Torà
Encyclopedia
Torà is a town and municipality in the North East of the comarca (county
) of Segarra
, in the province of Lleida
, Catalonia
, Spain
. The urban structure
of the center has retained most of its original design, with narrow, twisting streets and blocks formed by rows of attached buildings. The Medieval town grew around a castle or fortified place (Thoranum castrum). A particular trait of the fortified origin of the town is the presence of a number of portals
to allow several streets their pass through defensive barriers formed by the rows of buildings of the town and its walls. Torà is some 10 kilometers northeast from the more populated Guissona
(6,145 inhabitants in 2010), a neighbor town that has experienced an important economic development in the last half century (mainly due to meat production and generation of a meat packing industry
) parallel to an unprecedented demographic growth sped up in the recent years (from 3,060 inhabitants in 1998 to 6,145 in 2010).
The municipality stretches along la Vall (valley) de la Riera (creek or brook) de Llanera (the Valley of Llanera's Creek) up to the confluence with the Llobregós River. Its orography is rather uneven with the lowest point at 430m and peaks rising up to 850m above sea level. The North sector features el Tossal (a kind of hill) de l'Aguda (L'Aguda's Hill), el Tossal de Sant Donat (Snat Donat's Hill), and the creek named la Riera de Llanera flowing across. On the other hand, the South sector features the hills el Tossal de Sant Pere and el Tossal de la Pineda, crossed by la Riera de Cellers, one of the Riera de Llaneras tributary brooks merging on its left. The town is settled by the left bank of the creek la Riera de Llanera, near the confluence with the Llobregós River, at the bottom of the mountain range la Serra de l'Aguda.
In 1968, the former municipality of Llanera
was integrated to Torà.
s present in the municipality of Torà:
fought between an alliance of Catalonian counts
and an army of the Caliphate of Córdoba
in 1003 A.D. at Torà.
, C-1313 towards La Seu d'Urgell
until Ponts and then, the road C-1412 towards Calaf
.
Coming from Cervera
, the national road N-141, then the local road LV-3003.
County
A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...
) of Segarra
Segarra
Segarra is a comarca in Catalonia, Spain, situated on a high plain. Historically, the name referred to a larger area than the current comarca. It has a continental climate, with cold winters and hot summers, and between 350 and 450 mm of rainfall per year. It is a grain-growing region, with some...
, in the province of Lleida
Lleida
Lleida is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital city of the province of Lleida, as well as the largest city in the province and it had 137,387 inhabitants , including the contiguous municipalities of Raimat and Sucs. The metro area has about 250,000 inhabitants...
, 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
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...
. The urban structure
Urban structure
Urban structure is the arrangement of land use in urban areas. Sociologists, economists, and geographers have developed several models, explaining where different types of people and businesses tend to exist within the urban setting. Three models are described in this article...
of the center has retained most of its original design, with narrow, twisting streets and blocks formed by rows of attached buildings. The Medieval town grew around a castle or fortified place (Thoranum castrum). A particular trait of the fortified origin of the town is the presence of a number of portals
Portal (architecture)
Portal is a general term describing an opening in the walls of a building, gate or fortification, and especially a grand entrance to an important structure. Doors, metal gates or portcullis in the opening can be used to control entry or exit. The surface surrounding the opening may be made of...
to allow several streets their pass through defensive barriers formed by the rows of buildings of the town and its walls. Torà is some 10 kilometers northeast from the more populated Guissona
Guissona
Guissona is a town and municipality located in the North of the comarca of Segarra, in the province of Lleida, Catalonia, Spain. With 6,145 inhabitants Guissona is the principal municipality in the Northern half of Segarra and the second most populated in the county after Cervera...
(6,145 inhabitants in 2010), a neighbor town that has experienced an important economic development in the last half century (mainly due to meat production and generation of a meat packing industry
Meat packing industry
The meat packing industry handles the slaughtering, processing, packaging, and distribution of animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and other livestock...
