SPAIN

Spain is part of the Iberian Peninunsula together with Portugal. The country borders France and Andorra on the northeast, and the British colony of Gibraltar and Morocco - through its cities Ceuta and Melilla located in North Africa - on the south.
The nation is still disputing the sovereignty over the town of Olivenza with Portugal, over Gibraltar with the United Kingdom, and over the cities of Ceuta and Melilla with Morocco.

It covers an area of 504,645 square kilometres with a density of about ninety people per square kilometre.

Over 45 millions inhabitants.

The capital city is Madrid, with its more than 3 millions inhabitants.

Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Sevilla, Bilbao, Zaragoza, Malaga, Murcia, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Palma de Mallorca.

International airport.

Located between Africa and Europe, the Iberian Peninsula has always been a land of conquest. The Romans invaded the territory in the III century BC, followed in 419 by the Visigoths, who were later defeated by the Muslims in 711. Three years later the Muslim army had already occupied the entire peninsula, apart from the mountainous regions of northern Spain. The Muslim occupation of southern Spain (called Al-Andalus by the Spaniards) was to last almost 800 years.
The Christians began to reconquest the land in 722 through the battle of Covadonga, village located in the north. By the end of the XIII century, Castilla and Aragón had emerged as Christian Spain's two main powers, and in 1469 these two kingdoms were united by the marriage of Isabel, princess of Castilla, to Fernando, heir to the throne of Aragón. Known as the Catholic Monarchs, they united Spain and established the notoriously ruthless Spanish Inquisition, expelling and executing thousands thousands of Jews and other non-Christian people. In 1482, they besieged Granada, and 10 years later the last Muslim king surrendered to them, marking the long-awaited end of the Reconquista (i.e. the reconquest of Spain). Spain developed an enormous empire in the New World, following Columbus' arrival in the Americas in 1492. Gold and silver came flooding into Spanish coffers from Mexico and Peru. Spain monopolised trade with these new colonies and became one of the most powerful nations on earth. However, this protectionism led to a series of expensive wars with England, France and the Netherlands.
In 1808, Napoleon's troops entered Spain and the Spanish Crown began to lose its hold on its colonies. In 1813, the French forces were finally expelled. The Inquisition was re-established, free speech was repressed, Spain entered a severe economic recession and the American colonies won their independence. The Spanish-American War of 1898 marked the end of the Spanish Empire. Spain lost Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines - all of Spain's last overseas possessions. Spain's troubles continued during the early XX century. In 1923 Miguel Primo de Rivera declared himself military dictator and ruled until 1930. In 1931, Alfonso XIII fled the country, and the Second Republic was declared, but the 1936 elections saw the country split in two, with the Republican government and its supporters (an alliance of communists, socialists and anarchists) on one side and the opposition Nationalists (a right-wing alliance of the army, the Church, the monarchy and the fascist-style Falange Party) on the other. The army overthrew the government. During the subsequent Civil War (1936-39), the Nationalists received extensive military and financial support from Nazi Germany and fascist Italy, while the elected Republican government received support only from Russia and, to a lesser degree, from the International Brigades, made up of foreign volunteers, such as intellectuals, artists, writers and politically committed people. By 1939, the Nationalists, led by Franco, had won the war. More than 350,000 Spaniards had died in the fighting, and an estimated 100,000 Republicans were executed, imprisoned or exiled after the war. Franco's 35-year dictatorship saw Spain isolated by economic blockades, excluded from NATO and the UN and crippled by economic recession. Only in the early 1950s the country began to recover. By the 1970s, Spain had the fastest growing economy in Europe. Franco died in 1975, having earlier named Juan Carlos, the grandson of Alfonso XIII, his successor. With Juan Carlos on the throne, Spain made the transition from dictatorship to democracy. The first elections were held in 1977, and a new constitution was drafted in 1978. In 1982 Spain voted in a socialist government. The only major blemish on the domestic front since was the terrorist campaign waged by separatist militant group ETA in its bid for an independent Basque homeland. During 30 years of terrorist activity, ETA killed over 800 people. In 1986 Spain joined the European Community. Its march towards progress has been relentless since then.

The 12th of October (Spanish National Day).

Constitutional monarchy. The King is Juan Carlos I of Spain.

The official language is Castillan Spanish. The following languages are deemed official and spoken in the respective autonomy regions: Basque, Catalan, Galician, Asturian, Leonese and Aranese (Occitan).

