El Fonoll ("the

fennel Fennel (''Foeniculum vulgare'') is a flowering plant species in the carrot family. It is a hardy, perennial herb with yellow flowers and feathery leaves. It is indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean but has become widely naturalized ...

" in

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

) is a

naturist village A naturist resort or nudist resort is an establishment that provides accommodation (or at least camping space) and other amenities for guests in a context where they are invited to practise naturism – that is, a lifestyle of non-sexual soci ...

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

, Spain, situated in the inland

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, ...

Conca de Barberà Conca de Barberà () is a comarca (county) in the province of Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. Its total area is . At its creation in 1936, it contained 23 municipalities, but in 1990, several of these were amalgamated; Rojals was combined with Mon ...

. The village is ancient, and had fallen into ruins before being restored and turned into a naturist resort around the year 2000.

History

El Fonoll has been mentioned in writings going back as far as 1305. The village originally contained a castle, of which no trace remains, and a small church dedicated to

St. Blaise Blaise of Sebaste ( hy, Սուրբ Վլասի, ''Surb Vlasi''; el, Ἅγιος Βλάσιος, ''Agios Vlasios''; ) was a physician and bishop of Sebastea in historical Armenia (modern Sivas, Turkey) who is venerated as a Christian saint and m ...

, built between the 10th and 12th centuries, which contains some unique architectural features and has remained in good condition. The village fell into disuse, and its buildings into ruins, during the 20th century, and the entire area, including over 150 hectares of surrounding land, was eventually bought by

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

businessman Emili Vives in 1995, with the intention of restoring it and turning it into a naturist centre. During the construction, Vives met with much obstruction from local and regional officials, but persisted with the project and succeeded in rebuilding almost all of the buildings, using the original

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

blocks.

The village today

El Fonoll is situated in an isolated forested river valley cutting through the surrounding grain-farming plateau region, and there is an extensive network of tracks winding through the adjoining forested hillsides and abandoned fields and terraces. It is connected by road to the village of Passanant and by track to

Vallfogona de Riucorb Vallfogona de Riucorb () is a municipality and village in the ''comarca'' of the Conca de Barberà in central Catalonia, Spain. It is situated in the Comalats range in the north of the ''comarca'', with the Cap de Cans rising to 759 m. Vallfo ...

, both about 5 km away. The village has no access restrictions for people passing through, but there are signs at the boundaries of the lands asking visitors to remove their clothes if possible and not to

smoke Smoke is a suspension of airborne particulates and gases emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwanted by-product ...

or use cameras. The village sources much of its food from its own

organic Organic may refer to: * Organic, of or relating to an organism, a living entity * Organic, of or relating to an anatomical organ Chemistry * Organic matter, matter that has come from a once-living organism, is capable of decay or is the product ...

plots, and generates its own electricity using

wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each year. ...

s and

solar panel A solar cell panel, solar electric panel, photo-voltaic (PV) module, PV panel or solar panel is an assembly of photovoltaic solar cells mounted in a (usually rectangular) frame, and a neatly organised collection of PV panels is called a photo ...

s. Accommodation is provided for about 200 people, both long-term residents and holiday visitors. Options include a

camping Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more nat ...

and

caravan Caravan or caravans may refer to: Transport and travel *Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together **Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop *Camel train, a convoy using camels as pack animals *Convoy, a group of veh ...

area, apartments in the restored buildings, and several isolated stone cabins scattered throughout the lands. The Catalan Naturism Club has the use of a building in the village for its activities and accommodation. Facilities available to residents and guests include a shop, a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism m ...

cafeteria A cafeteria, sometimes called a canteen outside the U.S., is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school ...

, a

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

, a

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...

, sports pitches,

picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors ( ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event such as preceding ...

and

barbecue Barbecue or barbeque (informally BBQ in the UK, US, and Canada, barbie in Australia and braai in South Africa) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that use live fire and smoke t ...

areas, and regular organised activities such as sports, entertainment, and courses and conferences related to alternative living. The communally prepared Sunday

paella Paella (, , , , , ) is a rice dish originally from Valencian Community, Valencia. While non-Spaniards commonly view it as Spain's national dish, Spaniards almost unanimously consider it to be a dish from the Valencian community, Valencian region ...

s are especially popular. The facilities operate all year around, but vary with the seasons, to include traditional seasonal activities such as calçotades (springtime

scallion Scallions (also known as spring onions or green onions) are vegetables derived from various species in the genus ''Allium''. Scallions generally have a milder taste than most onions and their close relatives include garlic, shallot, leek, ch ...

feasts) and castanyades (autumn

chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. The unrelat ...

feasts). Due to the village's inland location and altitude at about 650m its winters are cool, so it attracts smaller numbers of visitors, mainly clothed, outside of the summer season.

Notes and references

External links

El Fonoll website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fonoll Ecovillages Naturist resorts Naturism in Spain Nude beaches Populated places in Conca de Barberà

History

The village today

See also

Notes and references

External links