| Manises | |
| Settlement Type: | Municipality |
| Pushpin Map: | Spain |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Spain |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  Spain |
| Subdivision Type1: | Autonomous community |
| Subdivision Type2: | Province |
| Subdivision Name2: | Valencia |
| Subdivision Type3: | Comarca |
| Subdivision Name3: | Horta Oest |
| Subdivision Type4: | Judicial district |
| Subdivision Name4: | Quart de Poblet |
| Coordinates: | 39.4833°N -0.45°W |
| Elevation M: | 52 |
| Area Total Km2: | 19.60 |
| Population Demonym: | manisero, manisera (es) maniser, manisera (va) |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Blank Name Sec1: | Official language(s) |
| Blank Info Sec1: | Spanish and Valencian |
| Timezone: | CET |
| Utc Offset: | +1 |
| Timezone Dst: | CEST |
| Utc Offset Dst: | +2 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | 46940 |
| Area Code Type: | Dialing code |
| Leader Title: | Alcalde |
| Leader Name: | Jesús Borràs Sanchis (2019) |
| Leader Party: | APM-Compromís |
Manises (pronounced as /maˈnizes/, pronounced as /es/) is a municipality in the comarca of Horta Oest in the Valencian Community, Spain. Located in the province of Valencia, it had 30,693 inhabitants in 2018 (NSI)[1] and is famous for its pottery and being the location of Valencia Airport.[2]
The town is situated at the western end of the Horta de València (es|link=no|Huerta de Valencia), on the right bank of the river Turia.
The climate is typically Mediterranean but with some variations, due to its inland location, Manises has warmer summers and cooler winters than the coast.
Manises extends to the right bank of the river Turia (the northern boundary of the term) and is uneven in the western sector for the first mountains that dominate the alluvial plain of Turia.
Agriculture is predominantly carob trees, olive trees and small areas of vineyards and almond trees. The irrigation uses water from the river Turia through the ditch of Manises.
The main economic activity is industry, focusing on ceramics; in the Middle Ages and Renaissance era Manises was the most important production centre for Hispano-Moresque ware, which was exported all over Europe. The industry had a strong comeback in the second half of the 19th century. In 1917 the School of Ceramics was founded, which included the study of this activity in its various forms: artistic ceramics, porcelain and tiles. Today small businesses predominate.
Industrial activity resulted in a sharp increase in population, which tripled in the 19th century and increased sixfold in the twentieth century. Today the population is around 26,000 inhabitants.
The city is located to the right of Turia, at its eastern end, on a small hill in front of Paterna, across the river. It stretches from west to east along the river, and the last extension is beside Quart de Poblet. The industrial sectors are concentrated in the east and north of the town near the railway station of Valencia to Llíria. The parish church (St. John the Baptist) was built between 1734 and 1751, the high altar had belonged to the convent of mercy in Valencia. An old Islamic farmstead was donated in 1238 by James I to Artal de Luna, and in 1307 was sold to Pere Boïl and became the center of the barony of Manises. The town had a mixture of Christians and Moors between 1602 and 1609, with 150 Christian homes and 50 Moorish homes.
In 1924 city status was granted. In addition to various findings from the Roman era, within the municipality there is an aqueduct built at that time named the Arches. At the western end of the municipality, on the banks of the Turia, there is a Water Treatment Station of Valencia. The municipality also includes the hamlets of the Dam and the Cave and the district of San Francisco.
Manises Airport, serving the city of Valencia, is located west of the conurbation, within Manises municipality, about 8 km from Valencia's downtown. It shared the premises with the military air base of Manises, now dismantled. It has all modern airport facilities and a radar located in a pine forest near the Albufera of Valencia.
Although Manises has long been inhabited the earliest records show the Romans working to bring water to Valencia. Then came the Arabs, who developed the settlement. Later, Valencian King James I granted it as a prize to one of his best men, Don Artal de Luna, one of the "Rich-homs of nature" who accompanied him.
It is this donation recorded in the Book of the cast, the first officially known quotation from Manises: "Artallus de Luna. Alquerian de Paterna et de Manizaes, VII idus Julil" (7 July 1237).
In the early 16th century Manises tiles had much commercial success, especially the heraldic type. In the 17th century all Valencian tiles had a significant rise.
The beginning of the 20th century brought a new style, modernism, which saw ornamental elements incorporated into ceramics. Until then tiles were used for flooring or bases, but was then used in embellishing facades with its rich polychrome, a trend which has continued to this day.
Two other notable developments took place, in 1914 of the School of Ceramics of Manises was founded by Vicente Vilar David (Industrial Engineering by School of Barcelona, Lt. Mayor Primo de Rivera.) Secondly 1969 saw the opening of the Municipal Museum of Ceramics (Museu de la Ceràmica), renovated and enlarged in 1989, which displays industrial and artistic developments to the present day.
It has a population of 30,508 inhabitants in 2009. 6.21% of its inhabitants was, according to the same census, foreign nationals in 2007.
The local council is elected every 4 years and chooses the mayor from amongst its members.
| 1979 | 1983 | 1987 | 1991 | 1995 | 1999 | 2003 | 2007 | 2011 | 2015 | 2019 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) | 8 | 14 | 11 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| United Left (IU) | 8 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD) | 5 | |||||||||||
| People's Party (PP) | 3 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 6 | |
| Valencian Union (UV) | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) | 3 | |||||||||||
| Agrupament Progressiste de Manises (APM) | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 5 | ||||||
| Coalició Compromís (Compromís) | ||||||||||||
| Podemos (Podemos) | 3 | 2 | 1 | |||||||||
| Citizens (Cs) | 1 | 3 | ||||||||||
| Vox (Vox) | 1 | 4 | ||||||||||
| Total number of seats | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 |
In the early 14th century, under the reign of James I, the lordship of Manises was acquired by the Boil family. They introduced from Andalusia, especially Malaga, the savoir-faire of lusterware pottery. Manises ceramics of golden and blue lusterware prevailed throughout Europe until the late 16th century, being known in many places as "work of Valencia" or "Mallorca", because of the origin of the seafarers who traded with it.
Much appreciated by the Aragonese crown, Manises pottery was also exported to France, Italy, and especially to Naples, where Alfonso the Magnanimous wanted to create a brilliant and luxurious court. As a major amateur of Paterna and Manises pottery, Naples influenced other Italian courts. Calixtus III and Alexander VI continually commissioned Valencian pieces and tiles for the halls of the Vatican. The export was also extended to Sicily, Venice, Turkey, Cyprus, and even to Flanders and the Baltic countries. The palaces of all the courts of Europe were enriched with Manises ceramics. Many painters reproduced it in their paintings; it can be observed in the work of Humberto and John Van Eyck, and in the central panel of a triptych by Hugo Van der Goes (Uffizi Gallery, Florence). In this city there are also some Domenico Ghirlandaio frescoes in which appears Moorish-Valencian faience.
The trade of ceramics led to the creation of exporting companies. The first traders were Italians, Cypriots and Turks, then Catalans and Majorcans. They were carrying tiles and various ceramic items carefully packed in large pottery jars, called cossis, coated with string and straw. Ships would leave the port of Valencia, known as Grao de Valencia, with this burden, and would pay tax to local authorities.
From Valencia, the town is accessible by road through the A-3 and V-11.Public transport links include lines 3 (Rafelbunyol – Airport), 5 (Marítim-Serreria – Aeroport) and 9 (Alboraya-Peris Aragó – Riba-roja de Túria) of Valencia metro and bus line 150 Manises / Airport.