85% of the religious population is represented by Roman Catholics, while 12% identify themselves as non-believers and atheist, 2% follow another Christian faith and 1% are Muslims - but this percentage is increasing.

There is no time difference between Spain and Italy. Spain applies the Daylight Saving Time.

Spain, like Italy, is one of the 15 member countries which joined the Schengen Treaty for the free movement of persons. The citizens of the countries which joined the Treaty have no restrictions and may move about freely inside these territories without needing a passport or visa.

The official country's monetary unit is Euro.

CHECK THE CURRENCY EXCHANGE RATE

The main international credit cards are accepted in hotels, shops and restaurants.

No vaccination is required to visit Spain. To all citizens of the European Union temporary visiting another Member Country, the European Health Insurance Card grants the right to a free public health assistance (this Health Card replaces the old forms E110/111/119/128).

Its temperate climate makes the islands accessible throughout the whole year, the best season being anyway from April to October. Nevertheless, if you suffer from the heat, it is advisable to avoid the summer period in Andalusia and in central part of Spain, where the temperature in July and August may rise up to 40° C.

CHECK THE WEATHER FORECASTS IN REAL TIME

The voltage is 220 volts, but in some areas you may still find 125 volts or 110 volts - not in the tourist complexes, though. Plugs are European-type with two circular metal pins.

Calling Italy from Spain is rather simple: dial 0039, then the Italian area code - including zero for fixed net numbers - and the number you wish to call (for example: to call a fixed net telephone number in Milan just dial 0039 02 57 .... ; to call a mobile phone number just dial 0039 347 57...).
To call Spain from Italy, dial the country code for Spain 0034, followed by the area code without 0 and then the number you wish to call. The GSM network perfectly works in the whole country, therefore also our mobile phones can be used here. Since rates vary according to the operator, it is advisable to get informed about costs before departure to avoid having a bad surprise as soon as you come back to Italy. Internet is widely used in cities and tourist places.

For those who like videos and pictures Brazil is a real paradise: religious processions, feasts and fieras, bullfights and wonderful landscapes. There are no restrictions to take pictures or make amateur videos for private use. As in any other country, it is advisable to politely ask local people for their permission before taking pictures of them.

Madrid is the ideal place where to buy the typical travel souvenirs: castanets, bullfights advertising posters, espadrille sandals ... you just have to move about the Plaza Mayor, the beating heart of the city. The most exclusive stores where to buy prestigious labels are located in the District of Salamanca, or else in Castellana or Almirante road. But if you are looking for the novelties with the lowest prices, visit the areas preferred by the young people, such as Chueca, Arguelles, Lavapies and Bilbao. Real bargains are to be found also at the department store El Corte Inglés Preciados in Puerta del Sol: you may even get your preferred pasta brand there, whichever you like! The streets Jorge Juan, Claudio Coello and Lagasca are the best place for those who like handicraft: as a matter of fact, you will find here paintings, precious jewels, carpets, furniture, sculptures and several other objects dating back to the last four centuries and coming from all over the world. Andalusia is the land of flamenco where you may buy the typical clothes with wonderful embroidery and lace, or else the shawls with fringes - another widely used item of clothing. Mantillas are typically worn by women instead of traditional veils especially during the Holy Week and at weddings. The characteristic hand held fans are offered in a wide range of models and colours, and are often hand painted. The handicraft in Seville is famous also thanks to the azulejería - the traditional artistic ceramics, while the white and blue ceramic tiles of Aragón preserve the influence of the Arab culture. Tourists visiting Barcelona may find the best shops in the Rambla, Passeig de Gracia and Avinguda Diagonal roads. This city is less traditionalist and much more cosmopolitan if compared to other Spanish cities, and is famous for being the centre of design as to objects, furniture and trendy clothing. If you want to make a real bargain (but it is not that easy), you can visit the traditional second-hand market Les Encants Vells around Plaça de les Glòries Catalanes opening from 9 am to 4 pm on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday (but not during public holidays).

The differences of climate and lifestyle that characterize each single Spanish area result also in the local cuisine. The typical dishes of the main regions are briefly indicated here following.

Cantabria and Asturias
The "fabada" is a typical soup in Asturias made with beans, lard, black blood sausage, spicy sausage, ham and cutlet - not a proper light dish ....If you prefer fish, try the "caldereta", a watery stew prepared with fish and shell-fish served with aromas. The most typical and preferred beverage of the region is cider, the fermented juice of apples. It is usually served in chiges, where skilful bartenders let a spurt of the liquid drop from above in the glass.

