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TheLevante (Spanish:[leˈβante];Catalan:Llevant[ʎəˈβan,ʎəˈvant,ʎeˈβan,ʎeˈvant]; "Levant, East") is a name used to refer to the eastern region of theIberian Peninsula, on theSpanishMediterranean coast. It roughly corresponds to the formerXarq al-Ándalus [es], but has no modern geopolitical definition. Rather, it broadly includes theautonomous communities ofValencia (provinces ofAlicante,Castellón andValencia),Murcia,Catalonia (Barcelona,Girona andTarragona), the eastern part ofCastile-La Mancha (Albacete andCuenca), easternAndalusia (Almería,Granada andJaén), southernAragon (Teruel) and theBalearic Islands.
However, in its normal usage, the Levante specifically refers to the Valencian Community, Murcia, Almería, the Balearics and the coast of Catalonia.
Among inhabitants of the Levante, the term is rarely used. Its literal meaning is "the east", and thus makes sense only from the perspective of those who live to the west of Valencia, Catalonia, or the Balearics. However, the Levante does lend its name to a popular regional beer, Estrella Levante, owned byS.A. Damm and produced inMurcia, as well asLevante UD, a Spanish football club team inValencia.
Levante, the collective name for four Mediterranean provinces of Spain forming two autonomous regions officially known asComunitat Valenciana andRegión de Murcia.
