Tarragona (, ) is a
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...
of eastern
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, in the southern part of the
autonomous community
eu, autonomia erkidegoa
ca, comunitat autònoma
gl, comunidade autónoma
oc, comunautat autonòma
an, comunidat autonoma
ast, comunidá autónoma
, alt_name =
, map =
, category = Autonomous administra ...
of
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 ...
. It is bordered by the provinces of
Castellón,
Teruel
Teruel () is a city in Aragon, located in eastern Spain, and is also the capital of Teruel Province. It has a population of 35,675 in 2014 making it the least populated provincial capital in the country. It is noted for its harsh climate, with a ...
,
Zaragoza
Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...
,
Lérida
Lleida (, ; Spanish: Lérida ) is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital city of the province of Lleida.
Geographically, it is located in the Catalan Central Depression. It is also the capital city of the Segrià comarca, as ...
and
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 ...
and by the
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...
.
![Tarragona9](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Tarragona9.jpg)
The province's population is 795,902 (2018), about one fifth of whom live in the capital,
Tarragona
Tarragona (, ; Phoenician: ''Tarqon''; la, Tarraco) is a port city located in northeast Spain on the Costa Daurada by the Mediterranean Sea. Founded before the fifth century BC, it is the capital of the Province of Tarragona, and part of Tar ...
. Some of the larger cities and towns in Tarragona province include
Reus
Reus () is the capital of Baix Camp, in the province of Tarragona, in Catalonia, Spain. The area has always been an important producer of wines and spirits, and gained continental importance at the time of the Phylloxera plague. Nowadays it is k ...
,
Salou
Salou () is a municipality of the ''comarca'' of Tarragonès, in the province of Tarragona, in Catalonia, Spain. The city is approximately 10 km from Tarragona and Reus on the Costa Daurada and 112 km from Barcelona.
Founded by the Greek ...
,
El Vendrell
El Vendrell () is a town located in the province of Tarragona, Catalonia, in the wine-growing region of Penedès. It is wedged between the Mediterranean and the coastal range. El Vendrell is the capital of the Baix Penedès ''comarca'' and a tou ...
,
Tortosa
Tortosa (; ) is the capital of the ''Catalonia/Comarques, comarca'' of Baix Ebre, in Catalonia, Spain.
Tortosa is located at above sea level, by the Ebro river, protected on its northern side by the mountains of the Cardó Massif, of which Buin ...
,
Valls
Valls () is a city and municipality in the province of Tarragona in Catalonia, Spain. According to the 2014 census it has a population of 24,570.
Valls is known for its calçots – a type of scallion or green onion – and the human towers tradi ...
,
Amposta
Amposta () is the capital of the ''comarca'' of Montsià, in the province of Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain, 190 km south of Barcelona on the Mediterranean Coast. It is located at 8 metres above sea level, on the Ebre river, not far from its mo ...
. This province has 183 municipalities. The province includes several
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
s and is a popular tourist destination. There are
Roman Catholic
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 ...
cathedrals in Tarragona and Tortosa.
History
After the
Umayyad conquest of Hispania
The Umayyad conquest of Hispania, also known as the Umayyad conquest of the Visigothic Kingdom, was the initial expansion of the Umayyad Caliphate over Hispania (in the Iberian Peninsula) from 711 to 718. The conquest resulted in the decline of t ...
in the late eighth century, this part of Spain came under the control of the
Umayyad Caliphate
The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by th ...
and most of the Iberian peninsula was known as
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus DIN 31635, translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label=Berber languages, Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, ...
, and was dominated by Muslim rulers.
Abd al-Rahman I founded an independent dynasty that survived in the region until the 11th century.
After the Muslim conquest, the bishopric of Tarragona came under the jurisdiction of the metropolitans of Narbonne or Auch in southern France. In 1089, this was reorganised, and it came under the jurisdiction of the bishopric of Vich, and in 1118, after Tarragona had been reconquered, the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tarragona
The Archdiocese of Tarragona (Latin, ''Tarraconensis'') is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory located in north-eastern Spain, in the province of Tarragona, part of the autonomous community of Catalonia. The archdiocese heads the ecclesias ...
was established.
