Villena

The first known name of the area is Ad Turres, which appears in the Vascula Apollinaria and has been identified with some of the Roman villas or postae in the Via Augusta itinerary, at some point between Villena and Font de la Figuera.{{cite book |title= Villena en las calzadas romana y árabe|trans-title= Villena in the Roman and Arabic roads|last= RUBIERA|first= María José|year= 1985|publisher= Universidad de Alicante|location= Alicante|language= es}} Near the latter there is evidence of an old Tower already ruined by the 14th century.{{cite book |title= Geografia de les comarques valencianes|trans-title= Geography of the Valencian comarcas|editor1-first= Juan |editor1-last= PIQUERAS HABA|volume = 1|year= 1995|publisher= Foro|location= València|language= ca|isbn= 84-8186-019-0|pages= 328|trans-chapter= Territorial frame and its origins : Ibero-Roman antecedents|chapter= El marc territorial i els seus origens:Els antecedents ibero-romans}} As for the origin of the term Villena, there is some polemic. Menéndez Pidal proposed an evolution from a hypothetic antroponym Bellius or Vellius and the sufix -ana, as in Lucena (Lucius + -ana) or Maracena (Marcus + -ana), which would give the Roman word Belliana or Velliana.{{cite book |title= Toponimia prerrománica hispana|trans-title= Pre-Roman Hispanic toponymy|last= MENÉNDEZ PIDAL|first= Ramón|author-link= Menéndez Pidal|year= 1952|publisher= Gredos|location= Madrid|language= es}} However, Belliana or Bellius have not been documented in Roman times, as well as the evolution from Belliana to Villena involves several phonetic difficulties.{{cite journal |last= DOMENE VERDÚ|first= José Fernando|title= El nombre de Villena [The name of Villena]|journal= Revista Villena|year= 1986|issue= 36|publisher = Ayuntamiento de Villena|location =Villena}} So, Domene Verdú indicates that the origin of the toponym would be the term {{lang|ar|بليانة}} Bilyāna, purely Arabic, meaning "the filled (by Allah)".{{cite journal |last= DOMENE VERDÚ|first= José Fernando|title= Influencia aragonesa en el habla de Villena [Aragonese influence on Villena's speech]|journal= Revista Villena|year= 1983|issue= 33|publisher = Ayuntamiento de Villena|location =Villena}} This Arabic term, documented from the 11th century on, evolved in two ways. On the one hand, following the rules of Medieval Spanish, to Belliena, as is written in the Historia Roderici (around 1180). On the other hand, Belliena was replaced by the Aragonese term Billena after the Christian conquest, which was carried out mostly by Aragonese. The current spelling was consolidated around the 15th century, since Spanish had totally lost the distinction between [b] and [v] and writing was attracted by the word villa, meaning "town".

The coat of arms of Villena has been used traditionally since at least 1477, but has never been made official.{{cite web |url= http://www.laverdad.es/alicante/20080127/provincia/villena-autentico-escudo-villa-20080127.html|title= El auténtico escudo de la villa|date= January 27, 2008|work= Diario La Verdad|language= es|trans-title= The real coat of arms of the town|access-date= August 12, 2009}} The castle in the first quarter comes from the symbol of the Crown of Castile, whereas the lion in the second quarter and the winged hand in the third are legacy of don Juan Manuel, second lord of the city. The three pinetrees and the pond in the fourth quarter refer to the Lagoon of Villena or the Fuente del Chopo, formerly big wealth sources for the city; the first as a salt evaporation pond and the second as a source of fresh water. The crown is a symbol of the marquisate of Villena. As the coat of arms has never made official, there are different versions according to the City Hall's terms of office, as well as certain polemic about the position of the second and third quarter.{{cite web |url= http://escano22.blogspot.com/2007/06/navegando-por-internet-he-descubierto.html|title= El león de la discordia|work= Escaño 22: Análisis político de Villena|language= es|trans-title= The lion of contention|access-date= August 12, 2009}}

