Spain, like most countries, has a unitary national government, but it also has a series of sub national jurisdictions. In most countries, these might be known as states or provinces. However, in Spain they do things a little differently. The political divisions in Spain aren't necessarily arbitrary lines on a map. The divisions are usually based on unique histories as well as cultural, linguistic, and geographic differences. Learn more about the political and cultural geography of Spain and the various regions that compromise it on this episode of everything everywhere daily this episode is sponsored by the tourist office of Spain. If you've been listening to this podcast long enough, you probably know that Spain is one of my favorite countries in the world. I have been there many times and have spent months visiting Spain. While Spain is indeed one of my favorite countries, I also must confess that Spain actually consists of many different regions, 17 of them in fact, all of which have their own unique cultures, food, and sometimes even languages. If you visit one part of Spain, you probably will have a completely different experience than you will have in a different part of Spain.

If you're interested in visiting any of Spain's regions, Spain info can help you plan your journey. They can provide advice for visiting anywhere from the Canary Islands to Cuenca, or from Santander to Salamanca. If you want to know the best places to visit, the best dining experiences, or the best festivals, visit Spain info once again, Spain info I've done quite a few episodes on Spain in the past, and many of the themes I'll be touching on in this episode I've previously mentioned before. However, I've never put everything together to provide a single coherent explanation as to how Spain is made up of its constituent parts. Pretty much every country, save for a few microstates, has some sort of sub national division. These are also known as first level administrative divisions in the geography world, and they go by different names in different countries. In the United States and Australia, units in this layer are called states, and in Canada they're known as provinces. In France they're simply known as regions, and in the UK they're called constituent countries. What powers these sub national units have can differ between countries, and their creation might be nothing more than arbitrary borders drawn by a bureaucrat, or they could reflect deep seated historical regions.

So if you really want to understand Spain, you need to understand its subnational units. In Spain, they use the awkward name autonomous communities. It's awkward because you usually associate communities with smaller units of government, like a city, not subnational units. And the term autonomous is usually given to special territories that are given special rights and privileges because of history or geography. The term province is actually used in Spain, but it means something totally different. It's the level of government below that of an autonomous community. So with that, I want to briefly go over the 17 autonomous communities and two autonomous cities that make up Spain and what you should know about each of them. I should start with the two autonomous cities that don't really fit into the same mold as the autonomous communities, and these are the cities of Sayuta and Malia. I've previously done episodes on these two cities, and the reason why they're considered separate from the rest of Spain is because they aren't in Europe. They are located in Africa. In fact, they're located right across the Mediterranean and border Morocco. In the case of Suta, it's literally right across from Gibraltar.

Both cities have ancient origins, and Spain's claim to them date back to the Reconquista. Of the 17 autonomous communities, 15 of those are on the iberian peninsula, and two of them are chains of islands. The two island autonomous communities are the Canary Islands, located off the northwest coast of Africa, and the Balearic Islands, which are located in the Mediterranean. I've previously done an episode on the Canary Islands and their unique history. The Balearic Islands consist of the main islands of Ibiza, Majorca, Minorca, and Formintera. Both of these autonomous communities get large amounts of tourism, especially from other EU countries, and they also have deep histories with cities like Ibiza dating back to the Phoenicians. Now moving to the mainland, there are 15 autonomous communities of various sizes and populations that make up Iberian Spain. We'll start in the northwest corner of the country and work our way clockwise around the perimeter, spiraling our way to the center. In the extreme northwest corner, perched above Portugal and surrounded on two sides by the Atlantic Ocean, is Galicia. Galicia's capital is Santiago de Compostela, which is the endpoint of the Camino de Santiago, a pilgrimage route that has starting points all over Europe.

The ancient history of Galicia is actually celtic, and the people there are distantly related to the Celts who inhabited Britain and Ireland. One of the two official languages is Galician, which is closely related to Portuguese. Just east of Galicia is the autonomous community of Asturias. Asturius runs mostly along the atlantic coast and is known for its rugged coastline. Like Galicia, it has a celtic past, but the native language there is Asturian. There are about 100,000 native austurian speakers and another 450,000 who speak it as a second language. It isn't actually an official language, but it's been given a special status. Austurius, like most other northern autonomous communities, was never ruled long term by the Moors which gives them a very different history than the rest of the country. Austerius is also known for producing some of the world's best ciders, and its capital is Oviedo. To the east of Austurius is Cantabria. Cantabria is the third smallest autonomous community by area and population. Its capital is Santander, and it is home to the Cantabrian Mountains, which run parallel to the sea. There is a cantabrian language, but it's closely related to Austurian and it's only spoken by a few people in rural areas.

Cantabria is also home to the cave of Altamira, which is one of the greatest examples of prehistoric cave art in the world. Going east once again is now the basque country the last of the autonomous communities on the north coast of Spain and the first to border France and the Pyrenees mountains. I've previously done an entire episode on the basque people, but suffice it to say that the Bosque language is unlike any other in the world. It isn't a romance language and it isn't a germanic language. And no one is really sure where it came from. Its capital is Vittoria, and its largest city is Bilbao, home to Bilbau athletic, my favorite team in La Liga, as well as the Guggenheim Bilbao museum. The city of San Stebacian is right on the border with France and in my humble opinion, is one of the best food cities in the world. Moving southeast along the Pyrenees, we next have Navarre, the first of our landlocked autonomous communities. Navarre's capital is Pamplona, which you're probably familiar with for its annual running of the Bulls festival. While not Bosque per se, Navarre is heavily influenced by Bosque culture.

