Valencia is Spain’s third-largest city, with around 850,000 people and more than 1.5 million in the wider metropolitan area. Founded by the Romans as Valentia in 138 BC, it later passed through Visigothic and Muslim rule before becoming part of the Christian Kingdom of Valencia in the 13th century. Its historic centre contains Valencia Cathedral, the medieval Serranos and Quart towers, the Central Market and the UNESCO-listed Silk Exchange, while the futuristic City of Arts and Sciences has become the modern symbol of the city. The former Turia riverbed, diverted after the catastrophic flood of 1957, now forms a nine-kilometre park running through Valencia towards the Mediterranean coast. The city is also the birthplace of paella and has long sandy beaches within easy reach of the centre. Valencia has an important early connection to Spanish heavy metal through Zarpa, formed in neighbouring Mislata in 1977 and regarded as one of the pioneering bands of Spanish heavy metal, predating the breakthrough of groups such as Barón Rojo and Obús.

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