Ciutadilla is a village and municipality in the

comarca A ''comarca'' (, or , or ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, ...

Urgell Modern-day Urgell (), also known as ''Baix Urgell'' (''baix'' meaning "lower", by contrast with Alt Urgell "Higher Urgell"), is a ''comarca'' (county) in Catalonia, Spain, forming only a borderland portion of the region historically known as Ur ...

in Catalonia, Spain. Its population in 2013 was 209. The village, the only settlement in the municipality, is situated on a hill close to where the Montblanc-to-

Tàrrega Tàrrega is a town and municipality located in the Urgell comarca, Province of Lleida, Catalonia. According to the 2020 census ( Statistical Institute of Catalonia), the town has a population of 17,445. The village has a Mediterranean climate wi ...

highway crosses the Corb river. Its ruined castle occupies a commanding position overlooking not just the village but also the plains of Urgell and

Segarra Segarra () is a Comarques of Catalonia, comarca (county) in Autonomous Community of Catalonia, Catalonia, Spain, situated on a high plain. Historically, the name referred to a larger area than the current comarca. It has a continental climate, wi ...

. Many of the buildings in the village serve as

holiday home A holiday cottage, holiday home, vacation home, or vacation property is accommodation used for holiday vacations, corporate travel, and temporary housing often for less than 30 days. Such properties are typically small homes, such as cottage ...

Economy

The municipality's economy depends largely on agriculture, mainly non-irrigated

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley p ...

and other grains,

vine A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themsel ...

s, olives, and almonds, as well as

pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus ...

- and

poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for their eggs, their meat or their feathers. These birds are most typically members of the superorder Galloanserae (fowl), especially the order Galliformes (which includes chickens, quails, ...

-farming.

History

Ciutadilla village developed around its castle, and spread downhill. The castle is mentioned in extant 12th-century documents, and was significantly improved in the 16th century. It was badly damaged during the

First Carlist War The First Carlist War was a civil war in Spain from 1833 to 1840, the first of three Carlist Wars. It was fought between two factions over the succession to the throne and the nature of the Spanish monarchy: the conservative and devolutionist ...

in 1835, and fell into ruins after that. The municipality's population reached a peak of 872 in 1887, but has since steadily declined with the rest of the region to 209 in 2013. Many archaeological remains from the Iberic,

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

periods have been found in the municipality.

Culture

The main festivals in Ciutadilla are that of

Saint Roch Roch (lived c. 1348 – 15/16 August 1376/79 (traditionally c. 1295 – 16 August 1327, also called Rock in English, is a Catholic saint, a confessor whose death is commemorated on 16 August and 9 September in Italy; he is especially invoked a ...

on the second weekend of August, and its patron saint

Saint Michael Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...

on 29 September.

References

External links

Official website

Government data pages
{{Authority control Municipalities in Urgell Populated places in Urgell