- published: 26 Nov 2014
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Valladolid (Spanish: [baʎaðoˈlið] ( listen)) is a historic city and municipality in north-central Spain, situated at the confluence of the Pisuerga and Esgueva rivers, and located within three wine-making regions: Ribera del Duero, Rueda and Cigales. It is the capital of the province of Valladolid.
One line of etymological argument suggests that the modern name "Valladolid" derives from a Celtiberian language expression, Vallis Tolitum ("Waters Valley"), due to the confluence of rivers. Another, more generally accepted derivation is from the demonym Vallisoletano, which was, in fact, the Spanish demonym of the city, and means "from sunny valley". Supporting this are texts from the Middle Ages, which use Vallisoletum, a word which continued to be used as late as the 16th century (see painting by Braun and Hogenberg).
It is also popularly called Pucela, a nickname whose origin is not clear, but probably refers to a few knights who accompanied Joan of Arc, known as La Pucelle. Another theory is that Pucela comes from the fact that Puzzeli's cement was sold there, the only city in Spain that sold it.