PARTALOA
Partaloa stands out due to its surroundings; the abrupt, mountainous and rocky landscape of the Almanzora Valley give way to this town where the tranquility, whitewashed houses and fruitful vegetation are the main attractions. It has around 1,100 inhabitants.
HISTORY
Partaloa has been settled by numerous cultures throughout history, all of which have left their footprint. From prehistoric times, we can trace the presence of Neolithic and Bronze Age communities, from which archaeological sites have been unearthed in the Loma de la Estación and the Rambla de las Horcas.
Throughout its history, the settlement has been known under various names, such as Carsaloba, Cartaloba, Cantalobo and, in 1505, as Paralobra, a name that stuck until the end of the eighteenth century. It was in the nineteenth century that the town appeared in records with its current name, Partaloa.
After the Christian Re-conquest, Partaloa was passed through many different hands, either by transfer or purchase. The Catholic Monarchs gave the town to Don Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, who appointed Muhammad Valenci as warden. In 1501, it was sold to Don José Álvarez de Toledo y Osorio Córdoba y Guzmán, owner of the señoríos (manors) of Cantoria and Partaloa.
In 1515, the Duke of Cantoria and Partaloa then sold it to Don Pedro Fajardo, for two and a half million maravedíes, of which 150 were for the buildings and fortresses and the rest for the 470 vassals that were between both villas at the rate of 5,000 maravedíes each. Pedro Tortosa was named warden.
THINGS TO SEE
Iglesia Parroquial San Antonio de Padua
The church is a recent construction that replaced the previous church, which was demolished by an earthquake in 1973. Located in Plaza de la Constitución.
NATURAL AREAS
Los Derribos de Parataloa
These types of landslides are a form of slope collapse characteristic of erosive and sedimentary dynamics in arid areas. By virtue of this dynamic, between the slopes of the mountains and the lower areas of the valleys, a gently inclined plane develops, which is known as glacis. These glacis are usually composed of a base and soft and light-colored materials (clays, agglomerates), crowned by a hard, rusty and dark-colored stratum. When the hydrographic network affects the plane of the glacis and fits together, water erosion easily drags the soft materials, leaving the hard ones hung until they break and are indicated by the slope of the channel. This process is present in many places in the province, giving rise to similar scenes in places like Rambla de Oria in Albox, the Tabernas desert and El Chorrillo in Pechina. But the formation of Partaloa is so characteristic that in the professional community of geomorphologists and landscape designers, this erosive result is generically termed “partaloa” .
GASTRONOMY
The local gastronomy has many dishes worth trying, such as olla de segadores (harvester’s soup), caldo de huevos (egg broth), migas (fried bread served with pork), puchero (chickpea stew), remojón (tomato and cod salad), pelotas (meatball stew), manitas de cerdo con pisto (pigs trotters with salsa) and gurullos (pasta stew). Sweet treats include suspiros (meringues), roscos de naranja (orange biscuits), roscos de aguardiente (aniseed biscuits) and hornazos (sweet honey pastries).
FESTIVALS
Popular festivals in Partaloa are Fiestas de San Antonio de Padua, Fiesta de Cerro Gordo, Fiestas de la Piedra Amarilla and Semana Santa. More>
NEARBY PLACES
The neighbouring villages to Partaloa are Oria, Fines, Cantoria and Albox.
