Orihuela

▪ Spain

      city, Alicante provincia (province), in the comunidad autónoma (autonomous community) of Valencia, southeastern Spain. Orihuela lies in the fertile Vega (flat lowland) del Segura, just northeast of Murcia city. A pre-Roman settlement, it became the Roman Orcelis. Captured by the Moors in 713, it was finally liberated by the Christians in 1264. It was sacked during the disturbances at the beginning of the reign of Charles I (Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire; 1520) and again in the War of the Spanish Succession (1706). Orihuela suffered several epidemics of plague, was partly destroyed by an earthquake in 1829, and has often been flooded by the Segura River.

      The old part of the city is north of the Segura, the new part on the south. Historic buildings include the 14th-century cathedral; the Church of Santiago (once a mosque; rebuilt in the 18th century); the 14th-century Church of Santas Justa y Rufina, with an 18th-century facade; and the College of Santo Domingo (1516–1701), the former university. There is a diocesan museum of sacred art.

      Local agriculture is furthered by a remarkable irrigation system left by the Moors. Its effectiveness resulted in the proverb “Rain or no rain, corn in Orihuela.” In addition to corn (maize), the chief agricultural products are oranges, lemons, potatoes, pepper, hemp, cotton, oats, wheat, almonds, and dates. Orihuela is also famous for its carnations, and it has a traditional shoe and textile industry. Services, however, are the economic mainstay of the contemporary city. Pop. (2007 est.) mun., 80,468.

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