Torrent (Valencia)

Torrente (officially in Valencian: Torrent) is a municipality and Spanish city in the province of Valencia, in the Valencian Community. It is located in the metropolitan area of Valencia, in the Huerta Sur region. It has a population of 85,142 inhabitants (INE 2022).

Toponymy

It is not known when the name of this city originated, although there is speculation about a possible Latin origin. There are two words of Latin origin that could be the root of the toponym: Turritus (towered, fortified) or Torrens (fast, impetuous, violent).

The first time it appears in writing is in a document of Jaime I from 1232, in which it is called Vilas de Torrent. Torrent was the official name until 1860 when a Royal Order was issued by which all names of municipalities must translate their names into Spanish^{[citation required]}. From that day on, the place name Torrente began to be officially used.

Since 1979 it was officially called Torrent again. Since that year, official documents in both Spanish and Valencian include the name Torrent and also some newspapers written in Spanish such as Levante or Las Provincias use the official name. According to Appendix 3 of the Orthography of the Spanish language (1999) of the Royal Spanish Academy, the traditional place name in Spanish is Torrente.

Geography

Capital of the Huerta Sur region, it was also the capital of Huerta Oeste until its disappearance in December 2022. It is located 9 km from the city of Valencia, at the foot of the hill from Vedat de Torrent and 15 km from the sea. Along with other municipalities in the region, Torrente is part of the Intermunicipal Mancomunidad de la Huerta Sur, which has its headquarters in this same municipality.

Bordering towns

The municipal area limits to the north with Aldaya, Alacuás and Chirivella, to the east with Picaña and Catarroja, to the south with Alcácer, Picasent, and to the west with Monserrat, Godelleta, Turís and Chiva, all of them belonging to the province of Valencia.

Morphology

There are practically no important mountains in the entire region and the only mountains in the municipality are low: the Vedat de Torrente (142 m s. n. m.), Morredondo (157 m), Barret (142 m), Cabezo de la Araña (228 m) and the Sierra Perenchiza (329 m). One fifth of the municipal area is mountain area. It should be noted that the municipal area is crossed by the Barranco de Torrente, which flows into the Albufera lake.

Vegetation

In the mountains we find above all Pinus halepensis, Quercus coccifera, Pistacia lentiscus, a large number of grasses and sclerophyllous shrubs and bushes, so it is the typical Mediterranean kermes oak. The flat land has been used mainly for agriculture and there is hardly any natural vegetation in the vicinity of the urban area.

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  Access to the municipal natural landscape of the Sierra Perenchiza

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  Municipal natural landscape of the Sierra Perenchiza

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  Cuenca del Barranco de la Horteta

Fauna

In Torrente there is a great diversity of fauna, especially concentrated in the few uninhabited areas of its territory, such as some regions of the Sierra Perenchiza, it is possible to find small animals such as reptiles (Iberian skink, lizards, lizards, small snakes), lizards, and some others, in birds we find a great diversity, for example a great variety of passerines, and other birds such as egrets, falconets, and others. We found different mammals such as rabbits, hares, foxes, hedgehogs, wild boars, field mice, shrews and especially bats and some genets, which were introduced years ago.

The most characteristic invertebrates of the area within the philum mollusca are gastropods, the most common in the Valencian region without any known endemism. We find the most common invertebrate fauna possible, such as, for example, there are large number of earthworms, scorpions, specifically the Butus occitanus, spiders of different types, but we can find many spiders of the genus Argiope, and the rest without specifying philums We find crickets, centipedes and millipedes, as well as various dragonflies and butterflies.

Climate

The climate is Mediterranean type, corresponding to the Mediterranean area, so the winters are mild and the summers hot. The average temperature is 18 °C, in winter it ranges between 10 and 12 °C (although it can reach 0 °C on the coldest days) and in summer it is 27 °C (with peaks of up to 40 °C).

The annual rainfall is 455 mm per square meter, reaching 700 mm in the years in which the cold drop occurs in autumn. Snowfalls are infrequent episodes, a couple of times every decade, except for the highest areas of the municipality.

