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| The Grandma visits Garraf Natural Park |
Claire Fontaine & The Grandma has visited El Garraf, a wonderful county near Barcelona where you can find six unforgettable towns with strong personality, old history, many cultural events, amazing natural landscapes and nice inhabitants.
Last summer, The Grandma also visited the Garraf Astronomical Observatory with Joseph de Ca'th Lon who knows this zone perfectly and who studies another kind of population which lives in this zone, the Peregrine Falcon.
Before arriving by train to Vilanova i la Geltrú, the capital of the county, The Grandma has studied a new lesson of her Elementary Language Practice manual (Vocabulary 16).
More information: Vocabulary 16-Useful Things
Vilanova i la Geltrú is a city in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia and the capital of the Garraf county. Historically a fishing port, the city has a growing population of approximately 66,000, and is situated 40 km south-west of Barcelona.
The town has a long history, and experienced an efflorescence during the Romantic period evidenced by a wealth of opulent 19th century buildings. The atmospheric town square, the Plaça de la Vila, and many of its iconic public buildings were principally financed by Josep Tomàs Ventosa Soler (1797-1874) a textile magnate who made his fortune in Cuba. A monument featuring a bronze statue of Ventosa stands in the center of the square. An identical monument stands in Matanzas, Cuba, where both statues were forged.
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| Claire Fontaine in Plaça de la Vila, Vilanova i la Geltrú |
During the dictatorship, large numbers of people fleeing poverty in Southern Spain settled in Vilanova. They are sometimes referred to by historians as fugitives of fascism. Although they experienced prejudice they became increasingly accepted and known as els altres Vilanovins or the other Vilanovins.
By 1970, a majority of the town's population had been born elsewhere. In the first decade of the 21st century, there was another wave of immigrants, called nouvinguts or newcomers locally, this time primarily from North Africa, South America and Eastern Europe.
Located 46 km from Barcelona and 44 km from Tarragona, it has the third largest port of Catalonia and is a major fishing port. The Brotherhood of Pescadors of Vilanova derives from the powerful and ancient Brotherhood of Sant Elm, founded in 1579.
And it is through participating in local festivals that Vilanovins, whether natives or recently arrived newcomers, intensify their sense of belonging to a community dedicated to active engagement between neighbors or convivència (coexistence).
More information: Vilanova Turisme
Canyelles is a town in the northeast of the Garraf county in the south of Barcelona province, Catalonia. It is home to a 15th-century castle.
Main festivals in Canyelles include Xatonada Popula, Festa Major de Canyelles (July 22), Petit Festa Major (September 10), and Fira de Santa Llúcia (1st Sunday in December).
More information: Garraf Turisme
Cubelles is a municipality in Catalonia, in the province of Barcelona. It is situated in the county of Garraf.
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| Visiting Canyelles and Cubelles Castles, Garraf |
Josep Andreu i Lasserre (April 23, 1896-July 26, 1983), best known as Charlie Rivel, was an internationally known Catalan circus clown who was born in Cubelles. His parents Pere Andreu Pausas (Catalan) and Marie-Louise Lasarre (Occitan) were circus artists as well.
He debuted at the age of three and formed the group Los Rivels with his brothers Polo Rivel and René Rivel. He took his artistic first name from Charlie Chaplin whom he encountered first in 1910. Each respected the other. Legend has it that Chaplin later asked him: Is it you who imitate me or I who imitate you? He later discovered his definitive routine, featuring a chair, a guitar and a long jersey.
In 1971, he appeared in Federico Fellini's film Clowns.
The Charlie Rivel Hall in Cubelles is a museum dedicated to him.
More information: Garraf Turisme
Sant Pere de Ribes is a town in the center of the Garraf county, in Barcelona province, Catalonia. The remains of a 12th-century castle once ruled by the troubadour Guillem de Ribes are in the town.
Main festivals include: Festa Major de Sant Pere (June 29), Festa Major de Sant Pau (January 25), Festa Major de Santa Eulàlia (February 12) and Festa Major de Sant Joan (June 24).
More information: Enric Sagnier
Olivella is a municipality in Catalonia, in the province of Barcelona. It is situated in the county of Garraf.
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| Visiting Sant Pere de Ribes and Olivella, Garraf |
The first known village in the area was founded in 992 around a castle known as Castell vell.
The inhabitants lived off dryland agriculture. This initial nucleus was almost abandoned after the black plague caused numerous deaths. The area was resettled in the 14th century and gradually prospered. Nowadays there are some new housing developments in the area as well as the Sakya Tashi Ling. Buddhist monastery, located in Plana Novella.
The inhabitants lived off dryland agriculture. This initial nucleus was almost abandoned after the black plague caused numerous deaths. The area was resettled in the 14th century and gradually prospered. Nowadays there are some new housing developments in the area as well as the Sakya Tashi Ling. Buddhist monastery, located in Plana Novella.
The village is located in the Garraf Massif, in a natural park area, not far from Barcelona.
More information: Meet Up
Sitges is a town about 35 kilometres southwest of Barcelona, in Catalonia, renowned worldwide for its Film Festival and Carnival. Located between the Garraf Massif and the sea, it is known for its beaches, nightspots, and historical sites. There are 17 beaches.
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| Visiting Sitges, Garraf |
While the roots of Sitges' artistic reputation date back to the late 19th century, when Catalan painter Santiago Rusiñol took up residence there during the summer, the town became a centre for the 1960s counterculture in mainland Spain, in Francoist Spain, and became known as Ibiza in miniature.
Sitges has been
referred to as the Saint-Tropez of Catalonia, with property prices
approaching those of the most expensive European cities, the main reason
for this being the setting by the sea and the surrounding Parc Natural del Garraf.
Almost 35% of the approximately 26,000 permanent inhabitants are from the Netherlands, the UK, France and Scandinavia, whose children attend international schools in the area.
Human presence in the area dates to at least the Neolithic area, and an Iberian settlement from the 4th century. In the 1st century BC it included two separated villages, later absorbed by the Romans.
During the Middle Ages, a castle was built in Sitges, owned by the bishopric of Barcelona, which later ceded it to count Mir Geribert (1041). In the 12th century the town fell under the rule of the Sitges family. The latter held it until 1308, when Agnes of Sitges sold the town to Bernat de Fonollar, after whose death it went to the Pia Almoina, a charitable institution, to which it belonged until 1814.
More information: Visit Sitges
A national park is not a playground.
It's a sanctuary for nature and for humans
who will accept nature on nature's own terms.
Michael Frome