) parallel to an unprecedented demographic growth sped up in the recent years (from 3,060 inhabitants in 1998 to 6,145 in 2010).
The municipality stretches along la Vall (valley) de la Riera (creek or brook) de Llanera (the Valley of Llanera's Creek) up to the confluence with the Llobregós River. Its orography is rather uneven with the lowest point at 430m and peaks rising up to 850m above sea level. The North sector features el Tossal (a kind of hill) de l'Aguda (L'Aguda's Hill), el Tossal de Sant Donat (Snat Donat's Hill), and the creek named la Riera de Llanera flowing across. On the other hand, the South sector features the hills el Tossal de Sant Pere and el Tossal de la Pineda, crossed by la Riera de Cellers, one of the Riera de Llaneras tributary brooks merging on its left. The town is settled by the left bank of the creek la Riera de Llanera, near the confluence with the Llobregós River, at the bottom of the mountain range la Serra de l'Aguda.
In 1968, the former municipality of Llanera
Llanera
Llanera is the feminine form of the Spanish word llanero. It may refer to:* Llanera, Nueva Ecija, Philippines* Llanera, Asturias, Spain* Llanera music, music of the Llanero culture in Colombia and Venezuela...
was integrated to Torà.
Districts and neighbourhoods
These are the populated placePopulated place
A populated place is a place or area with clustered or scattered buildings and a permanent human population referenced with geographic coordinates...
s present in the municipality of Torà:
- Cellers (South East)
- Claret (South East)
- Fontanet (Center)
- Llanera (North East)
- Sant Serni de Llanera (East)
- Torà nuclear town (South West)
- Vallferosa (North)
Battle of Torà
There was a battle of the ReconquistaReconquista
The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...
fought between an alliance of Catalonian counts
Marca Hispanica
The Marca Hispanica , also known as Spanish March or March of Barcelona was a buffer zone beyond the province of Septimania, created by Charlemagne in 795 as a defensive barrier between the Umayyad Moors of Al-Andalus and the Frankish Kingdom....
and an army of the Caliphate of Córdoba
Caliphate of Córdoba
The Caliphate of Córdoba ruled the Iberian peninsula and part of North Africa, from the city of Córdoba, from 929 to 1031. This period was characterized by remarkable success in trade and culture; many of the masterpieces of Islamic Iberia were constructed in this period, including the famous...
in 1003 A.D. at Torà.
Festivals
- La festa major (the main festival of the town) on 1 September, the feast day of Sant Gil (Saint GilesSaint GilesSaint Giles was a Greek Christian hermit saint from Athens, whose legend is centered in Provence and Septimania. The tomb in the abbey Giles was said to have founded, in St-Gilles-du-Gard, became a place of pilgrimage and a stop on the road that led from Arles to Santiago de Compostela, the...
, the patron saintPatron saintA patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
of Torà, extended to the first weekend of that month. - La Festa del Brut i la Bruta (the street party of He-brute and She-brute), in the weekend previous to the annual Carnestoltes (carnivalCarnivalCarnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
). - La festa del Roser (RoseRoseA rose is a woody perennial of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae. There are over 100 species. They form a group of erect shrubs, and climbing or trailing plants, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Flowers are large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows...
bush Festival), in May. - Revetlles populars de barri (neighborhood street verbenasVerbena (fair)In Spanish-speaking cultures, a verbena is a country fair, modest amusement park, or a dance party, especially one held at night. An old tradition, they usually take place after dark in the summer...
, country fairs) in the beginning of the summer, after la Revetlla de Sant Joan (St. John's EveSt. John's EveThe evening of June 23, St John's Eve, is the eve of celebration before the Feast Day of St John the Baptist. The Gospel of Luke states that John was born about six months before Jesus, therefore the feast of John the Baptist was fixed on June 21~24, six months before Christmas...
on midsummer).
