Parcent is a village in the Pop Valley of La Marina Alta

Marina Alta

Marina Alta is a comarca in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, Spain.- Municipalities :*Adsubia*Alcalalí*Beniarbeig*Benidoleig*Benigembla*Benimeli*Benissa*Benitachell/El Poble Nou de Benitatxell*Calp*Castell de Castells*Dénia...

 in the Alicante Province

Alicante (province)

Alicante or Alacant is a province of eastern Spain, in the southern part of the Valencian Community. It is bordered by the provinces of Murcia on the southwest, Albacete on the west, Valencia on the north, and the Mediterranean Sea on the east...

, which is located in the Valencian

Valencian Community

The Valencian Community is an autonomous community of Spain located in central and south-eastern Iberian Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Valencia...

 region of Spain

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...

. Parcent has a population of about 1100 and is about one hour's drive north of the city of Alicante

Alicante

Alicante or Alacant is a city in Spain, the capital of the province of Alicante and of the comarca of Alacantí, in the south of the Valencian Community. It is also a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city of Alicante proper was 334,418, estimated , ranking as the second-largest...

, and about an hour's drive south of the city of Valencia.

It features the small but beautiful Holy Virgin church, and is surrounded by rolling hills and mountains. Writer Gabriel Miró

Gabriel Miró

Gabriel Miró Ferrer .Most critics believe that Gabriel Miró's literary maturity begins with Las cerezas del cementerio , whose plot revolves around the tragic love of the super-sensitive young man Félix Valdivia for an older woman and presents—with an atmosphere of voluptuousness and lyrical...

 (1879-1930) was a resident of Parcent and called it a "paradise between the mountains".

It is also close to Jalón (written as Xaló in Catalan

Catalan language

Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...

), which is famous for its excellent wine production and markets. The traditional economy of Parcent relies on almond and orange farming in the surrounding area.

History

The name "Parcent" is of Latin origin. Later, it was a Moorish town until the forces of James I of Aragon

James I of Aragon

James I the Conqueror was the King of Aragon, Count of Barcelona, and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276...

 conquered it in 1256 CE.

There was a major outbreak of leprosy

Leprosy

Leprosy or Hansen's disease is a chronic disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis. Named after physician Gerhard Armauer Hansen, leprosy is primarily a granulomatous disease of the peripheral nerves and mucosa of the upper respiratory tract; skin lesions...

 in Parcent in 1850 and by 1887 20% of the residents of Parcent were afflicted. This apparently motivated the inclusion of passages about the disease in Miró's two so-called "Oleza" novels.

Demographics

The 2006 census established that Parcent's population was 1,019 inhabitants. It was also revealed that about 35.10% of the population of Parcent were not 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...

 citizens but were in fact incomers from other countries within the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

.

Parcent's population
	1857	1887	1900	1910	1920	1930	1940	1950	1960	1970	1981	1991	2000	2005	2006
Population	1,223	1,415	1,192	978	935	801	889	793	728	678	619	717	857	960	1,019

Controversy

Many Europeans from other areas have built retirement or second homes in Parcent, enjoying the sunshine and proximity to the beaches. However, Parcent and the surrounding valley are suffering growing pains as development quickens.