Penedès

CAPELLADES PREHISTORIC PARK

An extraordinary treasure has been found in L'Anoia: the remains of a skull belonging to a Neanderthal who lived more than 60,000 years ago. This ancestor of ours lived in Abric Romaní in Cape­llades, and it has taken more than 40 years of continuous archaeological excavations to come across the find. The discovery, made last August, is highly significant since it has elevated Abric Romaní to the podium of the world's most important archaeological sites for learning about the social and cultural behaviour of our ancestors. Abric Romaní is one of the sites forming part of the Capellades Prehistoric Park. It can be visited and is located amongst the curious geological features of the Capelló cliffs, where Capellades peers over the river Anoia.

MUSEU MOLÍ PAPERER
 
Without moving from Capella­des you can visit another of its iconic attractions, the Museu Molí Paperer (papermill museum), which shows the legacy of an important industry. During the 18th and 19th centuries the town was one of the most important paper-producing centres in the country and achieved international renown. The museum explains the history of paper from its origins, to modern-day production techniques. Hand-made paper continues to be made in the basement of the mill. In fact, amongst the educational activities available is one where visitors can make recycled paper, emphasising the need for recycling and sustainability.
 
The papermill in Capellades was not the only one in the area. The 'Paper Route' (Els Camins del Paper) consists of 5 routes that explain the legacy of an industrial landscape comprising the river Anoia, the streams, dams, weirs and papermills.

CLARAMUNT CASTLE
 
L’Anoia is also a land of castles. Many were built between the 10th and 11tgh centuries to protect the lands bordering those conquered by the Muslims. One of the Castles to acquire the most power was Claramunt castle, located in La Pobla de Claramunt, next to Capellades and towering over the Guàrdia mountain range, from where it protected the Conca d’Òdena.
 
It has the classic structure of 12th-century castles, having two walled precincts: an upper precinct containing the residential area, the Gothic hall and four towers, and the lower precinct that housed the castle services and which is today a large courtyard surrounded by walls. It's an ideal place to take the kids because the footpath leading there is full of surprises: La muntanya dels nens (or "kids' mountain") pulls you into the surroundings through games, experimentation, fun and action.
 

Towards the latter end of the 10th century, the Muslims who had lived in the Conca del Llobregat since the 9th century having left, the territory now known as L'Anoia was repopulated with Christians, and they built castles in the mountains. This explains why, today, there are some twenty fortresses, and if you look up you will, most likely, see hills crowned with walls and towers, like the castles of Boixadors, Manresana, Òdena and Calaf, amongst others.

A large part of this heritage was built between the mid-10th and mid-11th centuries on the orders of the counts of Barcelona, Osona-Manresa, and Berga-Cerdanya to protect the land from its former Muslim owners. Many of these castles are now open to the public and guided tours are organised which bring their former glory to life.

To sample a taste of this architectural heritage there are four important fortresses that provide guided tours, and they are very close to Igualada.

THE CASTLE OF CLARAMUNT

The castle of Claramunt, in La Pobla de Claramunt, dates from the 10th century and is located on the summit of the Serra de la Guàrdia. The visit takes you into the various places and rooms within the castle. The castle's structure has been conserved, as has its impressive and intimidating appearance.

THE CASTLE OF VILADEMÀGER

The castle of Vilademàger already existed in the 10th century. It is in Llacuna and is an imposing castle situated on a cliff top and is noted for its perimeter walls and towers. 

THE CASTLE OF TOUS

The castle of Tous, in Sant Martí de Tous, is in a particularly strategic location, dominating both the Òdena and Barberà basins. Now it is a large house with a crenelated tower that was heavily restored and extended in the 16th and 20th centuries.

THE CASTLE OF MONTBUI

The castle of Montbui, in Santa Margarida de Montbui, crowns the Tossa de Montbui mountain, where the church of Santa Maria is also located. It is one of the most interesting churches in our country, dating from the high middle ages.

On the way to these castles, if you lift your gaze, you will also see the castles of La Torre, Orpí, Jorba and Miralles. These castles may only be visited from the outside, but you can climb up to them on foot and round off the excursion with a country trail that will certainly reward you with some magnificent views.

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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The Romanesque monastery of Sant Sebastià dels Gorgs in Avinyonet del Penedès is the starting point for this excursion to the Alt Penedès. It is a good place to start because it presides over a small town that is surrounded by vines as far as the eye can see, a prelude to the landscape throughout the excursion. Sant Sebastià dels Gorgs, which dates from the 11th century, is the district’s most iconic medieval building. It has a very interesting Romanesque bell tower and the northern wing of the cloister, with beautifully carved capitals, has survived.

VILAFRANCA DEL PENEDÈS AND PACS DEL PENEDÈS

The route continues to Vilafranca del Penedès where you can visit the Vinseum and find out more about wine culture thanks to their collection of 17,000 pieces of archaeological and ethnological items, art and ceramics. A wine event awaits you at the Família Torres wine cellar in Pacs del Penedès, which offers a number of visits and you can taste the wines and choose the ones you like.

OLÈRDOLA

The visit continues to Olèrdola with its ensemble of fascinating features where you can trace the tracks of humanity from the bronze age until well into the 20th century. This site is Museu d’Arqueologia de Catalunya (MAC) site and it forms part of the Iberian Route. It occupies a privileged position that commands impressive views over the Penedès district. There are the remains of a walled Iberian settlement, those of a Roman fortification and a medieval town with pre-Romanesque and Romanesque churches.