History

The first inhabitants

The official foundation as a town dates back to the Reconquista, although the Tower and its fortification, as well as the various archaeological remains found (coins, utensils, weapons, etc.) indicate that there were already inhabitants in this territory during the Bronze Age.

There are remains of Iberian settlements such as Llometa del Clot de Bailón. But it was during the Romanization when the term became densely populated, with numerous rustic villas or country houses, such as now Mas del Jutge, l'Alter, Sant Gregori or las Peñas. After Romanization, a period of Muslim rule began, starting in the 8th century, which leaves its mark on urban geography, with narrow and winding streets, squares and dead-end streets, and in the rural area with districts such as Benisayet or Rafol, as well as the remains of the depopulated areas of Carrasquera and Molinell.

Torrente Foundation

Torrente was founded in 1248, ten years after the Conquest of Valencia by James I. The king offered these lands to Fray Don Hugo de Folcalquier, lieutenant of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem (or Order of the Hospital) for try to get their help in the war of Conquest of Valencia.

After the Conquest was completed, in 1232 James I signed a document by which he gave this and other towns to the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem so that they could administer them as they wished. These towns were: Cullera, Silla, Montroy and Macastre, among others.

On May 5, 1238, the Order took possession of the town and decided to populate it with fifty old Christians, giving them houses and land. The town belonged to the Order until 1807.

Although James I gave the Order full powers over the area, from the beginning disputes arose with the bishop of Valencia who claimed the right to collect the tithe in Torrente. In 1243 the bishop of Lérida took action on the matter, declaring that the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem and the Bishop of Valencia would repair the tithe in equal parts and settle the conflict.

From the 18th century onwards

In the 18th century the hermitage of the Virgen del Rosario was built in the square, which was demolished in 1868.

In 1846, Torrente was appointed head of the judicial district to replace Catarroja.

Between 1810 and 1850 it was built in the until then rural area of Alter, appearing the streets of San José, Santa Bárbara, San Onofre, Santa Lucía, Virgen de los Desamparados, Santa Teresa, among others.

In 1893 the railway station was inaugurated, which is part of the line that would connect Valencia with Villanueva de Castellón. At the time of its construction it was located between crop fields, so to facilitate access, Cervantes Street was developed, opened and conditioned in 1910. On the same street, the Cervantes Cinema was inaugurated on November 22, 1911, the first of the population, which was at the beginning of the XX century a center of political and cultural activity.

Other public premises in the town - at the beginning of the XX century - were located in the Plaza Mayor or its surroundings, such as the Círculo Católico, the Sociedad Musical Obrera, Casino de la calle Sagra or the Música Nova society.

On Sunday, September 29, 1929, work on Avenida al Vedat officially began, which at different times would be called "de Alfonso XIII", "de los Mártires" and "from the Valencian Country". The avenue would be extended over the decades. In February 1933, the Diario de Valencia lamented the state of the works. But as the work was completed in its first parts, the road attracted walkers and businesses. Thus, in 1959, the Liceo cinema was inaugurated, at number 50 avenue.

Demography

At the beginning of the century XX Torrente was the most populated municipality in the region, with 8,561 inhabitants. In 1940 it already exceeded thirteen thousand. It was from the 1950s onwards that there was great demographic growth, driven by the arrival of emigrants from the interior regions of the Valencian Community and other regions of Spain.

Thanks to its integration into the metropolitan area of Valencia, mainly as a dormitory city, Torrente has shown strong demographic growth since the 1950s, reaching 80,630 inhabitants in 2017. 11.06% of its inhabitants were, in the 2008 registry, of foreign nationality.

The municipality, which has an area of 69.32 km², has, according to the 2017 municipal register of the INE, 80,630 inhabitants and a density of 1,163.16 inhabitants/km².

Graphic of demographic evolution of Torrente between 1842 and 2021

Population of law according to population censuses of the INE.Population according to the 2017 municipal register.

Population by nuclei

Population breakdown according to the Continuous Register by Population Unit of the INE.

