Within the environment close to the famous Yecla Gorge - where the rebellious Castilian counts ambushed the avant-garde of the Muslim armies sent from the Caliphate of Cordoba to subdue the Christian population centers - and Santo Domingo de Silos, some rural enclaves stand out, They still retain the beauty and interest of their traditional architecture.
On the verge, likewise, of a river that bears the curious name of Mataviejas, Quintanilla del Coco is one such town.
It is assumed, as in many cases, that the current town - whose original name was Quintaniella - integrated, in the second half of the fifteenth century, another small town, named Coco, denominations that gave rise to its current name.
In fact, the presence of two small covers of Romanesque origin in his Gothic church, dedicated to the figure of the Archangel Saint Michael, tends to make historians suppose that their foundations are laid on an earlier temple, which probably belonged to the ancient and absorbed town of Coco.
Within the rigors that the exodus to the big cities imposes the phenomenon of depopulation on the small rural nuclei, you can see some houses, of medieval origins, in a state of semi-ruin and even for sale.
But this is, in the end, a misleading vision, because in the town there are still enough neighbors to consider it a pleasant and worthy place to know.
It maintains, in the main square and in front of the old house in which the current Town Hall sits, the traditional watering hole, although partly shaved - and I apologize if you offend any conscience - for a modern image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, whose presence would be more remarkable in the church.
As nearby places of interest, the spectacular gorge of the Yecla and the Mozarabic hermitage of Santa Cecilia, located in the neighboring neighborhood of Barriosuso, could be mentioned.
And of course, the magnificent town of Santo Domingo de Silos, a privileged enclave that was created around its splendid monastery, which are worth visiting.
NOTICE: Both the text and the accompanying photographs are my exclusive intellectual property.
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