Villena is placed northwest in the province of Alicante, in the comarca of Alto Vinalopó. It is in the middle of an important crossroad which links the Valencian Community, the Region of Murcia and Castile-La Mancha, in a natural corridor known as Villena's Corridor or Vinalopó's Corridor, since the river Vinalopó flows through the municipal territory of Villena.{{cite book |title= Villena ¡un tesoro!|trans-title= Villena, a treasure!|editor1-first= Laura|editor1-last= Hernández Alcaraz|editor2-first= José|editor2-last= Ayelo Pérez|year= 2003 |edition = 3rd|publisher= M.I. Ayuntamiento de Villena, en colaboración con el ITVA|location= Villena|language= es|trans-chapter= Geographic location|chapter= Situación Geográfica}} This corridor has been of capital importance since prehistoric times (this is the place where the Via Augusta led first into the Meseta Central), and, being at the middle of towns as Biar, Sax, Font de la Figuera, Yecla or Caudete made Villena an important transports junction.{{cite book |title= Gran Enciclopedia Temática de la Comunidad Valenciana|trans-title= Great Thematic Encyclopaedia of the Valencian Community|year= 2009|publisher= Editorial Prensa Valenciana|language= es|trans-chapter= Roads|volume = Geografía [Geography]|chapter= Carreteras}} Villena's municipality, having an area of 345,6 km² in the second widest in the province of Alicante.{{cite web|url=http://www.civis.gva.es/civis/es/|title=Información Municipal - Datos de entidades locales · Villena|last=Portal Civis de la Dirección General de Administración Local|language=es|trans-title=Local Information - Local Entities Data · Villena|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090423113754/http://www.civis.gva.es/civis/es/|archive-date=2009-04-23|access-date=August 12, 2009|url-status=dead}}

Villena region played an important role during the Bronze Age, and in the development of early metallurgy.

Cabezo Redondo is an important archaeological site of the Bronze Age located on a hill 2 km from the town of Villena. It was a regional center inhabited between 1500 and 1100 BC, and probably belonged to Argaric culture.

After the Islamic conquest of the Iberian Peninsula the city was called Medina Bilyana ({{Langx|ar|مدينة بليانة}}) and was one of the seven cities mentioned in the Treaty of Tudmir. Calatrava knights conquered the city by the king James I of Aragon. This caused some tensions between Castile and Aragon, since Villena should have been reserved to Castile under the treaties of Tudilén and Cazorla, so both crowns had to sign news treaties: The Treaty of Almizra, Torrellas and Elche.

After the Christian conquest, Villena becomes the capital of an important seigneury, later duchy, principality and marquisate, until the popular rebellion against the Marquis, instigated by the Catholic Monarchs.

File:Tesoro de Villena.jpg, the second biggest gold hoard in Europe]]

The Cabezo Redondo gold hoard was an important archaeological find. The treasure was discovered in the spring of 1963 by the Spanish archaeologist José María Soler García, and it contains 35 items of jewelry, including a tiara, finger rings, bracelets, and pendants.

Treasure of Villena, another find that is much bigger, was also hidden in the Cabezo Redondo area, near Villena, by its ancient inhabitants.[http://noticias.juridicas.com/base_datos/CCAA/va-d66-2005.html Decreto 66/2005, de 1 de abril, por el que se declara Bien de Interés Cultural la Colección Arqueológica del Tesoro de Villena] This was also found, in December 1963, by José María Soler García. It is the most important ancient treasure find in the Iberian Peninsula and the second one in Europe, just behind that from the Royal Graves in Mycenae, Greece.{{cite journal |author= [Spanish] Culture and Education Ministry|date=26 February 2003|title= RESOLUCIÓN de 7 de enero de 2003, de la Dirección General de Patrimonio Artístico de la Consejería de Cultura y Educación, por la que se incoa expediente de declaración de bien de interés cultural a favor de la colección arqueológica del Tesoro de Villena.|trans-title= January 7, 2003, RESOLUTION of the General Direction on Artistic Heritage of the Culture and Education Council, which opens a file on the declaration as Good of Cultural Interest (BIC) the archaeologic collection known as Treasure of Villena|journal= Boletín Oficial del Estado|issue= 49|pages= 7798–7802|publisher= Spanish Government|location= Madrid|url= http://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2003/02/26/pdfs/A07798-07802.pdf|language= es|format= pdf|access-date= December 6, 2009}}{{quote| Desde el punto de vista histórico, artístico y arqueológico, el Tesoro de Villena constituye un «unicum», un depósito no normalizado, por su peso y contenido (A. Perea). De hecho, se trata del segundo tesoro de vajilla áurea más importante de Europa, tras el de las Tumbas Reales de Micenas en Grecia (A. Mederos). [From a historic, artistic and archaeological point of view, the Treasure of Villena constitutes a "unicum", a non-normalised deposit, according to its weight and content (A. Perea). In fact, it is the second most important golden tableware finding in Europe, after that of the Royal Graves in Mycenae in Greece (A. Mederos)}}

This find was not made at Cabezo Redondo, itself, but at the Rambla del Panadero, 5 km east of Villena. Nevertheless, it is believed that, based on its resemblance to the previous Cabezo Redondo hoard, the trove was buried by the ancient inhabitants of Cabezo Redondo.

