What is Valencia? (EP 38)

Spain Explained continues its series on all of Spain's autonomous communities with the Comunitat Valenciana (Comunidad Valenciana in Spanish, the Valencian Community in English), the birthplace of paella and Spain's sunny citrus-filled paradise. And it's out just in time  for October 9, the Día de la Comunitat Valenciana, and makes a good way to celebrate the day.

Marti Buckley starts with the map: three provinces stacked along 500 kilometers of Mediterranean coast. From there she explains region's history, the Valencian language and where it is spoken, the October 2024 flood, and what the rest of Spain pictures when it pictures Valencia. Then, of course, the food: the sanctioned ingredients of a paella valenciana, horchata with fartons, the mid-morning esmorzaret, and the marzipan Valencians give the people they love every October 9.

If you want more about Spain: ∙ Subscribe to Marti's Substack at https://substack.com/@martibuckley ∙ Follow her on Instagram @martibuckley ∙ Visit her blog at travelcookeat.com