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Catalunya (Cataluña)
The marriage of Count Ramón Berenguer IV to Petronila of Aragon in 1137 brought these counties under the Aragonese crown, although Catalonia retained extensive privileges in this federation of semi-autonomous principalities.
Catalan maritime power soon dominated the Mediterranean, bringing Aragon overseas possessions in Italy and Greece. The former Aragonese flag now flies over the Catalan autonomous community The French continued to play an important role in Catalan affairs, acquiring the Catalan counties north of the Pyrenees in 1659.
Catalan autonomy reemerged during the second Spanish republic (1931-36), when the region was allowed its own president and parliament.  The Generalitat, as the government of the autonomous community is called, was reestablished in 1977 after the Franco dictatorship.
Once the lingua franca of the Mediterranean, the Catalan language was suppressed in the 18th century, and banned completely under Franco.
Olive grove near Poblet   A Romance language similar to the Provençal of southern France, Catalan is making a comeback, and is spoken by about a quarter of the Spanish population, concentrated in Catalonia and Valencia. Barbera de la Conca, near Santes Creus
We took a break from Barcelona for a day to visit a few nearby Catalan monasteries. On the road to Montserrat Tarragona and Tortosa were stops on our drive down the coast to Valencia.

View of the valley below Montserrat

Montserrat

 Plaça de la Creu
Dating from at least the 9th century, the Abadía de Montserrat is home to La Moreneta, a small wooden statue of the Virgin which was declared patroness of Catalonia in 1881.
The basilica's inner facade was rebuilt in 1900

Tomb near the basilica entrance

 Behind the basilica Gothic cloister next to the basilica Another view of the cloisters

Ceiling of the inner courtyard cloister
The French destroyed the monastery in 1811, during the Peninsular War, but it was rebuilt by 1844.  Montserrat served as a beacon of Catalan culture during the Franco years.
Inner courtyard of the basilica Basilica interior

Approaching the monastery

Poblet UNESCO World Heritage List

 Cross in front of the abbey church
  Monestir de Poblet  
Above the monastery cloisters

Gothic cloisters

 The Monestir de Poblet was the first of a series of three sister monasteries — known as the "Cistercian triangle" — built after the reconquest of Catalonia from the Moors. View of the cloister well from the second storey

Monastery well
Poblet was founded in 1151 by Ramón Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona. Laura at the abbey church In 1137, Berenguer married Petronila, niece of the Aragonese king.
Their son, King Alfonso II of Aragon, was the first monarch to be buried at Poblet, which was designated an Aragonese "royal pantheon" at the end of the 14th century.
Stairway to the royal palace

Inside the chapterhouse

 Another view of the cloisters Royal gate

The high-altar reredos in the abbey church dates from 1527
The French desecrated the monastery in 1812, and it was further plundered during the Carlist upheavals in 1835.  Restoration began in 1930, and the monks returned in 1940.
Remains of the royal palace Royal tombs inside the abbey church

Craig at Santes Creus

Santes Creus

 The Assumpta Portal leads into Sant Bernat square
The Monestir de Santes Creus, perhaps the prettiest of the "Cistercian triangle" monasteries, was established on its present site in 1168.  Its Gothic cloisters were decorated during the reign of King Jaime II, who was buried here in 1327.
The square is named for Sant Bernat Calvó, whose statue adorns the fountain Unfortunately, the monastery was closed on the day we came to visit, so we only got to wander around outside. A sundial and Romanesque gargoyles adorn the church
  The entrance into the monastery was, unfortunately, closed  
Craig was a bit disappointed to find that the monastery was closed View of Santes Creus from across the river

Roman amphitheater

Tarragona UNESCO World Heritage List

 Craig on William Jennings Bryant street
Tarraco served as the base for the  Roman conquest of the peninsula in the 3rd century BC.
Cathedral yard

Sculptures flanking the cathedral doors

   Roman statue outside the archaeological museum  

Steps outside the cathedral

Inside the cathedral cloisters
It became the most important city in Roman Hispania, capital of Tarraconensis province.
Its Roman ruins include an amphitheater, aqueduct, and early Christian cemetery.
  Cathedral cloisters  
The 12th-century cathedral is built on the site of a Roman temple dedicated to Jupiter. Left entrance to the cathedral Cathedral entrance from the cloisters Right entrance to the cathedral Later, the Moors erected a mosque here.  Alas, the church was closed for siesta when we visited.
Tarragona ajuntament (town hall) More recently, Tarragona was repressed for a 1640 revolt, and sacked by the French in 1811. Palau de la Família Castellarnau
  House on del Roser street  

Tortosa
The old Moorish castle, known as La Zuda, is now a "parador" hotel   View of the cathedral and Ebro River from the parador   Río Ebro, with a monument to the Nationalist victory in the Spanish Civil War
Tortosa occupies a strategic location at a crossing point of the Río Ebro — the river which gave the peninsula its name.
The Moors, who held the city from the late 8th century until 1148, built a castle above the city, which now houses a hotel. Cathedral entrance
Romanesque carving in the cathedral cloisters   Cathedral facade  
Inside the cathedral cloisters Work began on the cathedral in 1347, built on the foundations of a 10th-century mosque. Another view of the cathedral cloisters Tortosa was badly damaged during one of the fiercest battles of the Spanish Civil War. Evidently, the cloisters were remodeled in 1868

A Brief History of the
Spanish Civil War
By the early 20th century, Spanish society had become divided over the role of the church, distribution of wealth, and need for democratic reforms.  Some regions, like Catalonia and the Basque Country, demanded more autonomy.
When the king, Alfonso XIII, abdicated in 1931, the new republican government proposed widespread reforms, such as redistributing land to the peasants, restructuring the military, and reducing the power of the church.
Right-wing opponents, including monarchists and the fascist "Falange" party, plotted the overthrow of the Second Republic, while the Spanish left — including socialists, Marxists, and anarchists — contemplated revolution when conservative parties won the elections of 1933.  Tensions came to a head after the left-wing Popular Front narrowly won victory in February 1936.
The military coup launched in July 1936 was welcomed in many parts of the country, but Madrid held out against the rebels, as did Barcelona, Valencia, and other cities.  Both sides received foreign support, and the Civil War became a proving ground for Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy to test their strength against forces backed by the USSR.  The Western powers, however, were represented only by "International Brigades" of volunteers for the Republican cause.
The better-organized and equipped Nationalists held the upper hand, forcing the Republican government to retreat to Valencia in 1936, then to Barcelona in 1937.  The Nationalist victory was complete by early 1939, and their leader, Generalísimo Franco, ruled Spain as a dictator until his death in 1975.

This page was first published 30 May 2004, and last updated 08 March 2005.