Valencia Unravelled is a blog written by Leonard van Voorst, a licensed tour guide in Valencia. Here, we delve into the history of the city of Valencia, discovering how much we really know (or do not!) about its stories and characters.
Who is writing Valencia Unravelled?
My name is Leonard van Voorst. I grew up in the south of the Netherlands. Even as a child, I was fascinated by history. I devoured libraries’ worth of books and let my imagination run wild at old castles and archaeological sites. There was no end to it. (Literally, as you can see on this blog!)
Meanwhile, I studied Integral Safety and Security Management in Breda and Helsinki. After graduating, I moved to Valencia and fell in love with this charming Mediterranean city. At the Universitat de València, I obtained a master’s degree in Human Rights, Democracy and International Justice. I then continued my academic career for a while as a PhD student, focusing on international relations.
While studying, I started working at a tourism agency. This scratched the itch of diving into the history books and talking about the stories I discovered. Over time the job grew beyond a part-time gig and I decided to commit myself fully to it. A few years later, I became a licensed tour guide.
Over the years I have come across many fascinating stories and characters that, in my experience, not even the Valencians themselves (whether native nor immigrant) seem to know much about. Other anecdotes have been passed around so many times that they bear little resemblance anymore to actual history. And so the idea behind Valencia Unravelled came up: to research a story or person that we think we know and see if it stands up to scrutiny!
What is your schedule going to be like?
Irregular at best. In between my day job and other commitments, this blog is my hobby project. Most topics will also require quite a bit of research. Add it all up, and I cannot tell you with any certainty when the next story will be published. If you would like to receive an email notification when I post something new, please leave your email adress below. (And do not worry: I will only email you when I actually publish something. I dislike spammy newsletters with a passion!)
What are you going to write about?
If you ask my coworkers, they will probably say that I am most obsessed with the period when Valencia was under Muslim control. They are not wrong, but that does not mean that I discriminate against other time periods. On this blog I will write about them all. You can therefore expect to read about Roman Valentia, Muslim Balansiya, and the Valencia of 1238 and onwards! I (am planning to) delve into questions such as these:
- Who lived here before the city existed?
- Why did Romans destroy Valencia?
- Who was Joan Lluís Vives?
- What are the “Germanies” of Gran Via de les Germanies?
- What happened in Valencia after the Civil War?
I look forward to having you along for the ride. If there are any questions you would like to see answered on this blog, please submit them via the form below and I will give it my best!