El Fonoll is a naturist

Naturism

Naturism or nudism is a cultural and political movement practising, advocating and defending social nudity in private and in public. It may also refer to a lifestyle based on personal, family and/or social nudism....

 village in Catalonia

Catalonia

Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...

, Spain, situated in the inland comarca

Comarca

A comarca is a traditional region or local administrative division found in parts of Spain, Portugal, Panama, Nicaragua, and Brazil. The term is derived from the term marca, meaning a "march, mark", plus the prefix co- meaning "together, jointly".The comarca is known in Aragonese as redolada and...

 of Conca de Barberà

Conca de Barberà

Conca de Barberà is a comarca in the province of Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain.-Municipalities:*Barberà de la Conca - pop. 434*Blancafort - pop. 412*Conesa - pop. 123*Espluga de Francolí - pop. 3,687*Forès - pop. 60*Llorac - pop. 128...

. The village is ancient, and had fallen into ruins before being restored and turned into a naturist resort around the year 2000.

History

El Fonoll has been mentioned in writings going back as far as 1305. The village originally contained a castle, of which no trace remains, and a small church dedicated to St. Blaise, built between the 10th and 12th centuries, which contains some unique architectural features and has remained in good condition.

The village fell into disuse, and its buildings into ruins, during the 20th century, and the entire area, including over 150 hectares of surrounding land, was eventually bought by Barcelona

Barcelona

Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...

 businessman Emili Vives in 1995, with the intention of restoring it and turning it into a naturist centre. During the construction, Vives met with much obstruction from local and regional officials, but persisted with the project and succeeded in rebuilding almost all of the buildings, using the original limestone

Limestone

Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....

 blocks.

The village today

El Fonoll is situated in an isolated forested river valley cutting through the surrounding grain-farming plateau region, and there is an extensive network of tracks winding through the adjoining forested hillsides and abandoned fields and terraces

Terrace (agriculture)

Terraces are used in farming to cultivate sloped land. Graduated terrace steps are commonly used to farm on hilly or mountainous terrain. Terraced fields decrease erosion and surface runoff, and are effective for growing crops requiring much water, such as rice...

. It is connected by road to the village of Passanant and by track to Vallfogona de Riucorb

Vallfogona de Riucorb

Vallfogona de Riucorb is a municipality in the comarca of the Conca de Barberà in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated in the Comalats range in the north of the comarca, with the Cap de Cans rising to 759 m....

, both about 5 km away. The village has no access restrictions for people passing through, but there are signs at the boundaries of the lands asking visitors to remove their clothes if possible and not to smoke

Smoking

Smoking is a practice in which a substance, most commonly tobacco or cannabis, is burned and the smoke is tasted or inhaled. This is primarily practised as a route of administration for recreational drug use, as combustion releases the active substances in drugs such as nicotine and makes them...

 or use cameras

Photography

Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...

.

The village sources much of its food from its own organic

Organic farming

Organic farming is the form of agriculture that relies on techniques such as crop rotation, green manure, compost and biological pest control to maintain soil productivity and control pests on a farm...

 plots, generates its own electricity using wind turbine

Wind turbine

A wind turbine is a device that converts kinetic energy from the wind into mechanical energy. If the mechanical energy is used to produce electricity, the device may be called a wind generator or wind charger. If the mechanical energy is used to drive machinery, such as for grinding grain or...

s and solar panels, and operates a sanctuary

Animal sanctuary

An animal sanctuary is a facility where animals are brought to live and be protected for the rest of their lives. Unlike animal shelters, sanctuaries do not seek to place animals with individuals or groups, instead maintaining each animal until his or her natural death...

 for donkeys

Catalan donkey

-History:The Catalan donkey is a subspecies of the donkeys from which the donkeys of the middle east and Europe originated. The Catalan donkey is related to the donkey of Mallorca and the zamorano-llionés donkey...

, one of Catalonia's national symbols, and other animals.

Accommodation is provided for about 200 people, both long-term residents and holiday visitors. Options include a camping

Camping

Camping is an outdoor recreational activity. The participants leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite. Camping may involve the use of a tent, caravan, motorhome, cabin, a primitive structure, or no...

 and caravan

Travel trailer

A travel trailer or caravan is towed behind a road vehicle to provide a place to sleep which is more comfortable and protected than a tent . It provides the means for people to have their own home on a journey or a vacation, without relying on a motel or hotel, and enables them to stay in places...

 area, apartments in the restored buildings, and several isolated stone cabins scattered throughout the lands. The Catalan Naturism Club has the use of a building in the village for its activities and accommodation.

Facilities available to residents and guests include a shop, a vegetarian

Vegetarianism

Vegetarianism encompasses the practice of following plant-based diets , with or without the inclusion of dairy products or eggs, and with the exclusion of meat...

 cafeteria

Cafeteria

A cafeteria is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school; a school dining location is also referred to as a dining hall or canteen...

, a library

Library

In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...

, a swimming pool

Swimming pool

A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...

, sports pitches, picnic

Picnic

In contemporary usage, a picnic can be defined simply as a pleasure excursion at which a meal is eaten outdoors , ideally taking place in a beautiful landscape such as a park, beside a lake or with an interesting view and possibly at a public event such as before an open air theatre performance,...

 and barbecue

Barbecue

Barbecue or barbeque , used chiefly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia is a method and apparatus for cooking meat, poultry and occasionally fish with the heat and hot smoke of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of...

 areas, and regular organised activities such as sports, walks, musical entertainment, and courses and conferences related to alternative living

Alternative lifestyle

An alternative lifestyle is a lifestyle generally perceived to be outside the cultural norm. Usually, but not always, it implies an affinity or identification within some matching subculture...

. The communally prepared Sunday paella

Paella

Paella is a Valencian rice dish that originated in its modern form in the mid-19th century near lake Albufera, a lagoon in Valencia, on the east coast of Spain. Many non-Spaniards view paella as Spain's national dish, but most Spaniards consider it to be a regional Valencian dish...

s are especially popular. The facilities operate all year around, but vary with the seasons, to include traditional seasonal activities such as calçotades (springtime scallion

Scallion

Scallions , are the edible plants of various Allium species, all of which are "onion-like", having hollow green leaves and lacking a fully developed root bulb.-Etymology:The words...

 feasts) and castanyades

Castanyada

The Castanyada is a popular Catalan festival, celebrated on All Saints' Day. In Occitania, the Castanhada is celebrated too as autumn's festival, but no on All Saints' Day. Like Halloween, its origins are in an ancient ritual festival of the dead. It consists of a meal of chestnuts, panellets,...

 (autumn chestnut

Chestnut

Chestnut , some species called chinkapin or chinquapin, is a genus of eight or nine species of deciduous trees and shrubs in the beech family Fagaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce.-Species:The chestnut belongs to the...

feasts). Due to the village's altitude at about 650m its winters are cool, so it attracts smaller numbers of visitors, mainly clothed, outside of the summer season.