Guided route | Espais de Patrimoni i Memòria

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The Castle

12th C.

The Castle (El Castell) is located at the top of Carrer Major, the Main Street. Built between the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries, it was a seat of feudal power for over six hundred years. Its function was as the residence of the paborde – the Archbishop’s administrator – and it stored the delmes or tithes gathered from the population for the Archbishop. Keywords: Middle Ages, castle, paborde. The early tower In 1165, the town was granted its Carta de Població (Municipal Charter), placing it under the Tarragona Archbishop’s dominion. At this time, a rectangular tower was erected...

Saint Andrew’s Church

16th–17th C.

Known as the “Cathedral of Camp (de Tarragona)”, l’església de Sant Andreu (Saint Andrew’s Church) is one of La Selva’s most emblematic monuments. Even though it is unfinished, it forms part of the work of l’Escola del Camp (the School of Camp de Tarragona – a Renaissance architectural movement under the patronage of the Archbishop of Tarragona) and stands out as one of few Renaissance works in Catalonia. Keywords: Renaissance, Escola del Camp, Middle Ages. The Romanesque church The current Saint Andrew’s Church was erected over a Romanesque church that stood on the same spot. Even though the...

The Agrarian Union

20th C.

Since the first half of the twentieth century, La Selva has enjoyed a rich network of associations. The first expression of this modern social cohesion in the agrarian sphere is the Societat dels Pagesos, (Company of Peasants), founded in 1900. Until then, peasants and farmers had grouped into guilds and confraternities. Keywords: association networks, trades, 20th century. Agrarian association networks in La Selva. The first unions In the early twentieth century, agrarian associations began to gain a lot of power in La Selva. The first expression of this modern social cohesion is the...

Casa de la Vila Vella

14th–19th C.

In old Regomir Street, popularly known as the “street that doesn’t connect”, today named Vila Vella (Old Town Street), you will find the Casa del Comú (Town Hall). This is where the Town Council and local government met until they were moved to the Montserrat mansion in 1815. It was also the common meeting place for the councillors of the Comuna del Camp (a Medieval alliance of small towns in the Tarragona diocese) until its abolition in 1716. Keywords: Middle Ages, institutions, Casa del Comú, Town Hall, Comuna del Camp. The local government From the twelfth to early eighteenth century, the...

The Mitja Vila Fountain and the Chapel of the Angels

16th–17th C.

The Font de Mitja Vila (Mid-Town Fountain) is the second public fountain built in the town after the one in the castle. It dates from 1519. Next to the fountain, in the late sixteenth century, the old Capella dels Àngels (Chapel of the Angels) was built where the town’s weighing house had stood. Keywords: fountains, camí del Rec, chapel. The Mitja Vila Fountain Until late in the twentieth century, most of the squares or courtyards in the town had public fountains to provide running water to the population. Yet until the sixteenth century there was only one public fountain in the entire town,...

The Ateneu

19th–20th C.

The Ateneu (Atheneum) El Lauro, popularly known as “the Casino”, is the town’s most significant recreation centre in the history of La Selva’s associations. Since its foundation in 1878, it has hosted most of the town’s cultural activities throughout the twentieth century. Keywords: local associations, 19th century, 20th century. The new spaces for social cohesion: casinos and cafés In the nineteenth century, one way of socialising was in casinos and cafés. One could read the newspapers and join in political discussions. This type of organisation came into existence in La Selva from 1861...

The Hospital

14th–19th C.

For over five centuries, from 1330 to 1847, the capella de Sant Jaume i Santa Llúcia (Saint James and Saint Lucy Chapel) housed La Selva hospital. Yet this was not the first hospital in town. Before this the Casa de Malalts (House of the Sick) and the Hospital de Pobres (Hospital of the Poor) existed outside the town walls. Keywords: Middle Ages, Gothic, health, chapel. The Medieval hospital The Saint James and Saint Lucy Hospital was built in the early fourteenth century. Yet this was not La Selva’s first hospital. Before this, two others existed outside the town walls. The first was the...