Main sights
Municipal constructions
- Plaça del Vall (Valley's Square), the Main Square
- Plaça de la Font (Fountain's Square), in the nucleus
- Font dels Dolors (a public fountain), 200m from the nucleus
- Casa de la Vila (the City Hall), a previous hospital located in Plaça del Vall
- Museu del Pa (local Bread Museum)
- Cementiri (the town's cemeteryCemeteryA cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
) - Aqüeducte dels Frares (aqueductAqueductAn aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel constructed to convey water. In modern engineering, the term is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures used for this purpose....
of the frays) behind Casa Farguell in the place known as Camí dels Tísics. Built with blindBlind archA blind arch is an arch found in the wall of a building which has been infilled with solid construction so it cannot serve as a passageway, door, or window. The term is most often associated with masonry wall construction, but is also found in other types of construction such as light frame...
round archArchAn arch is a structure that spans a space and supports a load. Arches appeared as early as the 2nd millennium BC in Mesopotamian brick architecture and their systematic use started with the Ancient Romans who were the first to apply the technique to a wide range of structures.-Technical aspects:The...
es, 120m remaining - Pont de les Merites de Torà (ancient stone bridge) nearby the cemetery, with a round arch
- Pontet del Diable also called Pontet de la Sentiu, the remains of an aqueduct part of Rec del Moriquers also called Rec d'Ivorra, an acequiaAcequiaAn acequia or séquia is a community-operated waterway used in Spain and former Spanish colonies in the Americas for irrigation. Particularly in Spain, the Andes, northern Mexico, and the modern-day American Southwest, acequias are usually historically engineered canals that carry snow runoff or...
(a community-operated waterwayWaterwayA waterway is any navigable body of water. Waterways can include rivers, lakes, seas, oceans, and canals. In order for a waterway to be navigable, it must meet several criteria:...
) started in 1366, in use until 1920. Outside the town toward the South - Pou del Gel (an ancient ice well)
Military constructions and buildings
- Castell de l'Aguda (castle): in l'Aguda de Torà (ruins, expoliated)
- Torre de Vallferosa (fortified watchtowerWatchtowerA watchtower is a type of fortification used in many parts of the world. It differs from a regular tower in that its primary use is military, and from a turret in that it is usually a freestanding structure. Its main purpose is to provide a high, safe place from which a sentinel or guard may...
): in Vallferosa (highly restored) - Casa Castell de Llanera (castle-house): in Llanera (fortified manor house, very damaged, expoliated)
Romanesque architecture
- Monestir de Sant Celdoni i Sant Ermenter de Cellers (monastery): with three crossing apseApseIn architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
s and a crypt, in Cellers - Església de Claret (church), 12th century (highly reformed)
- Església de Sant Miquel (church): in Fontanet
- Església de Santa Maria de Llanera (church): in Llanera (expoliated)
- Església de Sant Salvador (church): in l'Aguda de Torà
Jewish legacy
- Antic call jueu de Torà (the former Jewish quarterJewish quarter (diaspora)In the Jewish Diaspora, a Jewish quarter is the area of a city traditionally inhabited by Jews. Jewish quarters, like the Jewish ghettos in Europe, were often the outgrowths of segregated ghettos instituted by the surrounding Christian authorities. A Yiddish term for a Jewish quarter or...
): in Torà's central nucleus
- Location: Carrer Nou, with access through two portals: Portal Nou at Plaça del Pati (CourtyardCourtyardA court or courtyard is an enclosed area, often a space enclosed by a building that is open to the sky. These areas in inns and public buildings were often the primary meeting places for some purposes, leading to the other meanings of court....
's Square), and a portal at Plaça de l'Església (Church's Square)
Other monumental buildings
- Convent de Sant Anatoni de Pàdua (a conventConventA convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
devoted to Saint Anthony of PaduaAnthony of PaduaAnthony of Padua or Anthony of Lisbon, O.F.M., was a Portuguese Catholic priest and friar of the Franciscan Order. Though he died in Padua, Italy, he was born to a wealthy family in Lisbon, Portugal, which is where he was raised...
