(The town of Torres de Cotillas is right in the middle of the Murcian Huerta (the fruit and vegetable-growing area which surrounds Murcia) and just 15 kilometres from Murcia capital.The historical origins of the town began with the Romans. Some 1st century baths which date from Roman times have been found in the neighbouring village of La Loma. Its name derives from the Visigoth period when it was called "Quitiyya".
The Moors settled in Torres de Cotillas early on, having arrived in the 8th century, in a vast irrigated area which took up the right-hand bank and lands of the River Segura. Las Torres de Cotillas had already become an entailed estate in the 13th century, after the Christian reconquest carried out by Alphonse X the Wise, governed by the noble family of Calvillo and was repopulated, after the desertion en masse of the Moorish population, by Christian families from the village of Huete in Cuenca, who, in 1454, elected the first Torres de Cotillas town hall and council.
In the first third of the 17th century the feudal estate of Cotillas passed into the hands of their relatives the Balboa-Bustos, who held the title of Marquis and Marchioness of Corvera. The 19th century brought this feudal system to an end when the Courts of Spain gathered in Cadiz in 1812 and decreed the abolition of the entailed estates. The history of Cotillas, the name under which the borough of Las Torres was known until the year 1916, was, from the 15th century onwards, nothing more than a permanent attempt to increase the amount of land which was irrigated, but this was never achieved. Right into the 20th century, to be specific the year 1927, the population of Torres de Cotillas was supplied with water from the River Segura and in 1929 work was undertaken to supply water from the Taibilla canals from Alcantarilla.
In the first third of the 17th century the feudal estate of Cotillas passed into the hands of their relatives the Balboa-Bustos, who held the title of Marquis and Marchioness of Corvera. The 19th century brought this feudal system to an end when the Courts of Spain gathered in Cadiz in 1812 and decreed the abolition of the entailed estates. The history of Cotillas, the name under which the borough of Las Torres was known until the year 1916, was, from the 15th century onwards, nothing more than a permanent attempt to increase the amount of land which was irrigated, but this was never achieved. Right into the 20th century, to be specific the year 1927, the population of Torres de Cotillas was supplied with water from the River Segura and in 1929 work was undertaken to supply water from the Taibilla canals from Alcantarilla.
The people of Las Torres celebrate their fiestas during the last week of the month of August in honour of their patron saint, the Lady of the Willow. The most outstanding events during this festival are the Proclamation of the fiestas, the parade of carriages and floats, the International Folklore Festival, and the procession of the Virgin with its accompanying impressive firework display as well as numerous other events spread out throughout this week.
