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A few years back ,in my blog, had the intention to write about each autonomous community of Spain, and I started, The task was huge and complicated to only advance to a handful, I have decided for historical and simplication reasons to condense them into one post, Not all are here but only some of the autonomous communities of Spain !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I,

First, a brief on what is an autonomous community in Spain, In Spain, an autonomous community is a territorial entity that, within the current constitutional legal system, is endowed with autonomy, with its own institutions and representatives and certain legislative, executive and administrative powers, which in many aspects it is similar to federated entities. On July 31, 1981, Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo, President of the Government, and Felipe González, leader of the opposition, agreed on the first autonomous pacts, which provided for a map of 17 autonomies, with the same institutions but with different powers. In 1995, it was updated with the Second Autonomous Pacts, signed between the then president, Felipe González, and the leader of the opposition, José María Aznar, by which the two autonomous cities, Ceuta and Melilla, were created. Thus, currently, the basic bodies common to all autonomous communities are a Legislative Assembly, elected by universal suffrage; a Government Council, with executive functions; and a president of the autonomous community, elected by the Legislative Assembly from among its members, who has the highest representation of the Community. All under the Spanish Constitution of 1978.

The Autonomous Communities today with their Spanish names are : Castilla y Léon, Andalucia, Castilla La Mancha, Aragon, Extremadura, Cataluña, Galicia, Comunidad Valenciana, Region de Murcia, Principado de Asturias, Comunidad Floral de Navarra, Comunidad de Madrid, Islas Canarias, Pais Vasco, Cantabria, La Rioja, Islas Baleares, and Ceuta, Melilla,

These 17 autonomous communities are then broken down to 50 provinces (sort like states/departments etc), Too numerous to mention but their principle is as such : the province is a Spanish administrative demarcation recognized in the Spanish Constitution , and whose origin dates back to the territorial division of Spain in 1833. Currently there are a total of 50 provinces that, together with the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla and the places of sovereignty in northern Africa, they comprise the entire Spanish territory. The provinces corresponding to the uniprovincial autonomous communities of Asturias, Cantabria, Region of Murcia, Navarra, La Rioja and Community of Madrid, whose government is directly the responsibility of the autonomous community itself. The provinces of Las Palmas and Santa Cruz de Tenerife, of the autonomous community of the Canary Islands, whose government and administration, in aspects that do not correspond to the autonomous community, is carried out by the island councils. The province of the Balearic Islands, whose government and administration, in aspects that do not correspond to the autonomous community, is carried out by the island councils. The three provinces of the Basque Country, which the Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country calls “historical territories”, and in which the administration and government of each corresponds to the provincial council itself, whose presidency is appointed by the Juntas or General Meetings of the corresponding “historical territory”, elected by universal suffrage by the residents of said “historical territory”.

Now let me tell you about some autonomous communities of Spain !!!

Aragón is in the north of Spain , took the name from two small creeks from the Pyrenees ,the Aragon , and the Aragon Subordan. The small county was first established in Jaca in the 10C and took the name of these creeks that are in the Valley of the Ebro bordered on the north by the peaks of the Pyrenees and on the south by the Iberian peaks . The name of Aragon was first shown for the first time in the high middle ages or about 828 when a small country near the town of current Jaca took the name of the nearby creeks ,The kingdom of Aragon had its own government or cortes; the union of Fernando II of Aragon and Isabel I of Castile (the Catholic kings)  in 1469 at Valladolid creates the union of the two principal kingdoms of the Iberian peninsula, and is the base of the creation of Spain as of today. Now, under the national constitution of 1978. The Aragon tourist office : https://www.turismodearagon.com/en/

The Autonomous community of Galicia is at the extreme northwest of Spain. Ever since, Santiago de Compostela is the political capital of the region.  The arrival of the Catholic kings stopped the wishes of political independence here even if the administration of the kingdom continues until 1833 under the regence of Maria Cristina de Bourbon. It continues to the democratic constitutional of the kingdom of Spain where it is an important autonomous region now. The region of Galicia has four provinces Coruña, Lugo, Ourense, and Pontevedra, The utmost place to visit here is the Catholic pilgrimage with the goal of reaching the legendary tomb of apostle Santiago or St James located in the crypt of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. It was place here after the discovery of the tomb of St James in early 9C, and from the 11C the pilgrimage is the biggest in medieval Christianity. However, only after the taken of Granada in 1492 by the Catholic kings of Fernando and Isabel that Pope Alexander VI declared officially Santiago de Compostela as one of the three great pilgrimage of Christianity (Rome and Jerusalem the others) Galicia has the greatest number of Roman buildings in Spain even if this rich heritage is less known like those in the rest of Spain; this partly by the smaller significance given to the size and place in later history of Spain. The Anthem of Galicia was first sang and composed in Cuba and there is still this heritage in the many immigrant returning back to Galicia in the architecture and gardens. The Galicia region tourist office : https://www.turismo.gal/inicio

