Portal:Spain

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THE SPAIN PORTAL

Spain (Spanish: España, IPA: [es'paɲa]) is a country in southern Europe, with a native language of Spanish. The country consists of Peninsular Spain which is located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, two archipelagos, one in each sea, and two autonomous cities in North Africa. The mainland area of Spain is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the southern and eastern areas, the Cantabric Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Spain is organised as a parliamentary democracy and is a constitutional monarchy. Spain has been a member of the European Union since 1986 and is a developed country, with the ninth largest economy in the world and fifth largest in the EU. Spain is the largest of three sovereign states that make up the Iberian Peninsula – the others being Portugal and Andorra; with an area of 504,030 km², it is the second largest country in Western Europe (behind France).

Spain flourished under the Roman empire Hispania, thus becoming one of the Empire's most important regions at the time. During the times of the Middle Ages, Spain was under Germanic rule, only later to become under ruling of the Islamic caliphate. Spain went to war against the French Republic in 1793 after they had killed their king, Louis XVI, and, although defeated in the end, Spain made peace with France in 1795.

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Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía is the official name of Spain's national museum of 20th century art. The museum is commonly referred to as Museo Reina Sofía, Queen Sofia Museum, or The Sofia. The museum was inaugurated on 10 September 1992 and is name after Queen Sofia of Spain. The museum is located in Madrid at the southern area of the 'Golden Triangle of Art'.

The museum focuses mainly on Spanish art. Highlights of the museum include excellent collections of Spain's two greatest 20th century masters, Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí. Certainly the most famous masterpiece in the museum is Picasso's great painting Guernica. The Reina Sofía also has fine collections of the works of Juan Gris, Joan Miró, Julio González, Eduardo Chillida, Antoni Tàpies, Pablo Gargallo, Lucio Muñoz, Luis Gordillo, Jorge Oteiza, José Gutiérrez Solana and many other significant artists. Foreign artists are few, but there are works by Robert Delaunay, Yves Tanguy, Man Ray, Jacques Lipchniz, Lucio Fontana, Yves Klein, cubist still-lifes by Georges Braque and a large work by Francis Bacon.

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An overturned tourer caravan which was damaged by the effects of Tropical Storm Delta (2005). Considerable other damage was caused to other areas of the Canary Islands during the storm.

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In the news

Wikinews Spain portal

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WikiProjects

Main project

WikiProject Spain

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Related projects

WikiProject Basque • WikiProject Catalan-speaking Countries • WikiProject Galicia • Spanish Translation of the Week

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Lope de Aguirre (c. 1510 – 27 October 1561) was a Spanish Basque conquistador in South America. Sent, along other rebellious settlers, to an impossible mission in search of the mythical Eldorado in the Amazon river, he eventually became their leader and rebelled against Philip II, being finally defeated and slain. Aguirre was born circa 1510 in Araotz Valley, in the Basque province of Guipúzcoa, part of the kingdom of Castile. (Today, Araotz belongs to the near municipality of Oñati, in northern Spain.) He was the son of a nobleman, with some culture, possibly from a family of court clerks. Aguirre was in his twenties and living in Seville when Hernándo Pizarro returned from Peru and brought back the treasures of the Incas, inspiring Aguirre to follow in his footsteps.

Aguirre probably enlisted himself in an expedition of 250 men chosen under Rodrigo Buran. He arrived in Peru in 1536 or 1537. In Cuzco, among other activities, Aguirre was responsible for the training of stallions. As a conquistador, however, he soon became infamous for his violence, cruelty and sedition. In 1544, Aguirre was at the side of Peru's first viceroy, Blasco Núñez Vela, who had arrived from Spain with orders to implement the New Laws, suppress the Encomiendas, and liberate the natives.

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“ When you want to make it clear to the rest of the world that you are not an imperialist, the best countries to have with you are Britain and Spain. ”

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Battle of Bicocca • Battle of Ceresole • El Greco • Italian War of 1521–1526 • Salvador Dalí • Same-sex marriage in Spain • T-26 • War of the League of Cambrai • War of the Spanish Succession

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