File:Sierra de la Villa. Castillo de Salvatierra durante la puesta de sol.jpg ruins.]]

• Castle of la Atalaya, built by the Moors in the 11th century.
• Municipal Palace
• Saint James Church, a late Gothic Catholic church.
• Archaeological Museum. Founded by archaeologist José María Soler García, it contains the Treasure of Villena.

File:Nazaríes.jpg Festival, in September]]

Villena is home to the most crowded festival of Moros y Cristianos in Spain.

It is also home to one of the biggest rock / heavy metal festivals in Spain, Leyendas del Rock, which takes place every August.

The economy of the city is based on footwear (like in the neighbouring cities of Elda and Novelda), pottery, furnitures and wines.

Juan Carlos Ferrero, former world no. 1 tennis player, developed the Ferrero Tennis Academy, which has produced such players as Guillermo García-López and Carlos Alcaraz.

Villena is located close to Autovía A-31. It has two railway stations; Villena AV serving AVE high-speed rail services on the Madrid–Levante high-speed rail network, and Villena, which sees Renfe local and regional trains.

File:Don Juan Manuel.jpg]]

• Ambrosio Cotes, Reinassance composer.
• José García Hidalgo, Baroque painter.
• Joaquín María López, Spain's Prime Minister.
• José María Soler, archaeologist.
• Ruperto Chapí, zarzuela composer.
• Juan Carlos Ferrero, tennis player.
• Pablo Menor, jesuit priest.
• Antonio Navarro Santafé, sculptor.
• Carlos Alcaraz, tennis player.

• {{flagicon|ESP}} Escalona, Spain, since 1982,{{cite web |url= http://www.elperiodicodevillena.com/noticia.asp?idnoticia=69955|title= Peñafiel, ciudad hermana de Villena, participará en la XIII Feria del Campo|last= El Periódico de Villena|date= August 6, 2008|language= es|trans-title= Peñafiel, twin city of Villena, will take part at the 13th Countryside Fair|access-date= August 30, 2009|quote= La Concejalía de Agricultura ha invitado a los Ayuntamientos de Escalona y Peñafiel}} on the occasion of the 700 anniversary of the birth of don Juan Manuel, who was lord of Villena, Escalona and Peñafiel.
• {{flagicon|ESP}} Peñafiel, Spain, since 1982,{{cite web |url= http://www.diarioinformacion.com/secciones/noticia.jsp?pRef=2008092600_18_801538__Elda-Feria-Campo-Villena-abre-expositores|title= La Feria del Campo de Villena abre hoy con más de 160 expositores|last= Diario Información|date= September 26, 2008|language= es|trans-title= Villena's Countryside Fair open its doors today with more than 160 display stands|access-date= August 30, 2009|quote= Por primera vez, Peñafiel, ciudad hermanada con Villena... [For the first time, Peñafiel, twin city of Villena...]}} on the occasion of the 700 anniversary of the birth of don Juan Manuel, who was lord of Villena, Escalona and Peñafiel.

• Moors and Christians of Villena
• Revolt of the Brotherhoods
• Seigneury of Villena
• Taifa of Murcia
• Treaty of Almizra
• Treaty of Orihuela
• Route of the Castles of Vinalopó
• War of the Castilian Succession
• War of the Two Peters

{{Reflist|2}}

{{commons category|Villena}}

{{EB1911 poster|Villena}}

• [http://www.villena.es/ Ayuntamiento de Villena] {{in lang|es}}
• [http://www.museovillena.com Archaeological Museum "José María Soler"] {{in lang|es}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20091125100827/http://escultornavarrosantafe.com/ "Esculptor Navarro Santafé" Museum] {{in lang|es|ca|en|fr}}
• [http://www.juntacentral.com Moros y Cristianos Festival Central Assembly] {{in lang|es}}
• [http://www.kakv.com Kakv, Cultural Center] {{in lang|es}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20100924073232/http://www.yeclaserve.com/Villena.php Villena in English] {{in lang|en}}

{{Alt Vinalopó}}

{{Municipalities in Alicante|state=autocollapse}}

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Category:Municipalities in the Province of Alicante

Category:Alto Vinalopó