Ca Carnicer

18th–20th C.

Ca Carnicer is one of the largest houses on Carrer Major (main street). Since the eighteenth century, several different families of landowners and dried fruit merchants have lived in the house. In 1893, it was the headquarters of the Centre Republicà Silvense (La Selva Republican Centre) and, from 1910 to 1921, of L’Agrícola (agricultural association). The house The house popularly known as Ca Carnicer is the product of annexing several adjacent houses. Since 1793, it has boasted a façade decorated with neo-Classical features, such as the hydriai on its terrace and the paintings of the...

9a, 9b, 9c

The Old Town

14th C.

Over the centuries, the town walls served not just to repel attacks from outsiders but to control the local population. As with most walled communities, La Selva’s gates operated as toll barriers, controlling the flow of goods to and from the town. Keywords: city walls, city gates, ancient times, Middle Ages, War of the Spanish Succession, 19th century. Settlement at La Selva del Camp The site of an Iberian settlement under the old town of La Selva was uncovered with the discovery of an Iberian silo under the Plaça de Sant Andreu. Though no continuation with any Roman settlement has been...

La Defensa Agrària

20th C.

The Defensa Agrària (Agrarian Defence) emerged in 1925 as an opposition to the local power. The movement, a merging of republicanism and Catalan nationalism, lasted until the start of Franco’s dictatorship. The building was confiscated after the war, in 1939, and lay abandoned until in 1952, the parish founded the Casal Selvatà (La Selva Activity Club) there. In 1978, the Agrarian Defence’s former members reformed the organisation and shared the space with the members of the Casal. Keywords: association networks, 20th century. From breakaway to consolidation (1925–1939) In 1925, the Agrarian...

Saint Augustine’s Convent

16th–20th C.

The Convent de Sant Agustí (Saint Augustine’s Convent) was founded in 1598 on municipal initiative. It was erected with the help of donations, from Rafael Ripollès, among others. Its Renaissance cloister is striking as it is one of the works of the Escola del Camp architectural school. Monastic life was intermittent and Augustine, Jesuit and Claretian communities all occupied the convent. Keywords: Middle Ages, convents, Escola del Camp, Renaissance, hospital, nineteenth century. The first hospital On this site where the current Saint Augustine’s Convent stands, at the turn of the eighteenth...

Torre del Baró

14th C.

The Torre del Baró or del Sol de la Vila (Baron’s or Sun Tower), known in the fourteenth century as the Torre d’en Beixa (Beixa’s Tower), is one of the most imposing in the complex due to its commanding position at the Portal d’Avall (Bottom Gate). Its more modern name, Baron’s Tower, comes from the attached house of the Barons de la Montoliva, from Vilallonga. Their relationship with La Selva can be seen with Pau de Magrinyà, who in 1723 became a town councillor.

Torre de les Clavegueres

14th C.

Another striking tower in the walled complex was the one called Les Clavegueres (the Sewers). Situated at the lowest part of the walled compound, this was where the town’s waste water poured out into the Torrent de Cassans stream. Evidence of constant renovations to the defences can be seen on one of its merlons, dated 1562.

Portal de Sant Antoni. Plaça de la Palma

s. XVI

La plaça del portal de sant Antoni va prendre el nom de plaça de la Palma després que el 1559 s’acordés que els objectes de palma (sàrries, cabassos, etc.) hi fossin exposats durant els dies de fira. El privilegi de celebrar la fira cada 28 d’octubre, i durant els catorze dies següents, va ser atorgat per Ferran II, el Catòlic, el 1503.

Casa de la Vila – Montserrat family home

14th C.

The building we know today as the Casa de la Vila (Town Hall) was once the home of the Montserrat family. In 1815, Anton de Vilallonga donated it to the town and since then it is where the Town Council has met. Keywords: Middle Ages, Gothic, Renaissance, manor houses, Town Hall. La plaça del Sitjar The current Plaça Major (Main Square) was also known as the Plaça del Sitjar, or Square of the Silos due to the silos and grain stores it held. From the eighteenth century onwards, it formed La Selva’s heart, where the houses of the town’s elite – the Vallcorba, Vilanova, Guimerà, Montserrat and...