Geography
The province of Tarragona is in the northeast of Spain with a coast on the
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...
. Much of the province is hilly or mountainous and the main feature is the broad valley of the
River Ebro
, name_etymology =
, image = Zaragoza shel.JPG
, image_size =
, image_caption = The Ebro River in Zaragoza
, map = SpainEbroBasin.png
, map_size =
, map_caption = The Ebro ...
and the coastal plain which is backed by the Catalan ranges. In general, industrial development is on the coast and inland is predominantly forest and agricultural land. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the southeast of the province, the
province of Barcelona
Barcelona (, ) is a province of eastern Spain, in the center of the autonomous community of Catalonia. The province is bordered by the provinces of Tarragona, Lleida, and Girona, and by the Mediterranean Sea. Its area is .Lérida
Lleida (, ; Spanish: Lérida ) is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital city of the province of Lleida.
Geographically, it is located in the Catalan Central Depression. It is also the capital city of the Segrià comarca, as ...
lies to the north,
Zaragoza
Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...
to the northwest,
Teruel
Teruel () is a city in Aragon, located in eastern Spain, and is also the capital of Teruel Province. It has a population of 35,675 in 2014 making it the least populated provincial capital in the country. It is noted for its harsh climate, with a ...
to the west and
Castellón to the southwest. The climate is Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and warm, wet winters.
The area of the province is . The main crops are cereals, grapes, fruit, olives, hemp, and silk. The province has some mineral resources; copper, lead and silver are found and limestone and marble are quarried.
Quarrying for aggregate has caused groundwater levels to fall and the environment has been adversely affected by the arrival of
invasive species
An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...
such as the
zebra mussel
The zebra mussel (''Dreissena polymorpha'') is a small freshwater mussel. The species originates from the lakes of southern Russia and Ukraine, but has been accidentally introduced to numerous other areas and has become an invasive species in ma ...
in the
Riba-roja d'Ebre reservoir on the Ebro, the invasive fish ''
Gambusia
''Gambusia'' is a large genus of viviparous fish in the family Poeciliidae (order Cyprinodontiformes). ''Gambusia'' contains over 40 species, most of which are principally found in freshwater habitats, though some species may also be found in br ...
'' in the Ebro delta and chemical contamination in the
Flix
Flix () is a town in the ''Comarques of Catalonia, comarca'' of Ribera d'Ebre, Catalonia, Spain. Situated on a promontory by the Ebro river, the town occupied an important strategic position. Situated on the Madrid–Barcelona railway line, ...
reservoir beside which is a chemical works and a hydro-electric plant.
Population
The historical population is given in the following chart:
Colors=
id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9)
id:darkgrey value:gray(0.7)
id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1)
ImageSize = width:600 height:auto barincrement:28
PlotArea = left:40 bottom:40 top:20 right:20
DateFormat = x.y
Period = from:0 till:820
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
AlignBars = late
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:100 start:0
ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:20 start:0
BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo
PlotData=
color:skyblue width:20 shift:(-50,-5) fontsize:M anchor:till
bar:1877 from:0 till:333 text:333,468
bar:1887 from:0 till:349 text:348,606
bar:1900 from:0 till:343 text:343,400
bar:1910 from:0 till:343 text:343,127
bar:1920 from:0 till:359 text:359,334
bar:1930 from:0 till:352 text:351,698
bar:1940 from:0 till:346 text:346,433
bar:1950 from:0 till:357 text:356,864
bar:1960 from:0 till:363 text:363,472
bar:1970 from:0 till:433 text:433,138
bar:1980 from:0 till:513 text:513,050
bar:1990 from:0 till:542 text:542,004
bar:2000 from:0 till:610 text:609,673
bar:2010 from:0 till:807 text:807,044
bar:2020 from:0 till:817 text:816,772
TextData=
pos:(35,20) fontsize:M
text:"Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, INE"
Tourism
As well as the port city of Tarragona, the province has much to offer for the tourist. There are Catalan villages to visit, historic sites, sandy beaches, rocky shores, crags, rivers and woodlands and several wildlife reserves. The area has been publicised under the
Costa Daurada
The Costa Daurada (, es, Costa Dorada, meaning in English "Golden Coast") is an area on the coast of Catalonia, Spain, between Cunit and Alcanar on the Mediterranean Sea.
