| Comarca | |
|---|---|
| |
.svg) | |
| Category | Comarca |
| Location | Kingdom of Spain |
| Found in | Autonomous communities |
| Number | 83 formal, 465 total (as of 20 June 2022) |
| Government | |
| Subdivisions | |
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InSpain, acomarca (Spanish:[koˈmaɾka]ⓘ)[a] is a traditional informal territorial division, comprising several municipalities sharing geographical, economic or cultural traits, typically with not well defined limits. Modernly, they have been formally defined for all theautonomous communities of Spain, as territorial entities intermediate between themunicipality and theprovince, although their status ranges from official and with administrative functions (providing commonlocal government services) in some communities, to unofficial and based on mere preliminary studies in other communities.
In English, a comarca is equivalent to an area,county,district, orzone.
In 1985, a law was passed permitting territorial divison intocomarcas by each autonomous community.[1][2] Because comarcas are subdivisions created by autonomous regions and not the state, their boundaries may overlap the boundaries of provinces within their respective autonomous community, creating instances in which a comarca has territory in more than one province.[3]
The large majority of legally defined comarcas are inCatalonia (42) andAragon (33), and are regulated by law and are governed by acomarcal council with specified powers. There are seven comarcas formally registered inBasque Country and one,El Bierzo, in Castile and León.[2] InAndalusia,Galicia,Valencia andAsturias, comarcas are defined by regional law but lack any specific function.
In other regions, comarcas are traditional or historical or in some cases, contemporary creations designed for tourism promotions. In some other cases (e.g.La Carballeda) a comarca may correspond to a natural area, like a valley, river basin and mountainous area, or even tohistorical regions overlapping different provinces and ancient kingdoms (e.g.Ilercavonia).[4]
In such comarcas ornatural regions municipalities have resorted to organizing themselves inmancomunidad (commonwealth), like theTaula del Sénia, the only legal formula that has allowed those comarcas to manage their public municipal resources meaningfully.[citation needed]
There is also a comarca, theCerdanya that is divided between two states, the southwestern half being counted as a comarca of Spain, while the northeastern half is part ofFrance.
There are also other groupings of municipalities in Spain includingprovinces,mancomunidades, metropolitan areas and the major islands of theCanary Islands and theBalearic Islands.
Legally defined comarcas have their boundaries and functions defined by the relevant regional government (autonomous community) and so do not necessarily have boundaries consistent with provinces which are defined by the State.[5] The remit of comarcas is very similar to that of the provinces and has been criticised for duplication.[6]However in Catalonia, the comarca (and not the province) has been the traditional territorial organisation.[7]
Reference:[8]
An official classification establishes three comarcas:
or sometimes four:
However, historic approaches (before the national classification into provinces) establish six comarcas:
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