Altorricón
Encyclopedia
Altorricón or El Torricó (əɫ turiˈko, aɫ toriˈko) is a municipality located in the comarca of La Litera/La Llitera in the province of Huesca
, Aragon
, Spain
. With an extension of 32.03 km², the municipal district of Altorricón lies on the southern part of La Llitera, limiting with El Segrià
(Almacelles
). The district is surrounded north and south by Tamarite de Litera
. The municipality contains the town of Altorricón and the uninhabited towns of Cuquet, Montanera and Lo Tossal as well as the old church of San Bartolomé de Altorricón.
It has two official names Altorricón and El Torricó. The official name of Altorricón is considered to be incorrect by historians, although most of the population use that form of the name, in either the Spanish form of it Altorricón or the Catalan Altorricó. The name probably derived from Western Catalan "Torricó", or small tower, with Al-
being a common prefix in Arab names. It's not clear what 'small tower' the name could refer to, but hypothesis point to Castle of Vallbona (Catalan Castell de Vallbona) situated north west from the town, or maybe some building that no longer exists in the center of the village.
The secondary water channel of La Mola, derived from the Canal d'Aragó i Catalunya crosses the municipal district diagonally from NW to SE, and is used to irrigate the land all across the territory. Multiple minor channels distribute the water, namely the ravine of San Bartomeu or the one of Clamorelles. A small section in the SW is drained by the torrent of Oriols and Vallbona.
Altorricón, right smack in the middle of the municipality, is crossed by the local road of Tamarite de Litera
that springs out north from the national road N240 (Tarragona
-San Sebastián
). The locals call the portion of the road that heads south to the N240, la carretera del Butano (Catalan carretera del butà) in honor of the butane
gas processing station that once existed at the intersection with the N240. The portion of the road that heads up north is simply called, carretera de Tamarite (Catalan carretera de Tamarit).
There is another road starting from the nucleus of the town that heads southwest and ends on Tamarite's railway station linking with the N240, a few kilometers west from where the road to Tamarite de Litera split up. The road also links Altorricón with the small community of La Melusa, and thus locals call the road carretera de La Melusa.
The local dialect is a variant of Catalan
.
Huesca (province)
Huesca , officially Huesca/Uesca, is a province of northeastern Spain, in northern Aragon. The capital is Huesca.Positioned just south of the central Pyrenees, Huesca borders France and the French Departments of Pyrénées-Atlantiques and Hautes-Pyrénées...
, Aragon
Aragon
Aragon is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces : Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. With an extension of 32.03 km², the municipal district of Altorricón lies on the southern part of La Llitera, limiting with El Segrià
Segrià
Segrià is a comarca in the west of Catalonia, Spain, bordering Aragon. , over two thirds of its population live in the capital city of Lleida, which is also Catalonia's largest municipality, and remains the most populated comarca in the Lleida province. It takes its name from the river Segre.-...
(Almacelles
Almacelles
Almacelles is a town in the comarca of Segrià, in Catalonia, Spain. Population: 5.623 ....
). The district is surrounded north and south by Tamarite de Litera
Tamarite de Litera
Tamarite de Litera or Tamarit de Llitera is the first major town of the comarca of La Litera/La Llitera in the province of Huesca, Aragon, Spain.It was reconquered from the Moors by Alfonso I of Aragon in 1107....
. The municipality contains the town of Altorricón and the uninhabited towns of Cuquet, Montanera and Lo Tossal as well as the old church of San Bartolomé de Altorricón.
It has two official names Altorricón and El Torricó. The official name of Altorricón is considered to be incorrect by historians, although most of the population use that form of the name, in either the Spanish form of it Altorricón or the Catalan Altorricó. The name probably derived from Western Catalan "Torricó", or small tower, with Al-
Al-
is the definite article in the Arabic language; a particle whose function is to render the noun on which it is prefixed definite. For example, the word kitāb 'book' can be made definite by prefixing it with al-, resulting in al-kitāb 'the book'...
being a common prefix in Arab names. It's not clear what 'small tower' the name could refer to, but hypothesis point to Castle of Vallbona (Catalan Castell de Vallbona) situated north west from the town, or maybe some building that no longer exists in the center of the village.
The secondary water channel of La Mola, derived from the Canal d'Aragó i Catalunya crosses the municipal district diagonally from NW to SE, and is used to irrigate the land all across the territory. Multiple minor channels distribute the water, namely the ravine of San Bartomeu or the one of Clamorelles. A small section in the SW is drained by the torrent of Oriols and Vallbona.
Altorricón, right smack in the middle of the municipality, is crossed by the local road of Tamarite de Litera
Tamarite de Litera
Tamarite de Litera or Tamarit de Llitera is the first major town of the comarca of La Litera/La Llitera in the province of Huesca, Aragon, Spain.It was reconquered from the Moors by Alfonso I of Aragon in 1107....
that springs out north from the national road N240 (Tarragona
Tarragona
Tarragona is a city located in the south of Catalonia on the north-east of Spain, by the Mediterranean. It is the capital of the Spanish province of the same name and the capital of the Catalan comarca Tarragonès. In the medieval and modern times it was the capital of the Vegueria of Tarragona...
-San Sebastián
San Sebastián
Donostia-San Sebastián is a city and municipality located in the north of Spain, in the coast of the Bay of Biscay and 20 km away from the French border. The city is the capital of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. The municipality’s population is 186,122 , and its...
). The locals call the portion of the road that heads south to the N240, la carretera del Butano (Catalan carretera del butà) in honor of the butane
Butane
Butane is a gas with the formula C4H10 that is an alkane with four carbon atoms. The term may refer to any of two structural isomers, or to a mixture of them: in the IUPAC nomenclature, however, butane refers only to the unbranched n-butane isomer; the other one being called "methylpropane" or...
gas processing station that once existed at the intersection with the N240. The portion of the road that heads up north is simply called, carretera de Tamarite (Catalan carretera de Tamarit).
There is another road starting from the nucleus of the town that heads southwest and ends on Tamarite's railway station linking with the N240, a few kilometers west from where the road to Tamarite de Litera split up. The road also links Altorricón with the small community of La Melusa, and thus locals call the road carretera de La Melusa.
The local dialect is a variant of Catalan
Catalan language
Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
.