Villalonga History
Villalonga History
The oldest vestiges we know in this municipality are concentrated mostly in the area of “Pla de la Llacuna” and consist of several settlements outdoors where remains have been documented materials belonging to Upper Paleolithic period and other materials relating to the Mesolithic period. The site of the Caves of the Pastor-site-has now been destroyed by recent studies and has been dated to the Neolithic period, when the cave was used for funerary purposes on the basis of the materials found so far. The site of the Cova del Raco del Duc must have been used at various times as cave shelter since the characteristics thereof geomoforlógicas not offer ideal conditions to make it livable.
He says the discovery of human bones so neither is their use for disposable funeral eneolítica time. Among the materials found to highlight bone awls, decorated ceramics and combed several nodules of flint and pottery remains from several eneolítica time until the Islamic period.
Jaime I of Aragon conquered the Valencian during his long reign (1213-1276). Jaime King conquered the valley in the month of August 1240. Villalonga ceded the castle, houses and lands, inhabited by Moors to Diego Lopez III de Haro, Lord of Vizcaya.
A few years later the rights were transferred to Arnaldo Llansol of Roma, son of Arnaldo Llansol Berenguer, Lord of Roma. His descendants were the Lords of Villalonga. They retained the property for nearly three and a half centuries, until 1603. On this date, the Barony of Villalonga, is acquired by Peter Openness Esteve, who is ennobled by Felipe III with the title of Count of Villalonga.
In 1606 the Count falls from grace, is prosecuted, jailed and their properties were confiscated. To manage this heritage, the Royal Court of Valencia Appoints Jaime Beltran, who delegates his duties on a citizen Villalonga Vicente Gandía Cutanda, which takes possession of the valley on January 21, 1607.
The current population of Villalonga is formed from Muslim streets as primitive villages some of which are called: Cais, La Font and La Alcudia, in these streets people coalesced after the expulsion of the Moors, leaving other villages depopulated to existing then and who called Ráfol, Buixerques, Simat, The Reconc, l’Almàssita, plaque and Recunxent.
A document in January 1607 to determine the full list of the last Moorish Villalonga and their distribution in different locations. You can estimate a population of 1000 inhabitants in the Valle de Villalonga in that year.
The houses and lands Villalonga Valley, abandoned by the Moors in 1609, were repopulated. The Charter is a document notarized Pobla, signed on January 26, 1612 by people from that time were to access the useful domain of the houses and lands of the valley.
The surnames of the first Christian settlers were: Bas de Mezquida, Carbo, Castellolí, encrypt, Coll, Estruch, Faus, Fuster, Garcia, Glaudio, Iváñez, Juan, Lopez, Marti Martinez, Mas, Mascarell, Moratal, Navarro , Puig Reig, Roch, Rocher, Ros, Sanchis, Serra and Tarrasó.
The Population Census conducted in 1646, detailing a list of 58 neighbors, occupying as many houses. A very detailed study of Salvador Rocher Tarrasó accurate than Villalonga population in that year was 256 people.
The genealogy of the inhabitants of Villalonga since 1630 may be obtained from the Parish Archive information, with records of births, marriages and deaths.
The cultivated land is divided between upland, where olive and fruit trees are grown and irrigated with a preponderance of orange.
The Dulcesol industrial bakery company, along with ceramics industries present in the city, employing much of the population. He has also had a prominent role, although their weight in the overall local economy has decreased in the last decade, the marketing of oranges through the Agricultural Cooperative “Our Lady of the Fountain”.
There are livestock sheep, goats and cattle, and some poultry farms, although its weight in the local economy is not outstanding.
Villalonga has shops that cater to both the population and the neighboring towns of Potríes and Ador. In addition, market place two days a week (Tuesday and Friday) and the mall is located near the Paseo del Priest D. Antonio Giner, where you can find bars, banks and Bancaja, Banesto, La Caixa, a supermarket chain Mercadona, travel agencies, Optics (Optical-Zasvisión Martí), call shop, tobacconist and newsagent, among others.
In recent years, this county has had an enormous urban growth at the same time controversial, multiplying its urban area far beyond the needs of real soil. In fact, the number of inhabitants has increased at rates higher than those of other municipalities in the region and much of the urban developments of recent times are to occupy. Still, local government encourages the construction of two golf courses surrounded by residential areas that would house about 4000 new construction in eastern municipality, which has brought major controversy, with warnings of the Ombudsman at the lack of transparency in processing these planning procedures, and a constant presence in the media.
