Getaways

One of the wine-growing areas par excellence of Catalonia is Penedès, with a long tradition in the production of wines and cavas.

On this route we can visit such emblematic places as the Codorniu cavas winery designed by Josep Puig i Cadafalch, which includes the residential area of the Raventós family and the industrial area, built with flat brick vaults and parabolic arches.

Penedès is an area with a proliferation of cava wineries, such as the Miró cava winery in Sant Sadurní d'Anoia - designed by Cèsar Martinell - or the liqueur and cava factory Mascaró in Vilafranca del Penedès. This large number of wineries dedicated to sparkling wine is due to a reconversion of the wine sector in the area following the phylloxera crisis.

Other cava wineries which can be visited include Hill in Moja; it is well worth taking a look at their underground galleries dug out in the rock itself ("tapassot"), in which natural walls and vaults are formed.

Without leaving Moja we can take a look at the winery of the Agricultural Union, designed by Cèsar Martinell in full Noucentista style, without any concession to Modernisme.
 
ARCHEOLOGY IN ITS PURE STATE
In Garraf we will find the Olèrdola Nature Reserve, which combines nature with some exceptional monumental buildings: you can see prehistoric archaeological remains as well as Iberian, Roman and medieval examples. Olèrdola is currently one of the headquarters of the Museum of Archaeology of Catalonia.
 
CASTLES AND POPULAR CULTURE
In addition Penedès is a land of castles - you can visit those of Gelida and Subirats - and it is also the home of "caramelles", songs and folk dances that are sung at Easter or "Pasqua Florida" in Vilafranca del Penedès and other Catalan towns.


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