Vilafranca del Penedès
Encyclopedia
Vilafranca del Penedès, or simply Vilafranca, is the capital of the comarca
of the Alt Penedès
in Catalonia
, Spain
. The Spanish
spelling of the name, Villafranca del Penedés, is no longer in official use. It is situated in the Penedès Depression on the left bank of the Foix River
, and on the main
axis of communication from Barcelona
to Valencia
, served by a RENFE
railway line (L4) and by the AP-7 autopista as well as by the C-243 and C-244 roads to Vilanova i la Geltrú
and Igualada
respectively.
, which had been
until then the main local centre. It was established as the seat of a vegueria
in 1304. The Corts
were held in
the town in 1218 under King James I of Aragon
, and again in 1358–59 and in 1367. King Peter III of Aragon
died while staying at the royal palace in Vilafranca in 1285.
historic town centre. The latter building from the thirteenth century houses the town museum, with collections of
archeology, paleontology
, ornithology
, ceramic
s and sacred art
, and a Museum of Wine (Museu del Vi).
Other notable monuments include the church of Sant Joan, the convent
of Sant Francesc and a number of old merchant's
houses such as the Palau del Fraret, the Casal dels Gomà and the Casal del Marquès d'Alfarràs.
industry, along with neighbouring Sant Sadurní d'Anoia
. Other local industries include textile
s, metallurgy
, food processing
and construction materials. It is also an important commercial
centre.
Vilafranca is also the birth-place of the Penedesenca
fowl, famous for their chocolate-coloured eggs.
, aided by its
excellent transport links and by the strength of the local economy (particularly the wine industry).
s as of 2005):
to Canyelles
and Vilanova i la Geltrú
, and from Mataró
to Vilassar de Mar
and Argentona
. Between 1921 and 1923 the RMCC ran the Penya Rhin Grand Prix
over a 9 mile circuit around the town of Vilafranca del Penedès until it was replaced by a short lived purpose built circuit, the Sitges Terramar
.
Comarques of Catalonia
This is a list of the comarques of Catalonia . A comarca is roughly equivalent to a US "county" or a UK "district". However, in the context of Catalonia, the term "county" can be a bit misleading, because in medieval Catalonia, the most important rulers were counts, notably the Counts of Barcelona...
of the Alt Penedès
Alt Penedès
Alt Penedès is a comarca in Catalonia, northern Spain. The capital is Vilafranca del Penedès.-Municipalities:*Avinyonet del Penedès - pop. 1334*Les Cabanyes - pop. 603*Castellet i la Gornal - pop. 1562*Castellví de la Marca - pop. 1497...
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
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 Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
spelling of the name, Villafranca del Penedés, is no longer in official use. It is situated in the Penedès Depression on the left bank of the Foix River
Foix River
The Foix is a river in Catalonia, northeastern Spain. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea at Vilanova i la Geltrú.- See also :* List of rivers of Spain...
, and on the main
axis of communication from 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...
to Valencia
Valencia (city in Spain)
Valencia or València is the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third largest city in Spain, with a population of 809,267 in 2010. It is the 15th-most populous municipality in the European Union...
, served by a RENFE
RENFE
Renfe Operadora is the state-owned company which operates freight and passenger trains on the 1668-mm "Iberian gauge" and 1435-mm "European gauge" networks of the Spanish national railway infrastructure company ADIF .- History :The name RENFE is derived from that of the former Spanish National...
railway line (L4) and by the AP-7 autopista as well as by the C-243 and C-244 roads to Vilanova i la Geltrú
Vilanova i la Geltrú
Vilanova i la Geltrú is a city in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain and the capital of the Garraf comarca. Originally a fishing port, the city has a growing population of approximately 66,000, and is situated 40 km south-west of Barcelona, with the more famous coastal resort of...
and Igualada
Igualada
Igualada is a municipality of the province of Barcelona in Catalonia . It is located on the left bank of the Anoia river, and at the western end of the Igualada-Martorell-Barcelona railway. Igualada is the capital and central market of the Anoia comarca, a rich agricultural and wine-producing...
respectively.
History
The town was founded in the middle of the 12th century as a result of the decline of OlèrdolaOlèrdola
Olèrdola is a municipality in the comarca of the Alt Penedès in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated on the northern side of the Garraf massif, and the highest point of the municipality is the Puig de l'Àliga at 468 m....
, which had been
until then the main local centre. It was established as the seat of a vegueria
Vegueria
The vegueria was the feudal administrative territorial jurisdiction of the Principality of Catalonia during the Middle Ages and into the Modern Era until the Nueva Planta decrees of 1716...
in 1304. The Corts
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
were held in
the town in 1218 under King James I of Aragon
James I of Aragon
James I the Conqueror was the King of Aragon, Count of Barcelona, and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276...
, and again in 1358–59 and in 1367. King Peter III of Aragon
Peter III of Aragon
Peter the Great was the King of Aragon of Valencia , and Count of Barcelona from 1276 to his death. He conquered Sicily and became its king in 1282. He was one of the greatest of medieval Aragonese monarchs.-Youth and succession:Peter was the eldest son of James I of Aragon and his second wife...
died while staying at the royal palace in Vilafranca in 1285.
Main sights
The gothic church of Santa Maria and the royal palace (Palau Reial) are situated in thehistoric town centre. The latter building from the thirteenth century houses the town museum, with collections of
archeology, paleontology
Paleontology
Paleontology "old, ancient", ὄν, ὀντ- "being, creature", and λόγος "speech, thought") is the study of prehistoric life. It includes the study of fossils to determine organisms' evolution and interactions with each other and their environments...
, ornithology
Ornithology
Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and the aesthetic appeal of birds...