Economy

Historically, the basis of Torrentina's economy was dry agriculture. Despite its location in the Huerta de Valencia, towards the end of the 19th century the irrigated area only reached 6% of the total arable area. Furthermore, it was in the dry lands that the farmer was the owner, since the irrigated fields generally belonged to rentiers who leased the usufruct to local farmers. In 1901, 54% of workers belonged to the agricultural sector.

During the 20th century irrigation gained ground over dry land. Traditional crops were replaced by the orange tree. Starting in the 1950s, the fields in the western part of the municipality began to be transformed, wells were drilled and irrigation communities were established. In 1966, irrigation already occupied 26% of the agricultural area, and 60% of the irrigated area was planted with orange trees.

In the 1980s, increasingly rugged terrain was transformed, thanks to the use of better tractors and localized irrigation. In 1995, irrigation reached 68% of the agricultural area and of that, 66.5% was dedicated to orange trees.

Despite the changes in the countryside, industrial development meant that in 1970 only 13% of the workforce was dedicated to the primary sector.

There has traditionally been an industry presence in Torrente, based on the transformation of agricultural products (spirits, preserves, oil manufacturing), wood and footwear industries. In 1901, 16% of the workforce was dedicated to industry. Starting in the 1950s, a part of these traditional activities - wines, spirits, part of the wood industry - disappeared. Other industries, generally originating in small family workshops, transformed and grew during the 1960s and 1970s. Industrial companies dedicated to bronze and furniture appeared.

64% of the employed population worked in industry in 1970. At the same time, the development of industries led them to move to industrial estates, such as on the Masía del Juez road. This industrial estate, which arose in an unplanned manner, was organized and provided with structures, benefiting from its access to the Valencia by-pass since its construction in 1992.

The traditional Torrentino service sector focused on storage, transportation and commerce activities - the street sale of ice cream and fruits stood out - that served both agriculture and the local population as well as that of surrounding municipalities. Thus, in 1950, 26% of the active population worked in the sector. However, the proportion was reduced to 17% in 1970, as a result of industrial expansion. Subsequently, the weight of the services sector increased again.

The proximity to Valencia has facilitated its industrialization, although it has not completely lost its initial agricultural character. It is also a traditional summer resort for the inhabitants of Valencia. This has led to the creation of numerous urbanizations, of which the most traditional is Vedat de Torrent.

Services

Transportation

Roads

First class roads connect Torrente with the rest of the municipalities in the region, although the most significant road axis that crosses its municipal area is undoubtedly the AP-7/E-15 highway or southern section of the Torrente ring road. Valencia known as by-pass, inaugurated in 1992. This international route has two accesses with the urban area or the industrial estates. From north to south, they are: CV-410/Mas del Jutge--Calicanto and CV-405/Camino Real de Montroy-El Vedat. Another high-capacity highway completed in 2005 (CV-33) offers, to the north of the municipality, a connection with the A-3/E-901 Madrid-Valencia highway and, to the south, links with Picaña, Albal, Paiporta and Catarroja.

In July 2009 and after a year and a half of works, the project known as "Pont Blau" that connects the urban area of the city with the Mas del Jutge industrial estate. Work that was paid for by the Valencia Provincial Council. Furthermore, that same year but in the month of April, the Torrente ring road to the south came into operation, linking the roads of Picaña with the new area of Parc Central, allowing vehicles to move from one side of the city to the other without the need for cross through the center. This road is known as the 'Ronda del Safranar'.

The connection between Torrente and Valencia by highway was inaugurated in 1993.

Metro

The metro service originated as part of the narrow gauge railway network that since 1893 connected Valencia with Villanueva de Castellón. In 1988 this line was integrated among the first in the metro service.

The city of Torrente has a metro service that connects with the capital of Túria. It is managed by the public company MetroValencia, 3 lines pass through the town, 2 of them ending the service in Torrent Avinguda.

We also find three metro stations: Torrent (L1, L2 and L7), Torrent Avinguda (L2 and L7) and Col·legi El Vedat (L1).

The Torrent Avinguda station, which was inaugurated on September 22, 2004, is located in the center of the avenue and at the same time is in the center of the town.

