Murcia

Murcia (/ˈmʊərsiə/ or /ˈmɜːrʃⁱə/, Spanish: [ˈmuɾθja]) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the capital and most populous city of the Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country, with a population of 442,573 inhabitants in 2009 (about one third of the total population of the Region). The population of the metropolitan area was 689,591 in 2010. It is located on the Segura River, in the Southeast of the Iberian Peninsula, noted by a climate with hot summers, mild winters, and relatively low precipitation.

Murcia was founded by the emir of Cordoba Abd ar-Rahman II in 825 AD with the name Mursiyah مرسية and nowadays is mainly a services city and a university town. Highlights for visitors include the Cathedral of Murcia and a number of baroque buildings, renowned local cuisine, Holy Week procession works of art by the famous Murcian sculptor Francisco Salzillo, and the Fiestas de Primavera (Spring Festival).

The city, as the capital of the comarca Huerta de Murcia is called Europe’s orchard due to its long agricultural tradition and as a fruit, vegetable, and flower producer and exporter.

Murcia (deity)

Murcia was a little-known goddess in ancient Rome. Her name occurs as a surname of Venus.

According to Livy she had a temple at the foot of the Aventine Hill near to the Palatine Hill. Murcus is said to have been an old name for the Aventine Hill itself; hence the adjective murtius (= murcius) was applied to the turning-posts of the Circus Maximus, which was also situated in a valley between the Aventine and the Palatine Hills.

The name Murcia was linked to the name of the myrtle tree (Latin myrtus) by folk etymology; hence the spellings Murtia and Murtea. This association with myrtle, which was a sign of Venus, led to her naming as "Venus of the Myrtles". Christian writers, in their turn, connected Murcia with the adjective murcus or murcidus "lazy, inactive", thus interpreting her as a "goddess of sloth and laziness".

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Region of Murcia

The Region of Murcia (Spanish: Región de Murcia; Murcian: Rigión e Murcia; Valencian: Regió de Murcia) is an autonomous community of Spain located in the southeast of the state, between Andalusia and Valencian Community, on the Mediterranean coast.

The autonomous community consists of a single province, unlike most autonomous communities, which have several provinces within the same territory. Because of this, the autonomous community and the province are operated as one unit of government. The city of Murcia is the capital of the region and seat of government organs, except for the parliament, the Regional Assembly of Murcia, which is located in Cartagena. The autonomous community and province is subdivided into municipalities.

The Region of Murcia is bordered by Andalusia (the provinces of Almería and Granada); Castile–La Mancha (the province of Albacete, which was historically connected to Murcia until 1980); the Valencian Community (province of Alicante); and the Mediterranean Sea. The community measures 11,313 km² and has a population of 1.4 million, of whom one-third live in the capital. The highest mountain is Los Obispos (2,015 m).