Coy, Spain
Encyclopedia
Coy is a town within the municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...

 of Lorca
Lorca
Lorca is a municipality and town in the autonomous community of Murcia in southeastern Spain, 36 miles southwest of the city of Murcia. It had a population of 92,694 in 2010, up from the 2001 census total of 77,477. Lorca is the municipality with the second-largest surface area in Spain with...

, in the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 province of Murcia. It has a population of 511 and is located 22 miles north of Lorca
Lorca
Lorca is a municipality and town in the autonomous community of Murcia in southeastern Spain, 36 miles southwest of the city of Murcia. It had a population of 92,694 in 2010, up from the 2001 census total of 77,477. Lorca is the municipality with the second-largest surface area in Spain with...

. Previously known for their supply of metals, they are now known for their wine and traditional crafts.

Location

The town is located in the slope of the Peak of Coy, mainly in the south of the "Saw of the Lavia", along the mouth of a south-west water spring. At its basin begins a plateau (Plateau of Coy) with boulevards that remain dry the whole year. From this forms the mouth of the Turrilla River
Turrillas
The annual fiesta, in honor of San Antonio takes place on June 13,14,and 15 of every year, Celebrations go late into the night, with a concert taking place on the town square, live music and bars. There is also a parade on horseback past La ermita de San Antonio, which is situated in the lower part...

 (tributary of the Guadalentin
Guadalentín
Guadalentín is a river of Spain. It is a tributary of Segura....

).

Climate

The plateau of Coy has similar climates to those found in the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...

 with cold winters, some years developing snow. The summers are warm during the day with soft temperatures in the evenings. There is little rainfall, most occurring either in spring or autumn with very soft climate remaining.

Population

The population is concentrated in the center of Coy, with a whole of 512 persons as of the year 2005 with an occupation of 17.7 inhabitants per square kilometer. There is even distribution of male to female in the town of Coy.
style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 1.1em; margin-bottom: 0.5em"| Yearly Population
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2005
782 767 683 516 503 506 512

History

The word " Coy " derives from the Latin "collis", meaning a hill or hills. The English translation of the town name is Hammock
Hammock
A hammock is a sling made of fabric, rope, or netting, suspended between two points, used for swinging, sleeping, or resting. It normally consists of one or more cloth panels, or a woven network of twine or thin rope stretched with ropes between two firm anchor points such as trees or posts....

. Coy is also most likely where the surname
Surname
A surname is a name added to a given name and is part of a personal name. In many cases, a surname is a family name. Many dictionaries define "surname" as a synonym of "family name"...

 De Los Santos originated. http://members.tripod.com/~GaryFelix/index16.htm

Coy has antiquitarial history. The town possesses a large quantity of archaeological
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...

 remains
Artifact (archaeology)
An artifact or artefact is "something made or given shape by man, such as a tool or a work of art, esp an object of archaeological interest"...

, such as Cerro de Las Viñas (translated means The Hill of the Vineyards), a town from the Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...

 of international interest. There is also the Fuentecica, an Iberian
Iberians
The Iberians were a set of peoples that Greek and Roman sources identified with that name in the eastern and southern coasts of the Iberian peninsula at least from the 6th century BC...

 necropolis
Necropolis
A necropolis is a large cemetery or burial ground, usually including structural tombs. The word comes from the Greek νεκρόπολις - nekropolis, literally meaning "city of the dead"...

 where a famous steel pillar was located called the León of Coy which now resides in the Archaeological Museum of Murcia. The Hamlet
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...

, a Roman town where a sculpture of the Roman god Mercury
Mercury (mythology)
Mercury was a messenger who wore winged sandals, and a god of trade, the son of Maia Maiestas and Jupiter in Roman mythology. His name is related to the Latin word merx , mercari , and merces...

 was held, was also part of Coy with the statue now residing in the Archaeological Museum of Lorca. With the Muslem faith so dominate in the region for a period, a Moor
Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...

 enclave
Enclave and exclave
In political geography, an enclave is a territory whose geographical boundaries lie entirely within the boundaries of another territory.An exclave, on the other hand, is a territory legally or politically attached to another territory with which it is not physically contiguous.These are two...

 from the Kingdom of Murcia devoted themselves to agriculture. Their castle controlled an extensive territory. After the Reconquista
Reconquista
The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...

, it turned into a frontier territory with the Kingdom of Granada
Granada
Granada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of three rivers, the Beiro, the Darro and the Genil. It sits at an elevation of 738 metres above sea...

. Alfonso X of Castile
Alfonso X of Castile
Alfonso X was a Castilian monarch who ruled as the King of Castile, León and Galicia from 1252 until his death...

 made it a sister site to the city of Lorca. His castle and step was destroyed by the dominion of Sancho Manuel, son of Juan Manuel, Prince of Villena in the 14th century, similar to the dominion of the Riquelme. Coy was the third most important center of the municipality after Lorca and Port Louvres, going so far as building their own convent. Over time the lead and silver mines became exhausted and due to the lack of communication the town's once rich resource has since been forgotten.

Some homes are built on the hillside with narrow streets, slopes and alleys between. The Hill of The Vineyards (Town argárico) and the Church of San Jose of Coy (Baroque) play an important role to the town people.

Economy

The economy is based on textile crafts with the manufacture of jarapas and carpets. In agriculture Coy has emphasis in vine farming, of which a handmade wine is produced. Almond trees and other green products are also produced. There are several pig and chicken farms, as well as sheep cattle. Lately the flourishing rural tourism outlines the town's most prosperous future. The hostel Casa Grande (built in the 18th century) is a large draw, as is the artificial beach and the charm of many rural houses.

Maps

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