L'Hort d'Iglésies

19th–20th C.

L’Hort d’Iglésies is an old farmhouse built by Josep Iglesias in the early nineteenth century. Turned into a summer residence by Antònia Lloberas in 1886, it houses a collection of paintings depicting various scenes from classical mythology. Keywords: 19th century, neo-classicism, farmhouses. Building construction The farmhouse of l’Hort d’Iglésies at La Selva del Camp was built in the early nineteenth century at the request of Josep Iglesias Ramon, a liquor salesman from Reus. The building changed owners in 1886, when Antònia Lloberas purchased it to turn it into her summer residence...

Saint Raphael’s Convent

17th–20th C.

The Convent de Sant Rafael (Saint Raphael’s Convent) dates from the late seventeenth century and has several times functioned as a school and a hospital. The origin of its name is a recognition of its benefactor, Rafael Ripollès (1575–1635). Since its foundation, two religious orders have inhabited the convent: the Carmelites and the Sisters of St Paul. Keywords: convent, Rafael Ripollès, hospital, nineteenth century. Rafael Ripollès Rafael Ripollès (1575–1635) was a wealthy merchant from La Selva who, thanks to his extensive family heritage, began a campaign as benefactor to the Església de...

Torre de la Batalla

13th C.

For over 850 years of history, the towers have been part of the walled town and their singularity has led to them being given popular nicknames. Notable is the Torre de la Batalla (Tower of the Battle), no longer extant, but documented in the first half of the fourteenth century. It overlooked the final stretch of the town’s irrigation channel, standing above the path that climbed the Puig d’en Cama.

Raval de Sant Pau

13th C.

The Capella de Sant Pau (Saint Paul’s Chapel, 13th C.) was built among the orchards that lay outside the walled town, along the road to l’Albiol. Around it, the first raval (neighbourhood outside the walls) grew up, known as Vilanova de la Selva. In the seventeenth century, Saint Paul’s Chapel served as a hospital for combating the plague. Keywords: Gothic, Middle Ages, Raval, Chapel. Saint Paul’s Chapel Saint Paul’s Chapel was erected over the ruins of an earlier hermitage. Its date of construction is unknown but, in 1286, the paborde (Archbishop’s governor) had already granted Friar Ponç d’...

Pati de la Carnisseria

ss. XIII-XX

Algunes de les actuals places i espais públics es coneixien amb el nom de patis. L’actual plaça de Sant Andreu també es coneixia amb el nom de pati de la Carnisseria, pel servei d’escorxador municipal que hi constava des del segle XIII i que va perdurar fins a la darreria del segle XX.

Hermitage of Sant Pere del Puig

13th–16th C.

The Ermita de Sant Pere (Saint Peter’s Hermitage) is situated on one of the foothills of the mountain called Puig d’en Cama and offers excellent vistas out over the Camp de Tarragona. Before this, first a Romanesque hermitage (13th C.) and later a Renaissance hermitage (16th C.) stood on this site. The current hermitage dates from the decade of 1870 and was reformed after being used as a watchtower by Napoleonic and Carlist troops and supporters of Isabella II during the first third of the nineteenth century. Keywords: Hermitage, Romanesque, Renaissance, Middle Ages, nineteenth century. The...

Ermita de Paretdelgada

El Santuari de Santa Maria de Paretdelgada s’aixeca a quatre quilòmetres del poble, en direcció a Vilallonga, i en un lloc on les excavacions arqueològiques han mostrat l’existència d’una important vil•la romana. Documentada en el segle XII, s’hi feren reparacions durant els segles posteriors: el 1313 es construïa la casa de l’ermità; en el segle XVI el cor i la sagristia i l'Hostatgeria; en el segle XVIII la capella del Santíssim. El 1766, a causa d’un incendi, s’hagueren de fer moltes reformes. La decoració actual és de l’artista Grau-Garriga(1963). En el seu interior poden veure capitells...