It so happens that a majority of those killed in the Valencia Metro accident in July 2006 were residents of Torrente (exactly 21 of the 43 deceased).

In addition, the municipality has the old Torrente workshops belonging to Ferrocarriles de la Generalidad Valenciana, where much of the historical material is kept for the future Transport Museum, which has been in the making for 25 years.

Bus

The town has several intercity bus lines operated by the company FernanBús SA (Transvia Group), under the commercial brand of the MetroBús de la Generalidad Valenciana. that connects with the city and some closer towns. The lines are the following:

• L106: Torrente - Alacuás - Aldaya - C.C. Bonaire - Barrio del Cristo - Airport - Manises - Cuart de Poblet.
• L170: Valencia - Barrio de la Luz - Chirivella - Alacuás - Torrente - El Vedat - Cumbres - Calicanto

Another line that passes through Torrente is: Valencia-Real-Millares, operated by Autobuses de Buñol SL (Transvia Group)

Torrente also has municipal urban transport, this transport was put into operation in February 2002, by the company Urbanos de Torrent 2001 SL, belonging to FernanBús SA (Transvia Group), under the commercial brand "Torrent Bus", once had another line L5: Vedat, L6: Taronja, the first provides the same service as L170 and the second was not successful, and was stopped. It currently has the following lines:

Urban bicycles

Since 2010, Torrente has had municipal bicycles, a service under the name 'Torrent Bici', with 350 bicycles for rent located in different areas of the city. To be a user of this service, it is necessary to register with the Torrente City Council.

Administration and politics

Mayors since the 1979 elections

Period	Name	Party
1979-1983	Manuel Puchades Romero (1979) Rafael Marín Martínez (1979-1983)	PSPV-PSOE
1983-1987	Rafael Marín Martínez	PSPV-PSOE
1987-1991	Jesus Ros Piles	PSPV-PSOE
1991-1995	Jesus Ros Piles	PSPV-PSOE
1995-1999	Jesus Ros Piles	PSPV-PSOE
1999-2003	Jesus Ros Piles	PSPV-PSOE
2003-2007	Jesus Ros Piles (2003-2004) José Bresó Olaso (2004-2007)	PSPV-PSOE
2007-2011	María José Catalá Verdet	P
2011-2015	María José Catalá Verdet (2011-2012) Amparo Folgado Tonda (2012-2015)	P
2015-2019	Jesus Ros Piles	PSPV-PSOE
2019-2023	Jesus Ros Piles	PSPV-PSOE
2023-	Amparo Folgado Tonda	P

2015 Elections

In the 2015 Spanish municipal elections, held on May 24, the PPCV won by 924 votes and tied, obtaining 9 councilors like the PSOE. Compromís expanded its representation by 2 compared to 2011 and obtained 4 councilors. Citizens-Partido de la Ciudadanía also obtained representation, which was presented for the first time, with 2 councilors, and Guanyant Torrent, the result of the convergence of Izquierda Unida with the Guanyant platform, with 1. With these results, the composition of the plenary session obliges the political groups to seek consensus to form a stable government team, although everything suggests that it will be a left-wing government that will achieve that majority.

2019 Elections

In the 2019 Spanish municipal elections, held on May 26, the PSPV obtained 11 councilors, surpassing the PPCV, which only obtained 8 minutes. Ciudadanos-Citizenship Party maintained its representation compared to 2015 and obtained 2 councilors. Compromís and Vox also obtained representation, both with 2 seats. With these results, the socialist candidate managed to revalidate the mayoralty.

Evolution of outstanding debt

The concept of outstanding debt contemplates only debts with savings banks and banks related to financial credits, fixed income securities and loans or credits transferred to third parties, therefore excluding commercial debt.

Graphic of the evolution of the city council's living debt between 2008 and 2020

Living city council debt in thousands of Euros according to data from the Ministry of Finance and Ad. Public.

The municipal outstanding debt per inhabitant in 2020 amounted to €271.

Culture

Heritage

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  Arquets de Baix

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  Arquets de Dalt

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  Torre del Castillo de Torrente

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  House of Culture

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  Telegraph tower

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  Church of the Assumption

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  Huerto de Trénor

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  Auditorium

Religious monuments

Civil monuments

Music

In the musical aspect, the following musical societies stand out:

In addition, the town has a Professional Conservatory of Music.

