Osona () is a

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, ...

situated in

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 no ...

, Northeast Spain. Its capital is Vic. Its population in 2001 was 129,543. Osona covers roughly the same area as the historic Catalan

county of Osona The County of Osona, also Ausona ( ca, Comtat d'Osona, ; la, Comitatus Ausonae), was one of the Catalan counties of the ''Marca Hispanica'' in the Early and High Middle Ages. It was based around the capital city of Vic (''Vicus'') and the corres ...

. The name Osona comes from ''Ausetans'', a group of Iberian people who had their capital in ''Ausa'' (today Vic); the Romans called the area ''Ausone'' or ''Ausona''. While most of the ''comarca'' is within the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

of Barcelona, the municipalities of Espinelves,

Vidrà Vidrà is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Osona in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated in the valley of the Ges river, between the Bellmunt and Milany ranges, in the north of the ''comarca''. It is linked to Sant Quirze de Besora by a local r ...

and Viladrau form part of the

province of Girona Girona (; es, Gerona ; french: Gérone) is a province of Spain, in the northeastern part of the autonomous community of Catalonia. It is bordered on the northwest by the province of Lleida, on the southwest by the province of Barcelona, on the ...

. The most important town of Osona is Vic, its capital and an important and ancient urban center in this

natural region A natural region (landscape unit) is a basic geographic unit. Usually, it is a region which is distinguished by its common natural features of geography, geology, and climate. From the ecological point of view, the naturally occurring flora an ...

that lies in the midst of the Plain of Vic. Other significant towns in the plain are

Manlleu Manlleu () is municipality in the comarca of Osona, in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia, northern Spain. Manlleu is located in a large plain, La Plana de Vic, at around 460 metres above sea level on average. The highest point is Puig Agut chu ...

and Tona. This natural depression in the center of the region was carved by river Ter and its tributaries and makes up a big part of Osona's land. It is surrounded by mountains: The Sub-Pyrenees, with Bellmunt mountain towering in the north, the

Lluçanès Lluçanès () is a natural region transitioning between the Plain of Vic and Berguedà, in the pre- Pyrenees. Although not an officially recognized comarca of Catalonia, it has a strong historical, natural and social personality. Corresponding mu ...

( Pre-Pyrenees) to the north-west and Moianès high plateau in the West, the Montseny in the southeast and the

Guilleries The Guilleries Massif (Catalan ''Les Guilleries'') is a mountain system located at the apex of the Catalan Transversal Range and the Pre-Coastal Range. The highest point of the range is Sant Miquel de Solterra or Sant Miquel de les Formigues (1.2 ...

, located at the apex of the

Catalan Transversal Range The Catalan Transversal Range (''Serralada Transversal'') is a system of minor mountain ranges at the eastern end of the Pre-Pyrenees, between the Osona and Garrotxa comarques. The existence of the Catalan Transversal Range has made communicatio ...

and the Pre-Coastal Range, in the east. Long famous for its local

sausage A sausage is a type of meat product usually made from ground meat—often pork, beef, or poultry—along with salt, spices and other flavourings. Other ingredients, such as grains or breadcrumbs may be included as fillers or extenders. ...

s (especially ''

fuet Fuet (, lit. "whip") is a Catalan thin, dry-cured, sausage of pork meat in a pork gut. The most famous is made in the ''comarca'' (county) of Osona and is also known as ''Vic fuet'' (''fuet de Vic'', after the city of Vic, capital of Osona). ...

'') and other

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the domestic pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved ...

derivatives, in recent years the area has become somewhat infamous for the pollution of its many waterways due to the

factory farming Intensive animal farming or industrial livestock production, also known by its opponents as factory farming and macro-farms, is a type of intensive agriculture, specifically an approach to animal husbandry designed to maximize production, while ...

of pigs and

Dairy cattle Dairy cattle (also called dairy cows) are cattle bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk, from which dairy products are made. Dairy cattle generally are of the species '' Bos taurus''. Historically, little distinction was ...

. There are more pigs than people living in Osona. In the comarcal revision of 1990,

Sant Quirze de Besora Sant Quirze de Besora is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Osona in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated on the banks of the Ter river in the north of the ''comarca''. It is on the main communication route between Barcelona and Puigcerdà, serve ...

became part of Osona; previously it formed part of the

Ripollès Ripollès (; es, link=no, Ripollés) is a comarca (county) in Catalonia, Spain. It is located in the Ribes and Camprodon river valleys. In 2001, its population was 25,744, about 40% of whom lived in the capital, Ripoll. Ripollès borders the ...

. In May 2015, Osona lost the municipality of Collsuspina to the new comarca of Moianès.

Municipalities

References

External links

Official comarcal web site (in Catalan)

Information about Osona from the Generalitat de Catalunya (in Catalan)
{{coord, 41, 56, 53, N, 2, 14, 42, E, region:ES-CT_type:adm2nd_source:cawiki, display=title Comarques of the Province of Barcelona

Municipalities

See also

References

External links