El Provencio is a small town and 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...

 in Cuenca

Cuenca (province)

Cuenca is a province of central Spain, in the eastern part of the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha.-Guide to the area:Located in a natural setting of beauty, the Old Town of Cuenca occupies a superb site between two river gorges. Famous are its 15th Century "hanging houses" , that appear...

, 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...

 with a population of some 2,599 permanent inhabitants (2002 est.). It offers some of the most vibrant nightlife in the area, attracting visitors from nearby towns like Las Pedroñeras

Las Pedroñeras

Las Pedroñeras is a small town and municipality in the province of Cuenca, in the central region of the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha, southwestern Spain....

 for 'Las Fiestas', with its five discotechs amongst other things. Apart from this, it offers a cultural experience of central 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...

, keeping much of its medieval heritage. In fact, it sits on the newly planted trail that marks the route followed by the character Don Quixote in the Cervantes

Cervantes

-People:*Alfonso J. Cervantes , mayor of St. Louis, Missouri*Francisco Cervantes de Salazar, 16th-century man of letters*Ignacio Cervantes, Cuban composer*Jorge Cervantes, a world-renowned expert on indoor, outdoor, and greenhouse cannabis cultivation...

 novel by the same name. El Provencio sits in the extreme southern area of Cuenca, bordering both Albacete

Albacete

Albacete is a city and municipality in southeastern Spain, 258 km southeast of Madrid, the capital of the province of Albacete in the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha. The municipality had a population of c. 169,700 in 2009....

 and Cuidad Real. The major highway linking the town to the rest of Spain is the National 301 Madrid - Cartagena, and it is about 81 kilometers south of Cuenca

Cuenca, Spain

-History:When the Iberian peninsula was part of the Roman Empire there were several important settlements in the province, such as Segóbriga, Ercávica and Gran Valeria...

, the city.

History

The reason for the foundation of El Provencio, by Infante Don Juan Manuel, is attributed to the existence of the Zancara River as a source of water. El Provencio could have been founded as early as 1318, the earliest date available which refers to the foundation of the town. Don Juan Manuel was at the time Lord of Alarcón

Alarcón

Alarcón is a municipality in Cuenca, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. It has a population of 182.- History :In 1177 Ferren Martínez de Ceballos led the Christian forces which captured Alarcón - then an important fortress - from the Almohads...

 and was regent of Murcia

Murcia

-History:It is widely believed that Murcia's name is derived from the Latin words of Myrtea or Murtea, meaning land of Myrtle , although it may also be a derivation of the word Murtia, which would mean Murtius Village...

, and was related in many ways to various kings on the Iberian peninsula

Iberian Peninsula

The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...

. He is considered one of the Spanish warriors of 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...

 and is known for his campaigns of terror, and was also known for the foundation of various settlements throughout the area. One of these came to be known as El Provencio, which was situated between Murcia

Murcia

-History:It is widely believed that Murcia's name is derived from the Latin words of Myrtea or Murtea, meaning land of Myrtle , although it may also be a derivation of the word Murtia, which would mean Murtius Village...

 and the various regions owned by Spanish religious orders. Ultimately, Don Juan Manuel would marry the daughter of King James II of Aragon

James II of Aragon

James II , called the Just was the King of Sicily from 1285 to 1296 and King of Aragon and Valencia and Count of Barcelona from 1291 to 1327. In 1297 he was granted the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica...

, which would link the kingdom of Aragon

Aragon

Aragon is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces : Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza...

 to El Provencio. In fact, Don Alfonso of Aragon

Alfonso of Aragon

Alfonso of Aragon was the Duke of Bisceglie and Prince of Salerno, as the son of King Alfonso II of Naples by his mistress Truzia Gazzela ....

would become the first count of this Castilian area soon thereafter.