Montblanc, Tarragona
Encyclopedia
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...
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...
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...
, in the Spanish province of Tarragona
Tarragona (province)
Tarragona is a province of eastern Spain, in the southern part of the autonomous community of Catalonia. It is bordered by the provinces of Castellón, Teruel, Zaragoza, Lleida, Barcelona, and the Mediterranean Sea....
.
The Prades Mountains
Prades Mountains
Prades Mountains, also known as Muntanyes de Prades, is a large calcareous mountain massif straddling the comarcas of Alt Camp, Baix Camp, Conca de Barberà, Garrigues and Priorat, in Catalonia, Spain. These mountains have characteristic large and rounded rocky outcrops...
are located in the vicinity of this municipality.
History
The area around Montblanc has been inhabited for thousands of years. Evidence of cave dwellings have been found dating back to Palaeolithic times.From the 4th to the 1st century BC Iberian villages existed on Santa Bàrbara hill. These villages coexisted with the early Roman settlers. Evidence of Roman artifacts have been found which date from between the 2nd century BC to the 2nd century AD.
After the invasion by the Moors
Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...
in 711 AD, much of the area became dominated by a patchwork of Islamic fiefdoms. The Islamic invasion initiated a long period of very successful agricultural and commercial development. This was responsible for the birth of many towns and villages in the region which still retain their Islamic names.
The 10th and 11th centuries seem to have been a period of relatively peaceful coexistence in which Muslims, Christians and Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
lived in the region of Montblanc. This productive period continued until an allegiance of forces, strongly supported by the Roman Catholic Church, initiated an era of expulsions, which forced the Moors
Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...
, the Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
and many of the interbred mixed race peoples to leave the Iberian peninsula.
Maties Palau Ferré
Maties Palau Ferré
Maties Palau Ferré was a painter from Montblanc, Catalonia, Spain. He made cubist oil paintings, India ink drawings, as well as ceramics and a few sculptures....
(1921-2000), painter and sculptor, disciple of Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
, was born and died in Montblanc.
Main sights
- Convent of Sant Francesc, established around 1238. The church is in Romanesque-Gothic style.
- Gothic church of Santa Maria (14th century)
- Church of Sant Miquel