Portal:Spain
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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.  The Tower of Hercules is an ancient Roman lighthouse, located on a peninsula approximately 1½ from the center of the city of A Coruña. The tower remains a sentinel from days long past. It is known to have existed by the 2nd century, built or perhaps rebuilt under Trajan, perhaps on foundations and just possibly following a design that was Phoenician in origin. At its base is preserved the cornerstone with the inscription MARTI AUG.SACR C.SEVIVS LUPUS ARCHTECTUS AEMINIENSIS LVSITANVS.EX.VO, permitting the original lighthouse tower to be ascribed to the architect Gaius Sevius Lupus, from Aeminia (an ancient Roman town near present-day Coimbra, Portugal) in the former province of Lusitania, as an ex voto dedicated to Mars. The tower has been in constant use since the 2nd century. Originally it was constructed with an ascending ramp encircling its sides, for oxen to bring cartloads of wood to keep the light fueled at night. According to Gaelic legend embodied in the 11th-century compilation Lebor Gabala Erren— the "Book of Invasions"— King Breogán, the founding father of the Galician Celtic nation, constructed here a massive tower of such a grand height that his sons could see a distant green shore from its top. The glimpse of that distant green land lured them to sail north to Ireland. A colossal statue of Breogán has been erected near the Tower. _02b.jpg) A statue showing Christopher Columbus and Queen Isabella, the statue was made in 1885.
WikiProject Basque • WikiProject Catalan-speaking Countries • WikiProject Galicia • Spanish Translation of the Week What are WikiProjects?  Enrique Iglesias (born May 8, 1975 in Madrid, Spain) is a pop singer and songwriter. Iglesias was born to Julio Iglesias and Filipina Isabel Preysler, the latter also being a singer. Iglesias's career started on Indie label Fonovisa who helped turn him into one of the most popular artists in Latin America and in the Latin market in the United States, selling more Spanish albums than any other artists in that period of time. Before the turn of the millennium he made a crossover into the mainstream English market and signed a unique multi-album deal with Universal Music for an unprecedented $48,000,000, with Universal Music Latino to release his Spanish albums and Interscope to release English albums. Iglesias has had two Billboard Hot 100 #1s in English and holds the record for producing seventeen number 1 Spanish language hits singles on the Billboard's Hot Latin Tracks. His album sales currently total over 41 million, making him one of the biggest-selling Spanish musical artists in the world. 
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