Valencia Unravelled is a blog written by Leonard van Voorst. Here we dive deep into the history of the city of Valencia and find out 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 province of Zeeland in the southern Netherlands. As a kid I was already fascinated by history. I devoured libraries’ worth of books and let my imagination run wild in old castles and archaeological sites. There was no end to it. (Literally, as you can see on this blog!)
In the meantime, however, I studied Integral Safety and Security Management in Breda and Helsinki. After graduating I moved to Valencia and fell in love with this charming city on the Mediterranean coast. At the Universitat de València I got my master’s degree in Human Rights, Democracy and International Justice. The following years I continued my academic career for a time as a PhD student focusing on international relations.
While I studied, I started working at a tour agency. This scratched the itch of diving into the history books and talking about the stories I found there. Over time the job grew beyond a side gig and I decided to devote myself full-time to it. Throughout the years I came across many fascinating stories and characters, which in my experience often not even the Valencians (native nor immigrant) know enough about. And so the idea of Valencia Unravelled came up: to do the research on a story or person that we think we know to see if it holds up!
What is your schedule going to be like?
Irregular at best. In between my day job and other commitments, this blog will be 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 is coming out. If you want to get a heads-up when I publish the next story, leave your e-mail address below and I will notify you by email. (And do not worry: I will only send you an e-mail 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 time 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 all of them. So you can expect to read about Roman Valentia, Muslim Balansiyya, 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 you have any questions you would like to see answered on this blog, please write them to me through the form below and I will give it my best!