0.5424
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Ribera Alta
Capital
Alzira
Municipalities
List
Area
 • Total951.56 km2 (367.40 sq mi)
Population
 (2006)
 • Total220.336
 • Density0.23/km2 (0.60/sq mi)
UTC+2 (CEST)
Largest municipalityAlzira

Ribera Alta is a

Valencia, Valencian Community, Spain
.

Origin

The

Valencian community, is most characteristic of the Ribera Alta, bringing water from the Cuenca to fertilize this plain, situated to the south of the Valencia. The economy of this predominantly agricultural region is based primarily upon the orange harvest, a crop which has been cultivated since the 18th century. From its rich historical and artistic heritage, the most noteworthy of all of the region’s treasures are the towns of La Pobla Llarga, Carcaixent and Alzira. These, alongside a rich and varied gastronomy and an extensive festival calendar, make this region, which is still virtually untouched by tourists, a very attractive area in which to spend time.[1][2]

Municipalities

Municipalities of Ribera Alta

Gastronomy and events

The gastronomy of the Ribera Alta is, like the rest of Valencia, rich in rice dishes. Here the specialties include the well-known food of the fens such as dry rice dishes and stews cooked on an open fire or in the heat of clay ovens. Dishes such as all ipebre (potatoes and eels), espardenyà (potatoes, eels, rabbit and eggs), as well as the universally known Valencian

Algemesi
on September, and which has taken place for over 800 years. La Mare de Déu de la Salut Festival takes place in the historical parts of the city of Algemesí on 7 and 8 September each year.

Here the music of the dolçaina i tabalet, a type of flute, accompanies the traditional dances of la carxofa, elsarquets, les pastoretes and the popular la Muixeranga. These festivals have been officially declared of tourist interest and precede the Semana de Bous (Week of the Bulls), which takes place in the interesting bullring, which unusually, is rectangular-shaped.[3]

algemesi La Mare de Déu de la Salut Festival
Tabaleter with typical Valencian drums

Orange's birthplace

Frederick, Lord Leighton
, 1892.

The

La Llotja de la Seda), a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[4] The first references to commercial orange plantations date back to the 18th century. At present, there are approximately 150,000 hectares of orange groves in the Region of Valencia producing orange and mandarin varieties including satsumas, clementines, navel oranges, common oranges, blood oranges, and hybrids, as the most important specimens [5]

Ribera Alta has a long orange farming tradition. The economy and population boomed in the area in the 18th century, and Ribera Alta profited from an expansion that also affected a sector as important as agriculture. Orange farming was introduced in this context. According to the historical records, in 1781 priest Vicente Monzó, notary Maseres and pharmacist Bodí, planted the first fields of orange trees in

mulberries, taking over as the main local crop. Wholesale exports of oranges commenced in this century, fuelled by the arrival of the railway.[6][7]

References

  1. ^ [1][dead link]
  2. ^ "HUERTOS DE NARANJOS. Visiones culturales de un paisaje". Uv.es. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  3. ^ "LA RIBERA ALTA - València, Terra i Mar". Archived from the original on 20 September 2014. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  4. ^ "La Lonja listing on Unesco site". Whc.unesco.org. Retrieved 9 March 2011.
  5. ^ "CVNEWS" (PDF). Comunitatvalenciana.com. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  6. ^ Jose Vicente Niclos. "Cultural Valencia: An orange Around the World". Culturalvalencia.blogspot.com.es. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  7. ^ "Paisaje de los huertos de naranjos". Espores.org. Retrieved 4 January 2017.

39°12′09″N 0°32′33″W / 39.2025°N 0.5424°W / 39.2025; -0.5424

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