The autonomous region of Castilla y León is in the northwest of Spain. The region is the result of the union of 9 provinces in 1983, three already there since the alignment in 1833,where provinces were created and joined the region of Léon, and six belonging to Castilla la Vieja (old Castile) except the province of Santander(today Cantabria), and Logroño (today La Rioja). The current nine provinces of Castilla y Léon are Avila, Burgos, Léon, Palencia, Salamanca, Segovia Soria Valladolid and Zamora. The base of the union of the kingdoms of Castilla and León,was put in place by 1194; when king Alfonso VIII of Castilla and king Alfonso IX of León signed the treaty for the union of the lands in Tordehumos in 1230 with king Fernando III el Santo (the Saint); at the court of Valladolid in 1295,king Fernando IV is recognized as king of Castilla y Leon The cities of Unesco heritage sites are Ávila, Salamanca and Segovia, In Valladolid, the Palacio de los Vivero, that was the old chancellors residence and here the nuptial ceremony of the Catholic kings (Fernando and Isabel). The Palacio Real de La Granja at the Real Sitio de San Ildefonso (near Segovia) one of the residences of the Royal family of Spain. The house museum of Cervantes or Museo Casa de Cervantes in Valladolid , and the Casa Botines, that is one of the works of Gaudi done outside Catalunia, and was built between 1889 and 1915, and now dedicated to the Way of Santiago. The Castilla y Léon tourist office : https://www.turismocastillayleon.com/turismocyl/en

The Comunidad de Madrid is with the City of Madrid, the capital of Spain. In 1981,Madrid was separated from Castilla La Mancha heir to the old Nueva Castilla of which Madrid belongs since the 19C . By 1983,the Comunidad de Madrid was finally established. In my wonderful Guadarrama you have also the peaks of La Maliciosa at 2227 meters and the Siete Picos at 2138 meters. The Jarama river runs for 190 km,and is the longest river here on the borders of the Tajo river ; it is by here that you can go to Guadarrama , Somosierra and the wonderful peak station of Puerto de Navacerrada. This comunidad de Madrid has three Unesco world heritage site such as Monasterio de El Escorial , the University and city center of Alcalá de Henares, and the cultural center of Aranjuez. The Comunidad de Madrid celebrates its main day on May 2 as the independence Day (from Napoleon’s  France in 1808 !). The city of Madrid came about between 860 and 880, as a walled town where a religious and military community lived. By 1561,king Felipe II established Madrid as the Capital of his empire that can considered the big push to create a province of Madrid. In 1833 ,Spain creates the provinces and one of them was Madrid( feat that was carried out into the Hispanic Americas). The status of Autonomous Community of Madrid was approved in 1983 as the Comunidad de Madrid under the Spanish constitution of 1978,.The comunidad de Madrid tourist office : https://turismomadrid.es/en/

The part of the Spanish which is immortalized by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra and the dreamers story of Don Quijote. Castilla La Mancha is in the center of Spain, the historic region of Nueva Castilla from where it was detached from the Province of Madrid to become Castilla La Mancha after the Constitution of Spain in 1978; however, it was added the Province of Albacete that belonged to the region of Murcia. Currently, it is divided into five provinces, those of Albacete, Ciudad Real, Cuenca, Guadalajara, and Toledo. The capital is Toledo and the biggest city in population is Albacete. The Serrania de Cuenca or sierras ranges of Cuenca are where we base ourselves high in the mountains at 1400 meters, and even if not into walks and mountains areas I have to admit this is heaven! By 1085, king Alfonso VI takes Toledo, followed by king Alfonso VIII taking Cuenca in 1177,and king Alfonso X taking Villa Real in 1255 (became Ciudad Real). Eventually, all fitted into Spain by 1492 and the Catholic kings of Fernando and Isabel reuniting the Spain as we know it today. The region is dotted with the most beautiful of Cathedrals such as the ones in Toledo, Sigûenza, Cuenca, Albacete, and Ciudad Real . The castles are many (like the name Castile) too numerous to mention my favorites are those of the Alcazar of Toledo, castle of Alarcon, Almansa, Chinchilla, Consuegra, Garcimuñoz, Orgaz, Sigûenza, Uclés and Zafra. The Castilla La Mancha region tourist office: http://en.www.turismocastillalamancha.es/patrimonio/

The Basque country or Euskadi includes the Spanish provinces of Álava (Araba), Guipúzcoa(Gipuzkoa),and Vizcaya(Biskaia), In the 9C the kingdom of Pamplona is on with a coalition of the Basques tribes and the first chief of chiefs; years later early 10C Sancho Garcés I was crowned king and the kingdom is officially created . In 1643,the treaty of Religions (Gero de Pedro de Axular in Basque) is the first document in writing describing the territories of the Basque Country and describe the seven provinces. There are two enclaves in the Basque country that are outside the territory but count as basque, these are Treviño, located in the province of Burgos in the Alava, and the Valle de Villaverde located in Cantabria and part of Vizcaya. The Basque country of Spain tourist office : https://tourism.euskadi.eus/aa30-30004/en/

The government of the kingdom of Spain on its autonomous communities : https://administracion.gob.es/

The Spain tourist office on the autonomous communities : https://www.spain.info/en/query/autonomous-regions-spain/

There you go folks, a short introduction to the wonders of Spanishh complexities still hunting the nation, Spain is different but Spain is all under the Sun ! I hope this will explain a bit the country once you visited and you should UN-WTO 2^nd most visited country in the world and for good reasons, Again, hope you enjoy the post on the autonomous communities of Spain as I.

And remember, happy travels, good health,and many cheers to all !!!