Galicia
The rocky coastline of Galicia is extremely rich in fish and shellfish. The big and highly tasty shellfish locally known as "vierias" can be eaten fresh with lemon juice or roasted in their shells and soaked in the local wine Albariño de las Rías Baixas, or else crumbed with bread and spices. Another excellent dish is the "gallega"-style octopus seasoned with oil and paprika.

Basque Country
It is a seasonal cuisine based on traditional recipes served according to an ancient practice. The most celebrated dishes are the "marmitako", a tuna soup with potatoes, and the "txangurro", made of crabs and clams.

Aragón, La Rioja and Navarra
The mountain rivers of these areas provide delicious trouts served with potatoes, buds, vegetable or legume soups.

Castilla and León
The cuisine of this regions is based on legumes and Iberian pork, which is particularly tasty since pigs here are fed only with acorns and chestnuts, but also on lamb and goat meat. The ham from Salamanca is rather famous, too.

Castilla la Mancha
The cuisine of this are is rather popular. Its ancient flavours can be tasted in the "gazpacho" (a vegetables soup) and in the "morteruelo" (a dish based on pork liver). But do not worry at all, since you can have also a Madrilenian "cocido" (a kind of thick soup), the dried salted cod, the tripe, the "torrijas" (a typical Easter dessert) and a wide range of other puddings.

Comunidad Valenciana
This is the motherland of the "paella valenciana", based on rice, chicken, rabbit, tomatoes, green beans and saffron, as well as the shellfish paella, made of rice and fish, such as cuttle-fish, squid, mussels, prawns, squills and lobster, and seasoned with garlic, olive oil, tomatoes, sweet chilly and saffron.

Catalonia
In the coast areas dishes are mainly based on fish, while the cuisine in the lowland and mountain territories offers the typical "escudella" (a stew-soup) and several types of roasts.

Andalusia
The local cuisine combines several traditions influenced by the Arabian culture. The inland cuisine is based on vegetables and sheep, serving meat and sauces. On the contrary, the coastline offers a Mediterranean cooking with a wide range of fish and shellfish. The typical "boquerones" (anchovies) are served in many ways, such as fried, cooked in vinegar and "malagueña" style.

In all bars of the country you may taste the appetizing "tapas", i.e. a mix of the several regional dishes, such as the potato tortilla, the "gallega"-style octopus, the "boquerones" in vinegar, the clams seasoned with onion and saffron, the "jamón serrano" (a dry-cured ham), together with other deliciousness.

In the course of the centuries the Spanish music has been deeply influenced both by the Christian and by the Moorish culture. A great combination of music genres has arisen from the Iberian Peninsula: one of the most famous among them is the traditional and popular flamenco, originated from Andalusia. But what are the origins of flamenco? Quoting Ricardo Molina, a Spanish poet expert of flamenco: "[...] From an anthropological point of view, being fundamentally a human affair as well as the artistic expression of a community, the cante flamenco (flamenco singing) is the moaning of a secularly subjugated people. The flamenco is the elementary, though primitive cry of a population living in poverty and ignorance, for which the only peremptory needs are those linked to the primary existence and to the instinctive feelings [...] The strophes of the cante represent the desperation, the discouragement, the moaning, the resignation, the superstition, the magic, the wounded soul and the obscure confession of a sorrowful race with no land [...] The tragedy of the cante is not a fiction. It is not theatre, and it does not want to affect the public. It is a real tragedy. The cante is a cry. It is not a game. It is another world [...]".
The flamenco in Andalusia was then influenced by different traditions, such as Eastern, Greek, Semitic, autochthonal, laic and religious cultures, as well as synagogal singing, muezzin chants, Greek and Visigoth liturgies, Hindu, Persian, Iraqi, and Berber melodies. During the Romanticism the Spanish gipsy became a legendary figure representing adventure, magic, and nomadism in its most preferable meaning, so that by the early XIX century flamenco came into fashion both in the squares and in the royal palaces. In the post-war period flamenco recorded a creative standstill, thus leading by the end of the 1970s to its first artistic revolution which led to the so-called "nuevo flamenco" (the new flamenco), namely the latest and most important revolution in gypsy music. The most important performers are, among others, Juan Peña El Lebrijano, Sorderas, Fosforito, José Menes, and above all Camaron de la Isla and the guitarist Paco de Lucia, who was just a poor guy that at the age of five moved with the family in a district of Algeciras inhabited by gypsies. At the age of fourteen he made his debut in an international flamenco company, thus beginning his artistic adventure. He is now the most revolutionary guitarist of Andalusian music.