Its traditional banks are the deltas of the Foix and Ebro rivers, although ...
(golden coast) brand.
![Roman aqueduct Tarragona](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Roman_aqueduct_Tarragona.jpg)
The city of Tarragona may have been founded by the
Phoenicia
Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...
ns and was a major city in Roman times that they called
Tarraco
Tarraco is the ancient name of the current city of Tarragona (Catalonia, Spain). It was the oldest Roman settlement on the Iberian Peninsula. It became the capital of the Roman province of Hispania Citerior during the period of the Roman Republic ...
. There are many archaeological remains from that period but little remains of the second century
amphitheatre
An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...
; after the collapse of the
Western Roman Empire
The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period fr ...
, the abandoned structure was quarried to provide stone for building. The
Les Ferreres Aqueduct
The Ferreres Aqueduct ( ca, Aqüeducte de les Ferreres ), also known as the Pont del Diable (; en, "Devil's Bridge"), is an ancient bridge, part of the Roman aqueduct built to supply water to the ancient city of Tarraco, today Tarragona in Cata ...
dates from the same period and has survived intact.
[ It was built to supply water to the ancient city and is part of the Archaeological Ensemble of Tarraco which has been listed as a UNESCO ]World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
since 2000. The city also houses a cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...
, dating from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, which combines Romanesque and Gothic architectural features. There are also many historic churches and convents.
The Catalan authorities have designated four villages as "family holiday destinations". These are Calafell
Calafell () is a village in the province of Tarragona and autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain.
Tourism
The town is located at the heart of the Baix Penedès region; the gateway to the Costa Daurada, its economy depends heavily on tourism. The ...
, Cambrils
Cambrils () is a coastal town in the comarca of Baix Camp, province of Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. The town is near the tourist town Salou and is frequently visited by those travelling by air using Reus Airport.
History
Roman empire to Midd ...
, La Pineda and nearby Vila-seca
Vila-seca (; literally 'Dry-town') is a municipality of the ''comarca'' of Tarragonès, in the province of Tarragona, in Catalonia, Spain. The historical name was ''Vila-seca de Solcina'' and since the 80's known as ''Vila-seca i Salou'' until Salo ...
, and Salou
Salou () is a municipality of the ''comarca'' of Tarragonès, in the province of Tarragona, in Catalonia, Spain. The city is approximately 10 km from Tarragona and Reus on the Costa Daurada and 112 km from Barcelona.
Founded by the Greek ...
. Salou is the site of the PortAventura World
PortAventura World is an entertainment resort in Salou and Vila-seca, Tarragona, on the Costa Daurada in Catalonia, Spain. It was built around the PortAventura Park theme park, which attracts around 3.5 million visitors per year, making it the ...
(PortAventura Park
PortAventura Park is a theme park located in the PortAventura World Resort, 85 km southwest of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in the municipalities of Salou and Vila-seca, on the Costa Daurada. The park opened on 1 May 1995 under the managemen ...
, the most visited theme park in Spain, Ferrari Land and also the PortAventura Caribe Aquatic Park).
