Vilafranca del Penedès, or simply Vilafranca (), is the capital of the ''comarca'' of the

Alt Penedès Alt Penedès () is a comarca (county) in Catalonia, northern Spain. The capital is Vilafranca del Penedès Vilafranca del Penedès, or simply Vilafranca (), is the capital of the ''comarca'' of the Alt Penedès in Catalonia, Spain. The Spanis ...

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. The

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

spelling of the name, ''Villafranca del Panadés'', is no longer in official use since 1982 (Law 12/1982, of 8 October). It is situated in the Penedès Depression on the left bank of the Foix River, and on the main axis of communication from

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 ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

, served by a Rodalies Barcelona line 4 and by the AP-7 ''autopista'' as well as by the C-243 towards

Sant Sadurní d'Anoia Sant Sadurní d'Anoia is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Alt Penedès in Catalonia, Spain; and the centre of production of a sparkling wine known as '' cava''. It is situated in the north-east of the Penedès Depression at the confluen ...

, and C-15 (formerly called C-244) roads to

Vilanova i la Geltrú Vilanova i la Geltrú () is the capital city of Garraf '' comarca'', in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Historically a fishing port, the city has a growing population of approximately 66,000, and is situated 40 km south-west of ...

and

Igualada Igualada () is a municipality in the province of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain. It is located on the left bank of the Anoia River and at the western end of the Igualada-Martorell-Barcelona Railway. Igualada is the capital and central market of th ...

respectively.

History

The town was founded in the middle of the 12th century as a result of the decline of

Olèrdola Olèrdola is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Alt Penedès in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated on the northern side of the Garraf massif, and the highest point of the municipality is the '' Puig de l'Àliga'' at 468 m. Olèrdola cas ...

, which had been until then the main local centre. It was established as the seat of a ''

vegueria The ''vegueria'' (; pl. ''vegueries'') was the feudal administrative territorial jurisdiction of the Principality of Catalonia (to the Crown of Aragon) during the Middle Ages and into the Modern Era until the Nueva Planta decrees of 1716. Th ...

'' in 1304. The Corts were held in the town in 1218 under King

James I of Aragon James I the Conqueror ( es, Jaime el Conquistador, ca, Jaume el Conqueridor; 2 February 1208 – 27 July 1276) was King of Aragon and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276; King of Majorca from 1231 to 1276; and Valencia from 1238 to 12 ...

, and again in 1358–59 and in 1367. King

Peter III of Aragon Peter III of Aragon ( November 1285) was King of Aragon, King of Valencia (as ), and Count of Barcelona (as ) from 1276 to his death. At the invitation of some rebels, he conquered the Kingdom of Sicily and became King of Sicily in 1282, pres ...

died while staying at the royal palace in Vilafranca in 1285. Vilafranca is the birthplace of

Raymond of Penyafort Raymond of Penyafort ( ca, Sant Ramon de Penyafort, ; es, San Raimundo de Peñafort; 1175 – 6 January 1275) was a Catalan Dominican friar in the 13th century, who compiled the Decretals of Gregory IX, a collection of canonical laws tha ...

, O.P., a Catalonian Dominican (O.P.) friar born around 1175. St. Raymond compiled the Decretals of Gregory IX, a collection of canon law that remained the major corpus of canon law in the Roman Catholic Church until the 1917 and 1983 Codes of Canon Law. He was also instrumental in the founding of the Mercedarian Friars.

Main sights

The

gothic church Gothic architecture (or pointed architecture) is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It e ...

of Santa Maria, the royal palace (''Palau Reial'') and the Palau Balta, are situated in the historic town centre. The Palau Reial, from the thirteenth century houses the town museum, with collections of

archeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

paleontology Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

ornithology Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...

s and

sacred art Religious art is artistic imagery using religious inspiration and motifs and is often intended to uplift the mind to the spiritual. Sacred art involves the ritual and cultic practices and practical and operative aspects of the path of the spiritu ...

, and a Museum dedicated to Wine (''Vinseum''). Other notable monuments include the church of Sant Joan, the

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

of Sant Francesc and a number of old merchants' houses such as the ''Palau del Fraret'', ''Palau Macià'', the ''Casal dels Gomà'' and the ''Casal del Marquès d'Alfarràs''.

Economy

Vilafranca is a centre for the local wine industry, along with neighbouring

. Other local industries include

textile Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

metallurgy Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...

food processing Food processing is the transformation of agricultural products into food, or of one form of food into other forms. Food processing includes many forms of processing foods, from grinding grain to make raw flour to home cooking to complex industr ...

and construction materials. It is also an important commercial centre. Vilafranca is also the birthplace of the Penedesenca fowl, famous for their chocolate-coloured eggs.

Demography

Vilafranca del Penedès has grown steadily at the expense of the more rural areas of

, aided by its excellent transport links and by the strength of the local economy (particularly the wine industry).

Subdivisions

Four outlying villages are included within the municipality of Vilafranca del Penedès (

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

s as of 2005): *El Bordellet (9) *El Molí d'en Rovira (166) *Perepau (87) *Les Salines (85)

Motor racing history

Plaça de Jaume I (Vilafranca del Penedès) - 4

Vilafranca del Penedès is part of the long history of motor racing in Catalonia, from 1908-1920 events were staged over public roads from

Sitges Sitges (, , ) is a town about 35 kilometres southwest of Barcelona, in Spain, renowned worldwide for its Film Festival, Carnival, and LGBT Culture. Located between the Garraf Massif and the Mediterranean Sea, it is known for its beaches, nights ...

to Canyelles and

, and from

Mataró Mataró () is the capital and largest town of the ''comarca'' of the Maresme, in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia Autonomous Community, Spain. It is located on the Costa del Maresme, to the south of Costa Brava, between Cabrera de Mar and ...

Vilassar de Mar Vilassar de Mar () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Maresme in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated on the coast between Premià de Mar and Cabrera de Mar, to the north-east of Barcelona. The town is both a tourist centre and a dormitory t ...

and

Argentona Argentona is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Maresme in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated on the south-east side of the granite Litoral range, to the north-west of Mataró. The town is both a tourist centre and a notable horticultural cen ...

. Between 1921 and 1923 the RMCC ran the

Penya Rhin Grand Prix The Penya Rhin Grand Prix was a Grand Prix motor racing event staged at the three different circuits in three different eras in Spain. The race was held intermittently over its history, sometimes for full-size Grand Prix cars, sometimes for spor ...

over a 9-mile circuit around the town of Vilafranca del Penedès until it was replaced by a short lived purpose built circuit, the

Sitges Terramar Sitges (, , ) is a town about 35 kilometres southwest of Barcelona, in Spain, renowned worldwide for its Film Festival, Carnival, and LGBT Culture. Located between the Garraf Massif and the Mediterranean Sea, it is known for its beaches, nightsp ...

References

* Panareda Clopés, Josep Maria; Ríos Calvet, Jaume; Rabella Vives, Josep Maria (1989). ''Guia de Catalunya'', Barcelona: Caixa de Catalunya. (Spanish). (Catalan). * ''Enciclopèdia catalana bàsica'' (Ed. '' El Periódico''), Barcelona, 1996.

External links

*
Government data pages
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vilafranca Del Penedes Municipalities in Alt Penedès