), built between 1697 to 1747 - L'Hostal (hostal), still in use
- Església de Santa Maria (church): in Vallferosa (expoliated)
Communications
Torà is along the county road C-1412. Coming from BalaguerBalaguer
Balaguer is the capital of the comarca of Noguera, in the province of Lleida, Catalonia, Spain.It is located by the river Segre, a tributary to the Ebre....
, C-1313 towards La Seu d'Urgell
La Seu d'Urgell
La Seu d'Urgell is a town located in the Catalan Pyrenees in Spain. La Seu d'Urgell is also the capital of the comarca Alt Urgell, head of the judicial district of la Seu d'Urgell and the seat of Bishop of Urgell, one of the Andorra co-princes...
until Ponts and then, the road C-1412 towards Calaf
Calaf
Calaf is the main town in the northern portion of the comarca of the Anoia inCatalonia, Spain, situated on the Calaf Plain. The town holds an important an important weekly livestock market....
.
Coming from Cervera
Cervera
Cervera is the capital of the comarca of Segarra, in the province of Lleida, Catalonia, Spain. The title Compte de Cervera is a courtesy title, formerly part of the Crown of Aragon, that has been revived for Felipe, Prince of Asturias....
, the national road N-141, then the local road LV-3003.
Demographics
See also
- Battle of ToràBattle of ToràThe Battle of Torà was a defensive battle of the Reconquista, fought between an alliance of Catalonian counts and an army of the Caliphate of Córdoba in 1003 at Torà, Lleida. The main source for the battle is Andrew of Fleury, who probably received his information, which is detailed and generally...
- Battle of AlbesaBattle of AlbesaThe Battle of Albesa was a follow-up to the Battle of Torà that took place 25 February 1003 at Albesa, near Balaguer, between the united Christian forces of Catalonia and the Islamic forces of the Caliphate of Córdoba...
- GuissonaGuissonaGuissona is a town and municipality located in the North of the comarca of Segarra, in the province of Lleida, Catalonia, Spain. With 6,145 inhabitants Guissona is the principal municipality in the Northern half of Segarra and the second most populated in the county after Cervera...
(closest town to Torà, some 10 km away Southwest.)
External links
- http://www.viladetora.net/images/pdf/p-tora.pdf, map of the town of Torà, the nuclear population place.
- http://www.viladetora.net/images/pdf/p-nuclis.pdf, map of the municipality of Torà with all the population places.
- Torà .cat, Torà's Town Council's Website.
- Turisme Segarra .com /pobles /Torà (portal de la Segarra a Internet), article with some detailed information about Torà published in the County's Tourism Website.
- Lleidatur .com /cultura jueva article about the Jewish legacy in Torà published in the Province's Tourism Administration's Official Website.
- Lleida .com /municipis, a borough's database.
- APACTorà (Associació del Patrimoni Artístic i Cultural de Torà), a local cultural association.
- Vila de Torà .net, a local popular website.
- Llobregós .net, a website devoted to the Llobregós River Natural Place.
- Vegueries .com Routes: Walk along the town of Torà, article describing Torà's hallmarks of touristic interest published in the website of a private society specialized in information of touristic interest about routes and places in Catalonia.
- Vegueries .com Routes: Torà de Riubregós, a few data about Torà published in the website of a private society specialized in information of touristic interest about routes and places in Catalonia.
- Vegueries .com Routes: Vallferosa (locality in the municipality of Torà), brief description of Vallferosa (Torà) published in the website of a private society specialized in information of touristic interest about routes and places in Catalonia.
- Vegueries .com Routes: "Medieval" bridges: Torà (Le Merite), brief description of an ancient bridge in Torà (17th to 18th centuries) published in the website of a private society specialized in information of touristic interest about routes and places in Catalonia.