What’s a comarca? Spain’s geopolitical mapping explained
If you’re considering moving to Spain like I did, you’re going to encounter some unfamiliar terminology on social media and in real estate listings. This article might not be as exciting as my last one about leaving the US, but it’s important for those who want to live in Spain.
When I first moved here, I was thoroughly confused by the various boundaries dividing Spain into different geopolitical sections, especially since some of the terms were completely unfamiliar to me. I’ve been asked by several people to explain a term when I use it in an article, so today I’m writing about Spain’s geopolitical boundaries. (Although I admit that in researching I found I still have some confusion. It’s a complicated system.)
Just how big is Spain?
First, Spain is the second largest country in western Europe (France is slightly larger) and the fourth largest in Europe (following Russia, Ukraine, and France). It’s roughly the same size as Texas (where I moved from). As of 2020, Spain’s population was 47.35 million, not quite twice the 29.5 million population of Texas.
Spain’s size is something I regularly remind people of in travel groups when they talk about having one week’s vacation in Spain then list 10 different destinations scattered across the country.
The country of Spain is subsequently divided into various sub-regions. As of now, there are 17 Autonomous Communities (Comunidades Autonomas), 50 Provinces (Provincias), 8131 Municipalities (Municipios), and two Autonomous Cities. There are also divisions called Comarcas, although not every region uses them, and some are only loosely defined, hence the lack of a specific number.
Spain’s Autonomous Communities
Spain is divided into 17 Comunidades Autonomas (Autonomous Communities). These are comparable to states in the US.
In Spain, an Autonomous Community is a first-level political and administrative division, created in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978, with the aim of guaranteeing limited autonomy of the nationalities and regions that make up Spain. Spain is not a federation, but a decentralized unitary country.
Each Autonomous Community has an elected local government. Each also has its own flag, representative of that region’s history. This is Valencia’s.
The Valencian flag is composed of a senyera: nine alternating stripes of red and yellow — from the coat of arms of the Crown of Aragon, from the time when Valencia was under the Kingdom of Aragon’s rule in the 13th century. The golden pattern on the blue bar represents a crown, which in turn is a symbol of the King of Aragorn’s gratitude to the courageous Valencians who defended their kingdom during the war against Castille.
Autonomous Communities also somewhat divide Spain up by culture and history. Each region has its own distinctive personality and characteristics, as seen in their heritage, traditional clothing (primarily seen during festivals) buildings and cities, their fiestas and traditions, and their local cuisine. Fallas, for example, is unique to the Valencia Autonomous Community. It’s important to know about the local culture when considering which region is right for you as a new home.
Spain’s provinces
All but seven Autonomous Communities are divided into smaller sections called Provinces. The closest comparison in the US would be counties within a state.
The layout of Spain’s Provinces closely follows the pattern of the territorial division of the country carried out in 1833. Historically, Provinces were the transmission points for policies enacted in Madrid, as Spain was a highly centralized state for most of its modern history. The provinces were the “building-blocks” from which the Autonomous Communities were created. That’s why no province is divided between more than one of these communities. Seven Autonomous Communities have no Provinces: Asturias, Balearic Islands, Cantabria, La Rioja, Madrid, Murcia, and Navarra.
Each of Spain’s Provinces are groups of Municipalities and recognized by the constitution. Each Spanish province has its own character and history, and some of them even have their own language. For example, one of the important Spanish provinces is Catalonia, known for its capital, Barcelona. Catalonia has a distinct language, Catalan, and culture from the rest of the provinces. In the Valencia province, whose capital is also named Valencia, the local language is Valenciano.
Today, Provinces remain electoral districts for national elections and as geographical references, such as for postal addresses and telephone codes. When the Covid pandemic hit, Provinces were also allowed to set some of their own restrictions and policies, such as capacity limitations in restaurants and other public facilities, mask requirements, and restrictions of business hours.
Most of the provinces (except Álava, Asturias, Biscay, Cantabria, Gipuzkoa, the Balearic Islands, La Rioja, and Navarre) are named after their principal town. Only two capitals of Autonomous Communities (Mérida in Extremadura and Santiago de Compostela in Galicia) are not also the capitals of provinces.
The Valencia Province
The Valencia Autonomous Community includes three provinces: When we first moved here, this was a big part of my problem. I’d ask someone about how to describe where I lived and would always get the answer: Valencia. No one understood my confusion enough to explain that it was the city of Valencia in the Valencia Province as a part of the Valencia Autonomous Community.
Comarcas
Some autonomous communities choose to create Comarcas, which are generally large metropolitan areas and serve to provide a variety of goals at the local level or provide a variety of local services common to the municipalities involved.
Unfortunately for understanding, Comarcas vary wildly around Spain. Some have a clearly defined status, are regulated by law and even their Comarcal Councils have some power. In some other cases their legal status is not very formal, or they correspond to natural areas, like valleys, river basins and mountainous areas, or even to historical regions overlapping different provinces and ancient kingdoms.
It also doesn’t help in understanding because there really is no US equivalent to a Comarca, which is one reason it took me a while to wrap my head around the concept. The closest equivalent is probably the Boroughs of New York City (Bronx, Queens, Manhattan, etc.) or the Council Districts in Seattle. Another similar concept is a loosely defined region used by residents of a community, such as the Castro in San Francisco, the Texas Hill Country, or the South Side in Chicago.
Comarcas in the Valencia Province
The Valencia Province has 14 Comarcas, and each has its own local capital.
I live in the Safor Comarca, and its capital is our nearby city of Gandia.
Municipalities
Whether or not a region has Comarcas, they still have municipalities. The Municipality is the basic local administrative division in Spain, together with the Province. There are over 8000 Municipalities and each forms part of a Province. In the Valencia Province, there are 266 Municipalities.
We live in the Municipality of Barx. Our Urbanizacion (more or less equivalent to a subdivision) is La Drova. I sometimes use the names of these two locations interchangeably in articles. While they are separate things (a town vs a subdivision, they are next to each other and they are both part of the Municipality of Barx.
So I live in the Municipality of Barx, in the Comarca of Safor, in the province of Valencia, in the Autonomous Community of Valencia, in the country of Spain. I just tell people I live in a little piece of heaven. It’s equally true and easier to say.
Whew! I hope I have that right. I’m willing to bet, however, someone who was born here, or has lived here far longer than me, will point out someplace where I’m obviously still confused.
I hope this article has been informative and enlightening, even if it’s not as fun and entertaining as many of my other articles.