, ceramic
Ceramic
A ceramic is an inorganic, nonmetallic solid prepared by the action of heat and subsequent cooling. Ceramic materials may have a crystalline or partly crystalline structure, or may be amorphous...
s and sacred art
Sacred art
Sacred art is imagery intended to uplift the mind to the spiritual. Sacred art involves the ritual and cultic practices and practical and operative aspects of the path of the spiritual realization within the bosom of the tradition in question....
, and a Museum of Wine (Museu del Vi).
Other notable monuments include the church of Sant Joan, the convent
Convent
A 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...
of Sant Francesc and a number of old merchant's
houses such as the Palau del Fraret, the Casal dels Gomà and the Casal del Marquès d'Alfarràs.
Economy
Vilafranca is a centre for the local winePenedès
Penedès is a natural and historical region of the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain. It is located in the south of the Principality of Catalonia between the pre-coastal mountain range and the Mediterranean sea...
industry, along with neighbouring Sant Sadurní d'Anoia
Sant Sadurní d'Anoia
Sant Sadurní d'Anoia is a municipality in the comarca of the Alt Penedès in Spain, and the centre of production of a sparkling wine known as cava. It is situated in the north-east of the Penedès Depression at the confluence of the Avernó river and the Anoia river...
. Other local industries include textile
Textile
A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...
s, metallurgy
Metallurgy
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. It is also the technology of metals: the way in which science is applied to their practical use...
, food processing
Food processing
Food processing is the set of methods and techniques used to transform raw ingredients into food or to transform food into other forms for consumption by humans or animals either in the home or by the food processing industry...
and construction materials. It is also an important commercial
centre.
Vilafranca is also the birth-place of the Penedesenca
Penedesenca
The Penedesenca is a breed of chicken originating in the Spanish province of Catalonia, in the area around Vilafranca del Penedès, which is the main town in the region known as "Penedès"...
fowl, famous for their chocolate-coloured eggs.
Demography
Vilafranca del Penedès has grown steadily at the expense of the more rural areas of Alt PenedèsAlt Penedès
Alt Penedès is a comarca in Catalonia, northern Spain. The capital is Vilafranca del Penedès.-Municipalities:*Avinyonet del Penedès - pop. 1334*Les Cabanyes - pop. 603*Castellet i la Gornal - pop. 1562*Castellví de la Marca - pop. 1497...
, aided by its
excellent transport links and by the strength of the local economy (particularly the wine industry).
Subdivisions
Four outlying villages are included within the municipality of Vilafranca del Penedès (populationPopulation
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
s as of 2005):
- El Bordellet (9)
- El Molí d'en Rovira (166)
- Perepau (87)
- Les Salines (85)
Motor racing history
Vilafranca del Penedès is part of the long history of motor racing in Catalonia, from 1908-1920 events were staged over public roads from SitgesSitges
*Church of Sant Bartolomeu i Santa Tecla . It houses two Gothic sepulchres , belonging to the an older church located on the same site...
to Canyelles
Lloret de Mar
Lloret de Mar is a Mediterranean coastal town in Catalonia and one of the most popular holiday resorts on the Costa Brava. It is 40 kilometres from Girona and 75 kilometres from Barcelona and therefore easily accessible...
and Vilanova i la Geltrú
Vilanova i la Geltrú
Vilanova i la Geltrú is a city in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain and the capital of the Garraf comarca. Originally a fishing port, the city has a growing population of approximately 66,000, and is situated 40 km south-west of Barcelona, with the more famous coastal resort of...
, and from Mataró
Mataró
Mataró is the capital and largest city of the comarca of the Maresme, in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia Autonomous Community, Spain. It is located on the Costa del Maresme, to the south of Costa Brava, between Cabrera de Mar and Sant Andreu de Llavaneres, to the north-east of Barcelona. , it...
to Vilassar de Mar
Vilassar de Mar
Vilassar de Mar is a municipality in the comarca of the Maresme in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated on the coast between Premià de Mar and Cabrera de Mar, to the north-east of Barcelona. The town is both a tourist centre and a dormitory town for Barcelona, and is also known for its horticulture...
and Argentona
Argentona
Argentona is a municipality in the comarca of the Maresme inCatalonia, Spain. It is situated on the south-east side of the granite Litoral range, to the north-west ofMataró. The town is both a tourist centre and a notable horticultural centre...
. Between 1921 and 1923 the RMCC ran the Penya Rhin Grand Prix
Penya Rhin Grand Prix
The Penya Rhin Grand Prix was a Grand Prix motor racing event staged at the three different circuits in three different eras in Spain. The race was held intermittently over its history, sometimes for full-size Grand Prix cars, sometimes for sports cars. In the 1920s, it was held at a street circuit...
over a 9 mile circuit around the town of Vilafranca del Penedès until it was replaced by a short lived purpose built circuit, the Sitges Terramar
Sitges Terramar
The Sitges Terramar is a former racing circuit located between Sant Pere de Ribes and Sitges near Barcelona, Catalonia. Although minor races were sporadically held on the circuit through the 1950s, it was largely abandoned after the inaugural season of 1923...
.
External links
- Official website
- Vilafranca del Penedés city map
- Information from the Generalitat de CatalunyaGeneralitat de CatalunyaThe Generalitat of Catalonia is the institution under which the autonomous community of Catalonia is politically organised. It consists of the Parliament, the President of the Generalitat of Catalonia and the Government of Catalonia....
- Information from the Institut d'Estadística de CatalunyaInstitut d'Estadística de CatalunyaThe Institut d'Estadística de Catalunya is the official body responsible for collecting and publishing statistics in the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain. It is under the responsibility of the Department of the Economy and Finances of the Generalitat de Catalunya.-External links:*...