Lorca is a municipality and city in the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia in southeastern Spain, 58 kilometres (36 mi) southwest of the city of Murcia. The municipality had a population of 94,404 in 2019, up from the 2001 census total of 77,477. Lorca is the municipality with the second largest surface area in Spain, after Cáceres. The city is home to Lorca Castle and the Collegiate church dedicated to St. Patrick.

In the Middle Ages Lorca was the frontier town between Christian and Muslim Spain.[3] Even earlier to that during the Roman period it was ancient Ilura or Heliocroca of the Romans.

The city was seriously damaged by a magnitude 5.1 earthquake on 11 May 2011, killing at least nine people. Due to a shallow hypocenter, the earthquake was much more destructive than usual for earthquakes with similar magnitude.