TERUEL

province, in the autonomous community (region) of Aragon, northeastern central Spain. It has an area of 5,715 sq mi (14,803 sq km), three-quarters of which is covered by mountains belonging to the Sistema Ibrico. The remainder, principally in the northeast, is a broad plain known as Alcaiz. Marble and chalk are quarried; and the chief products include corn (maize), wine, oil, cheese, fruits, timber, flax, hemp, silk, and wool. Apart from the provincial capital, Teruel town, the main centres are Alcaiz, Castellote, and Hjar (the last two are noted for their Easter and Whitsun festivals). Pop. (1982 est.) 133,068. town, capital of Teruel province, in the autonomous community (region) of Aragon, northeastern Spain, at the confluence of the Guadalaviar and Turia rivers, northwest of Valencia. It originated as the Iberian settlement of Turba, which was destroyed by the Romans in retaliation for the destruction of nearby coastal Saguntum by the Carthaginian general Hannibal. It became a Moorish stronghold after the 8th century. Large numbers of Moors remained in the city after its conquest by Alfonso II of Aragon in 1171; this resulted in a mixed, or Mudjar, style in architecture still visible today. In the cloisters of the Gothic church of San Pedro were buried the celebrated Lovers of Teruel, Diego Juan Martnez de Marcilla and Isabel de Segura (13th century). Their story is the subject of works by Tirso de Molina (real name Gabriel Tllez), Juan Prez de Montalbn, Juan Eugenio Hartzenbusch, andin an Italian settingby Giovanni Boccaccio. Structures from the 16th century include the cathedral (begun 1248 but altered 15961614) and an aqueduct built by Pierre Bedel. Although the economy is basically agricultural, tourism is also important, and a national parador (inn) was inaugurated just outside Teruel in the 1970s to accommodate the increasing number of tourists. Pop. (1982 est.) 25,932.