Parties

Many of its festivities are similar to those celebrated in Valencia and its metropolitan area. However, there are some very peculiar ones, typically from Torrent.

• Porrat de San Antonio Abad: It is celebrated on 16-17 January. On the eve of January 17 a bonfire is performed on the street and two or three Sundays later the subsequent blessing of animals is made, together with the delivery of blessed breads.
• Entry of the flower: It is celebrated on 1 February and that day, the Clavarios of the Virgin of the Rosary present to the Virgin the first branch of almond tree that has flourished. Rockets (type 'barrels') are lit and a closed enclosure shoots cord.
• San Blas: February 3, in this holiday stands for handicrafts, food, nuts, tombolas, etc. That day the typical ones are sold gaiatos (Rosquilleta or pancake) and the sanblaiets. It is also traditional to enter the church to put oil on the throat (since Saint Blas is the saint who protects from the diseases of the throat). The typical dish of the day is rossejat.
• Fallas de Torrente: From 15 to 19 March. The 28 missing commissions plant 56 faults (28 children and 28 children). About fifteen days before the feast of Saint Joseph, the traditional "cridà" is performed (the call to everyone to remember that they are already faults). Until the 15th there are several acts such as the horseback riding and the exhibition of the Ninot... On the night of the 15th day the faults are planted; from the 16th to the 19th day (both even) the mascletá is performed; on the 17th and 18th the Offering is made to the Virgin of the Disposed; and on the 19th day (Saint Joseph), the crema of the faults is performed.
• Holy Week of Torrente: The acts of the Torrentine Holy Week begin a week before Palm Sunday, in which the Pregnancy of Holy Week and the proclamation of the Queen of the Encounter are carried out. Palms are blessed on Palm Sunday. On Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Holy Thursday, the "translates" are performed, in which every brotherhood takes its "step" to the parish of Monte Sion or the Museum of Holy Week.
• Festivities Virgin of the Desamparados. They are celebrated on the second Sunday of May, where the image of the Virgin of the Desamparados runs through the streets of the city.
• Corpus Christi: The feast of the Body of Christ is usually celebrated at the end of May and mid-June. During the day of the Corpus the mass is performed and in the afternoon the procession is performed. At the end of the procession a mascletà is shot.
• Patron Festivals (San Abdón and San Senén) and Moros and Christians: July 23-30. Popular party that has taken great importance since 1990 for the Moors and Christians. The Great Entrance has 24 filás and shares with over a thousand participants and about ten thousand spectators every summer. Other activities such as before and the trabucà in which the parlament.
• Summer festivals of the Torrente neighborhoods: During the months of August and September the festivals of the different neighborhoods and colonies of Torrente are celebrated; such as the White Colony of the Vedat of Torrente (dedicated to the Virgen Blanca), San Cayetano (in the neighborhood of the same name), Tros Alt (dedicated to the Virgin of the Angels), El Pantano (dedicadas a la Virgen de los Desamparados).
• The Aurora Celebration that begins on December 8th in order to summon people for the prayer of the Rosary. This celebration is held every Sunday (with the exception of 25 December and 1 January) from 8 December to 6 January, an aurora is also held on 26 January.

Twinning cities

• Benalup-Casas Viejas, Spain. During the 1960s a large number of Andalusians emigrated to Valencia and Catalonia. In particular, hundreds of citizens of Benalup-Casas Viejas arrived in this city. Given the number of benalupenses empadronados the town council decided to sister with the municipality of the province of Cadiz.

Għarb and Zebbug, Malta. At the beginning of 2007 it was twinned with the Maltese towns of Gharb and Zebbug. Torrent and Gharb have notable historical links. Both populations have belonged for centuries to the Order of the Hospital and that of Malta, as well as to the Crown of Aragon. The agreement would serve to carry out good mutual tourism promotion and show investment possibilities. One of the reasons for choosing Malta was its inclusion in the European Union in 2004.

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