And there are some limited areas where Bosque is recognized as an official language. Going further southeast along the french border, we're next in Aragon. Aragon gets its name from the kingdom of Aragon whose borders are mostly contiguous with the modern autonomous community of the same name. The capital is Zaragosa, which, believe it or not, is named after the roman emperor Augustus. It was originally called Caesar. Augusta, which then got translated into Arabic and then back into various romance languages. There is an araganese language, but it's only spoken by a small number of people up in the mountains. The last autonomous community along the Pyrenees is also the first on this trip to border the Mediterranean Sea. Catalonia. Catalonia is the second largest autonomous community in Spain by population and probably has the most widely spoken native non spanish language. I've mentioned Catalonia in previous episodes, including the catalon language and some of its very bizarre Christmas customs. I've spent far more time in Catalonia and have explored it more extensively than any of the other autonomous communities in Spain, and Catalonia certainly deserves an episode of its own in the future. The capital is Barcelona, the second largest city in Spain and one of the most visited.

Given its location, Catalonia was largely spared from the moorish conquest, but it also received the brunt of many french invasions. The city of Terragona, just down the coast from Barcelona, was the former roman capital of Hispania. Going further down the mediterranean coast, the next autonomous community is Valencia. Valencia, the autonomous community shares the same name as its capital city. Its name comes from the Latin Valencia edetanorum, which means strength of the Adetanae, who were the native people in the region at the time. This is the first autonomous community on our clockwise tour where we find significant evidence from the islamic El Andalus period. As in the Balearic Islands and Catalonia, a dialect of Catalan is spoken in Valencia. However, it isn't nearly as widely spoken as in Catalonia. Valencia is known for its beaches and is the home of Spain's most popular dish, Paella. If you remember back to the previous episodes, the Valencia Cathedral is home to what is claimed to be the Holy Grail and the world's oldest continuous democratic body, the Valencia water Tribunal, which meets outside the cathedral every Thursday at noon. Going further down the coast, we encounter Mercia. Mercia, as with Valencia, shares the same name as its capital city.

Unlike the other autonomous communities I've mentioned so far that have a linguistic or historical basis, Mercia as a region was created in 1982. Although there was a kingdom of Mercia that was subject to the kingdom of Castile at one time, Mercia was completely dominated by various islamic rulers up until the 13th century, when the kingdom of Castile retook it. The southernmost autonomous community, and the one with the largest population, is Andalusia. Andalusia was the heart of Islamic el Andalus. As the southernmost point of Spain and at the mouth of the Mediterranean, it held a strategic location for the Spanish Empire. Most ships that set sail for the new World did so from ports in Andalusia, in particular Cadiz. Andalusia was the home to many of the things that we associate with Spain, including flamenco dancing and sangria. Major cities such as Grenada, Cordoba and Seville are all located in Andalusia, and it's one of the most popular and historic destinations in the country. As we go north up the border of Portugal. The next autonomous community is Extramadura. Extramadura is one of the least densely populated. Autonomous communities, is landlocked and has the lowest gdp per capita in Spain.

Its capital, Merida, has some of the best roman ruins in all of Europe. Many of the conquistadors who traveled to the new world to conquer lands on behalf of the Spanish Empire all came from Extra Madura. Extramadora is also one of the top producers of Hemen abirico, which is widely considered to be the world's best and most expensive pork. The monastery of Guadalupe was a favorite of Queen Isabella and was reportedly the first place in Europe to grow potatoes. Going further north, we arrive at Castile and Lyon, the largest autonomous community by area. We've now gone full circle clockwise around the outer borders of Spain. Castile and Lyon is immediately to the south of Galicia, Asturias and Cantabria. There's actually no official capital of Castile and Lyon, but the main government center is in the city of Vaya Lodid, which is considered to be the de facto capital. Castile and Leon was created in 1983 by merging the two historic regions of Castile and Leon. Together they have one of the richest cultural areas in the country and in fact, the world. There are eleven UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Castile and Leon which are the most of any subnational jurisdiction in the world.

But we're not quite done. There are a few more autonomous communities to be found in the interior of Spain. To the east is the smallest autonomous community by population and the second smallest by area. La Rioja. Rioja is one of the best wine growing regions in the entire country and Rioja Alta was the favorite wine of Ernest Hemingway. Moving south once again, we arrive at Castillo la Mancha. As with Castile and Leon, Castillo la Mancha was created in 1982 and its landlocked La Mancha is famous for its windmills and was the setting for the book Don Quixote. The region is also home to the historic cities of Toledo, which is its capital, and of Cuenca. The dominant landscape feature of Castillo la Mancha is the vast mesa, a high, flat plateau that covers about 40% of iberian Spain. The final autonomous community is located at the very heart of the country and is the one with the nation's capital, Madrid. Many countries have a special district for the nation's capital, so that's not unusual. But the autonomous community of Madrid is actually quite a bit larger than that of the city of Madrid. The community is about 13 times larger than the city itself, which includes all of the suburbs but also a fair amount of farmland.

I don't want to dwell too much on Madrid because I not too long ago did an entire episode on it, but the big thing to know is that it is a community as well as a city. I realize that this may have been a lot to digest in one sitting, especially if you haven't been to Spain before and aren't familiar with it, but I wanted to give you an idea of just how Spain is structured. The important thing to take away from this episode is that each of the regions I've mentioned has a unique history and culture that is completely unlike any of its neighbors.

The executive producer of everything everywhere daily is Charles Daniel. The associate producers are Peter Bennett and Cameron Keefer.

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