The Costa Daurada is served by Reus Airport
Reus Airport is located by the beaches of Costa Daurada, equidistant in relation to the town of Constantí and the city of Reus and approximately from the city centre of Tarragona, in Catalonia, Spain. The airport receives a large amount of tour ...
which receives tourist traffic from passengers journeying to the beach resorts of Salou and Cambrils as well as those travelling to Barcelona. It is a destination of low-cost flights provider Ryanair
Ryanair is an Irish ultra low-cost carrier founded in 1984. It is headquartered in Swords, Dublin, Ireland and has its primary operational bases at Dublin and London Stansted airports. It forms the largest part of the Ryanair Holdings family ...
, and planes fly to Reus from many different European and North African locations. The province also has good road and rail links to Barcelona and southwards to Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...
, Murcia
Murcia (, , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country. It has a population of 460,349 inhabitants in 2021 (about one ...
and Andalusia
Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...
along the coastal strip, and high-speed rail
High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail system that runs significantly faster than traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated tracks. While there is no single standard that applies worldwide, lines ...
services from Tarragona to Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
started in 2008.
There are several monasteries in the province that can be visited by following the "Cistercian Monastery Route". The best known is the Cistercian monastery of Poblet
Poblet Abbey, otherwise the Royal Abbey of Santa Maria de Poblet ( ca, Reial Monestir de Santa Maria de Poblet), is a Cistercian monastery, founded in 1151, located at the foot of the Prades Mountains, in the comarca of Conca de Barberà, in C ...
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, ...
of 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 ...
, which is a UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
World Heritage site. Other monasteries on the route include the Santes Creus
The Monastery of ''Santa Maria de Santes Creus'', ( ca, Reial Monestir de Santa Maria de Santes Creus) is a former Cistercian monastery in the municipality of Aiguamúrcia, Catalonia, Spain.
The abbey was erected in the 12th century, in today's ...
, in the municipality of Aiguamúrcia
Aiguamúrcia () is a municipality, located in the province of Tarragona, Catalonia (northern Spain), in the Alt Camp comarca.
The Monastery of Santes Creus
The Monastery of ''Santa Maria de Santes Creus'', ( ca, Reial Monestir de Santa Maria de ...
, and Vallbona de les Monges
Vallbona de les Monges () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Urgell in Catalonia, Spain. It is located at the southern end of the comarca, north of the Serra del Tallat, Catalan Pre-Coastal Range, where many wind turbines have been ins ...
.[
Other attractions of the province include the food and wine. The "Penedès Wine and Cava Route" is a tourist trail offering wine-related activities. There are also festivals celebrating local fare, where local gastronomic specialities are eaten, including ]calçot
Calçot () is a type of green onion. The name ''calçot'' comes from the Catalan language. The calçot from Valls (Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain) is a registered EU Protected Geographical Indication.
Calçots are milder and less bulbous than oni ...
s (grilled spring onions) in Valls
Valls () is a city and municipality in the province of Tarragona in Catalonia, Spain. According to the 2014 census it has a population of 24,570.
Valls is known for its calçots – a type of scallion or green onion – and the human towers tradi ...
, and Xató
Xató () is a typical Catalan dish. It is a sauce made with almonds, hazelnuts, breadcrumbs, vinegar, garlic, olive oil, salt, and the nyora pepper. The sauce is often served with an endive salad prepared with anchovy, tuna and dried and sa ...
a sauce served with fish or an endive
Endive () is a leaf vegetable belonging to the genus ''Cichorium'', which includes several similar bitter-leafed vegetables. Species include '' Cichorium endivia'' (also called endive), ''Cichorium pumilum'' (also called wild endive), and ''Cich ...
salad.[
]
See also
*List of communities in Tarragona
Catalonia is (as of 2018) divided into 947 municipalities.
Each municipality typically represents one significant urban settlement, of any size from village to city, with its surrounding land. This is not always the case, though. Many municipal ...
*Comarques of Catalonia
This is a list of the 42 ''comarques'' (singular ''comarca'', , ) into which Catalonia is divided. A ''comarca'' is a group of municipalities, roughly equivalent to a county in the US or a district or council in the UK. However, in the context ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarragona, Province of