What country is listed as paella's place of origin?

Paella’s listed country of origin is Spain. The dish is more specifically associated with the Valencian Community on Spain’s Mediterranean coast, where its classic form developed.

Modern paella is generally traced to the rural area around the Albufera lagoon near Valencia. Rice cultivation in eastern Iberia was strengthened during the period of Muslim rule, and local farmers later cooked rice with ingredients available in the surrounding fields and wetlands. The dish gradually became a defining part of Valencian cuisine and then a national symbol of Spanish food.

“Paella” also names the wide, shallow pan used to cook it; the word comes through Catalan and Valencian usage from older terms for a frying pan. A common mix-up is treating seafood paella as the only authentic version. Valencian traditions include meat-based paella valenciana, seafood paella, and mixed variations, although many Valencians reserve the unqualified dish name for more traditional recipes.