SANTA MARGARIDA I ELS MONJOS

The excursion ends in Santa Margarida i els Monjos with a visit to the Republican Aviation and Aerial Warfare Interpretation Centre (CIARGA). It is devoted to aspects of aviation during the Spanish Civil War. It is highly educational and combines original pieces in their setting alongside powerful multimedia resources.

The roar of water, the smells, the noise made by horses and carts, and the sounds of workers coming and going, that was the backdrop to be heard continuously from the end of the 18th century along the water canal in Igualada when the new tanneries were being built.

Pay a visit to the town's industrial past, associated with the production of hides and wool, with a visit to the Igualada and Anoia district's Museu de la Pell (hide museum). Established in 1954, it is one of the first museums devoted entirely to tanning in Europe. The museum is spread over two buildings: Cal Boyer, its main premises, and Cal Granotes.
 
CAL BOYER

Cal Boyer is a former textile factory and is where the museum now has its main facilities. Here you will see many items made from leather as well as the tools and machines used for treating hides in Igualada. Be sure not to miss the 'People and Water' section, which gives a overview of the qualities of water and its uses. There is also an experimental water canal that shows the ways in which water can be harnessed to produce energy for industrial purposes.
 
CAL GRANOTES

Cal Granotes is a 17th-century tannery right in the heart of the Rec district and here you can witness all the crafts associated with the treatment of hides. It still has the two floors that characterise pre-industrial tanneries. The first, the lower floor, where all the procedures were carried out to prepare and treat the skins, and the second, where the hides were hung to dry from bars.
 
THE TANNING DISTRICT OF THE REC

After visiting the museum, why not take a tour around the tanning district of the Rec with its water canal? The tannery facade still has its characteristic buttresses, and the its stepping stones, tanks, sinks and sluices can still be seen.


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The mountain of Olèrdola, between the Penedès plain and Garraf, has been a strategic site settled by humans from the Bronze Age until well into the 20th century. At the present time Olèrdola is one of the sites of the Museu d’Arqueologia de Catalunya, and forms part of the Iberian Route. The group of historic remains and buildings here, as well as the surroundings area with, for example, the church of Sant Miquel d’Olèrdola, is well worth the walk.
 
THE HISTORIC REMAINS AND BUILDINGS
 
Since pre-historic times the people who settled here have left their mark: an Iberian settlement; an impressive Roman fort; a medieval town; pre-Romanesque and Romanesque churches; and medieval tombs carved into the rock. Start your visit to the sites at the church of Sant Miquel and continue around the side of the cistern, the anthropomorphic tombs, and finally, the Iberian settlement.
 
THE TRAIL ON FOOT
 
After your visit you could follow the foot trail around the Parc d’Olèrdola suggested by Barcelona Provincial Council's Natural Parks network. It will lead you to the centre of Sant Miquel d’Olèrdola. The path, signposted to La Font de l’Alba, starts at the entrance to the site and in five minutes you will be at the Pla dels Albats, where there is an interesting medieval necropolis with tombs carved into the rock. Along the way, surrounded by a landscape with a typicaly Mediterranean character, you will come across a number of springs.
 
THE VILLAGE OF SANT MIQUEL D’OLÈRDOLA
 
The trail ends in the village of Sant Miquel d’Olèrdola. You can visit the church of the same name, built between 1885 and 1889. If you've worked up an appetite and fancy sampling the local cuisine have a look at the restaurants in the area.
 
For more information about this and other suggestions, check out the information provided by Olèrdola Town Council.
 
 
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Xarxa de Parcs Naturals de la Diputació de Barcelona

This Sacred Catalonia trail will take you to the mountainous hinterland of the diocese of Girona with its combination of large parishes, urban convents and extensive valleys with their little villages and disperse habitats.
 
MONASTERY OF SANT ESTEVE DE BANYOLES
 
The route starts at the Benedictine monastery of Sant Esteve de Banyoles which, founded in the 9th century, acquired great importance in the area, with other monasteries, such as that of Sant Pere de Rodes, becoming dependent on it. It still conserves authentic works of art.
 
SANTA MARIA DE PORQUERES
 
A ten-minute drive will take you to the church of Santa Maria de Porqueres, a fine example of Romanesque architecture. It is a very sober building but displays decorative sculptural motifs of great interest.

MONASTERY OF SANT PERE
 
Once in Besalú visit the Romanesque church of Sant Pere de Besalú, consecrated 1003. It is all that is left of a former monastery that achieved great importance in the 12th and 13th centuries.

SANT VICENÇ DE BESALÚ

Located in the historic centre of Besalú, the church of Sant Vicenç is one of the town's oldest and most important religious buildings. It contains a fragment of the True Cross.
 
SANT SEPULCRE DE PALERA
 
Another ten-minute drive will lead you to the route's last location: Sant Sepulcre de Palera, one of the finest examples of the Romanesque in the county of Besalú, and a major centre of pilgrimage during the 11th and 12th centuries.


The Sacred Catalonia trail is intended for groups and takes 6 hours. For more information please ring 693 720 202 or send an email to: reserves@cataloniasacra.cat.


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