Valencia Unravelled is a blog written by Leendert Johannes van Voorst, a licensed tour guide in Valencia. Here, we delve into the history of Valencia, discovering how much we really know (or do not!) about its stories and characters.
Who is writing Valencia Unravelled?
My name is Leendert Johannes 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 – that is after all how this blog came to be!
Meanwhile, I studied Integral Safety and Security Management in the Netherlands and Finland. After graduating, I moved to Valencia and fell in love with this charming Mediterranean city. Once settled here, I studied international law and international relations, and went on to be a PhD student for several years.
However, history – and a broader interest in the culture I was now fully immersed in – kept calling me back. At the same time, I became disillusioned with academia. This is why I finally chose to step over to popular history and become a licensed tourist guide and storyteller!
Over the years I have come across many fascinating stories and characters that, in my experience, even many Valencians (both native and immigrant) seem to know little about. Other anecdotes have been passed around so many times that they no longer bear much resemblance to actual history. This inspired the idea behind Valencia Unravelled: 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!