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Xàtiva

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Jativa" redirects here. For the genus of moth, see Jativa (moth).
For the metro station, see Xàtiva (Metrovalencia).
Xàtiva
Xàtiva (Valencian)
Játiva (Spanish)
Municipality
View of Xàtiva
View of Xàtiva
Flag of Xàtiva
Flag
Coat of arms of Xàtiva
Coat of arms
Map
Location of Xàtiva
Xàtiva is located in Valencian Community
Xàtiva
Xàtiva
Xàtiva is located in Spain
Xàtiva
Xàtiva
Coordinates: 38°59′25″N 0°31′16″W / 38.99028°N 0.52111°W / 38.99028; -0.52111
Country Spain
Autonomous community Valencian Community
Province Valencia / València
ComarcaCostera
Judicial districtXàtiva
Government
 • MayorRoger Cerdà i Boluda (2015) (PSPV-PSOE)
Area
 • Total
76.56 km2 (29.56 sq mi)
Elevation
115 m (377 ft)
Population
 (2018)[1]
 • Total
29,045
 • Density380/km2 (980/sq mi)
Demonym(s)xativí, -ina (Val.)
jativés, -esa / setabense (Sp.)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
46800
Official language(s)Spanish and Valencian
Websitewww.xativa.es

Xàtiva (Valencian: [ˈʃativa]; Spanish: Játiva [ˈxatiβa]) is a town in eastern Spain, in the province of Valencia, on the right (western) bank of the river Albaida and at the junction of the Valencia–Murcia and Valencia Albacete railways.[2] It is located 25 km west of the Mediterranean Sea. During the Al-Andalus Islamic era, Arabs brought the technology to manufacture paper to Xàtiva. In the 12th century, Xàtiva was known for its schools, education, and learning circles. Islamic scholar Abu Ishaq al-Shatibi's last name refers to Xàtiva where he lived and died.[3] After the Reconquista by Northern Christian kingdoms and the following Christian repopulation, the city became the cradle of one of the most powerful and controversial families of the Renaissance, the House of Borgia, which produced Popes like Callixtus III (Alfonso de Borgia) and Alexander VI (Rodrigo de Borgia).

History

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Municipal charter of Xàtiva (1252).

Xàtiva (Saetabis in Latin)[4] was famous in Roman times for its linen fabrics, mentioned by the Latin poets Ovid and Catullus. Xàtiva is also known as an early European centre of paper manufacture. In the 12th century, Arabs brought the technology to manufacture paper to Xàtiva (Arabic: شاطبة Shāṭiba).

It is the birthplace of two popes, Callixtus III and Alexander VI, and also the painter José Ribera (Lo Spagnoletto). It suffered a dark moment in its history at the hands of Philip V of Spain, who, after his victory at the Battle of Almansa during the War of the Spanish Succession, had the city besieged then ordered it to be burned and renamed San Felipe. In memory of the insult, the portrait of the monarch hangs upside down in the local museum of l'Almodí.[5]

Xàtiva was briefly a provincial capital under the short-lived 1822 territorial division of Spain,[6] during the Trienio Liberal. The Province of Xàtiva was revoked with the return to absolutism in 1823.

Main sights

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Xàtiva is built on the margin of a fertile plain, and on the northern slopes of the Monte Vernissa, a hill with two peaks crowned by Xativa Castle.[2]

The Collegiate Basilica, dating from 1414, but rebuilt about a century later in the Renaissance style, was formerly a cathedral, and is the chief among many churches and convents. The town-hall and a church on the castle hill are partly constructed of inscribed Roman masonry, and several houses date from the Moorish period.[2]

Other sights include:

Panoramic view of Xàtiva

Notable people

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Municipal Register of Spain 2018. National Statistics Institute.
  2. ^ a b c  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Játiva". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 280.
  3. ^ Muhammad Khalid Masud, Islamic Legal Philosophy: A Study of Abu Ishaq al-Shatibi's Life and Thought, McGill University 1977
  4. ^ "Definition - Numen - The Latin Lexicon - An Online Latin Dictionary - A Dictionary of the Latin Language". latinlexicon.org.
  5. ^ "Objectivas" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on May 27, 2007.
  6. ^ (in Spanish) División provisional del territorio español de 27 de Enero de 1822 Archived December 14, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, the text of the proposed 1822 territorial division of Spain, Instituto de Historia, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC, Spanish National Research Council). Accessed online 2010-01-03.
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