It is no more called "movida". People go out at midnight, after dinner, and go back home in the morning: that's it. They do not go to a disco if they have not tomado una copa (drunk something) with friends in two or three different bars. Then they make just a bit of noise in the streets, just to have fun; so much so that the municipal administration of Madrid has recently launched a campaign under the slogan "Silencio por favor" (silence, please) by threatening not to grant authorizations for new bars to be opened downtown, and increasing the vigilance over the opening and closing hours. But such measures resulted quite ineffective: hundreds of thousands of Madrilenians still move about the barrios Chueca and Malasaña, and around Plaza de Santa Ana, Huertas and Plaza de España ignoring the new provisions. According to a law issued a few years ago by the Comunidad de Madrid, pubs and bars should close at 2.30 am (one hour later during weekend), while clubs should close at 6.00 am. But going to bed so early for Madrilenians is really a shame. This led to the set up of several after-hour clubs opening between 6 and 9 am: since they are all outlaw, as soon as the police come across one of them they do not hesitate to shut it down and to punish the transgressors. The vice of having fun cannot be healed through a legal provision - the Spaniards seem to say. So if this is what you are looking for, you are in the right place. As soon as you arrive in Madrid, Barcelona or even in a small town like Salamanca or Granada, buy immediately the Time Out, La guía de ocio, or other similar magazines. You will have too much to chose from.

The religious festivals comply with the traditional Christian programme: the Assumption of Mary, on the 15th of August; All Saints, on the 1st of November; the Immaculate Conception, on the 8th of December; Christmas, on the 25th of December; Boxing Day, on the 26th of December; Good Friday, Easter and Easter Monday (dates varying each year). The Holy Week is particularly celebrated by the population with processions of sacred images all over the streets in towns and villages.
The public holidays include also the Labour Day, on the 1st of May; the Spanish National Day, on the 12th of October; the Constitution Day, on the 6th of December.

The so-called tapas are different kinds of foods served in small portions in nearly all Spanish bars, and are usually based on meat, eggs, fish, ham and cheese. The name is said to derive from a royal edict against alcoholism: as a matter of fact, a sovereign ordered each alcoholic beverage to be matched with something to eat served on a small plate put on top of the glasses, so as to cork (tapar) them. Getting drunk on a full stomach was much more difficult. What a clever king ....

1) Madrid: the Puerta del Sol, the Prado museum, Plaza Mayor
2) The bullfight in Plaza de Toros Monumental de las Ventas (for those who like this kind of entertainment)
3) Gaudì's architecture in Barcelona
4) The Picasso Museum and the Joan Miró Foundation in Barcelona
5) The alcazar (fortress) in Toledo
6) The Marqués de Dos Aguas Palace in Valencia
7) The Alhambra fortress in Granada
8) The Semana Santa (Holy Week) in Seville
9) The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao
10) The running of the bulls in Pamplona

- Tips: Tips are not compulsory but beyond being highly appreciated, tipping the waiter is quite a common habit.

- Safety: The country is rather safe, even though as in all big Western cities tourists are often victims of pickpockets, especially in Barcelona. Surfers are required to be extremely careful while surfing in the Straits of Gibraltar due to the strong sea streams, in particular in the province of Tarifa.

- Taxi: Taxi is available 24 hours a day, but in the big cities public means of transport work perfectly even in the night.

Via Broletto, 30 - Milan - Italy
Phone: 0039 02 7200 4617/7200 4625
Fax: 0039 02 7200 4318
E-mail: milan@tourspain.es
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Phone: 0039 06 6783 106
Fax: 0039 06 6992 2147
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Phone: 0039 06 6782 850
Fax: 0039 06 6798 272
E-mail: roma@tourspain.es
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Palazzo Borghese - Largo Fontanella Borghese, 19 - Rome - Italy
Phone: 0039 06 6832 168/6878 264/6878 172
Fax: 0039 06 6872 256
E-mail: ambespit@mail.mae.es
www.amba-spagna.com

CONSULAR SECTION:
Via Campo Marzio, 34 - Rome - Italy
Phone: 0039 06 6871 401
Fax: 0039 06 6830 0587
E-mail: cgesproma@mail.mae.es

Palazzo Borghese - Largo Fontanella Borghese, 19 - Rome - Italy
Phone: (+39) 06 6832 168 - 06 6878 264 06 6878 172
Fax: (+39) 06 6872 256
E-mail: ambespit@mail.mae.es
www.amba-spagna.com