Vila-seca (; literally 'Dry-town') is a municipality of 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

Tarragonès Tarragonès () is a comarca (county) in Catalonia, Spain. It is one of the three comarques formed in the 1936 comarcal division of Camp de Tarragona. It lies on the Mediterranean coast, between the comarques of Baix Penedès to the northeast a ...

, in the province of

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 Tarr ...

, 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 ...

, Spain. The historical name was ''Vila-seca de Solcina'' and since the 80's known as ''Vila-seca i Salou'' until

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 Gre ...

was segregated from Vila-seca on 1989, however the municipality includes the urban areas of

La Plana LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

and

La Pineda La Pineda is a coastal resort which forms part of the municipality of Vila-seca in the province of Tarragona, in Catalonia, Spain. Culture Attractions The main attraction in La Pineda is a water park, "Aquopolis", in the central street. The loc ...

. Vila-seca has a large petrochemical complex shared with

and

La Canonja La Canonja is a municipality of the ''comarca'' of Tarragonès, in the province of Tarragona, in Catalonia, Spain. La Canonja was segregated from Tarragona on 15 April 2010 by a decision of the Parliament of Catalonia. It borders with Tarragona, Re ...

, including

Repsol Repsol S.A.
El Nuevo Herald, 2012-05-31Originally an init ...

complex in El Morell makes one of the greatest petrochemical areas of Europe like

Ludwigshafen am Rhein Ludwigshafen, officially Ludwigshafen am Rhein (; meaning " Ludwig's Port upon Rhine"), is a city in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, on the river Rhine, opposite Mannheim. With Mannheim, Heidelberg, and the surrounding region, it form ...

History

Different remains show that the city was populated during the times of

Ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom ...

. The population settled in Vila-seca after the reconquest in 1162 when King

Alfonso II of Aragon Alfonso II (1–25 March 1157Benito Vicente de Cuéllar (1995)«Los "condes-reyes" de Barcelona y la "adquisición" del reino de Aragón por la dinastía bellónida» p. 630-631; in ''Hidalguía''. XLIII (252) pp. 619–632."Alfonso II el Casto, hi ...

gave these lands to Ramón de Olzina. Its donation to this family was confirmed by King

Peter II of Aragon Peter II the Catholic (; ) (July 1178 – 12 September 1213) was the King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona from 1196 to 1213. Background Peter was born in Huesca, the son of Alfonso II of Aragon and Sancha of Castile. In 1205 he acknowle ...

in 1208. During the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, there was another town known as Vilaseca del Comú, which neighboured Vila-seca as owned by the Olzinas. The former belonged to the Archbishop of

until 1525, which the unification of the two towns was decreed, created the city of Vila-seca as it is known today. Vila-seca actively participated in the defense of the port of

, gaining on several occasions ownership of it. The port was a strategic military position and an important source of income. For a long time, it was considered the port of all of the people who made up the Comuna del Camp, until King

Ferdinand II of Aragon Ferdinand II ( an, Ferrando; ca, Ferran; eu, Errando; it, Ferdinando; la, Ferdinandus; es, Fernando; 10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), also called Ferdinand the Catholic (Spanish: ''el Católico''), was King of Aragon and Sardinia fro ...

banned its use. Vila-seca then became the main port, leading to the city suffering several attacks from Berber pirates. A watchtower and a defense tower were built to protect the city from cosair attacks. During the

Reapers' War The Reapers' War ( ca, Guerra dels Segadors, , es, Guerra de los Segadores), also known as the Catalan Revolt, was a conflict that affected a large part of the Principality of Catalonia between the years of 1640 and 1659. It had an enduring ef ...

, the city was occupied by troops under King

Philip IV of Spain Philip IV ( es, Felipe, pt, Filipe; 8 April 160517 September 1665), also called the Planet King (Spanish: ''Rey Planeta''), was King of Spain from 1621 to his death and (as Philip III) King of Portugal from 1621 to 1640. Philip is remembered ...

. Many of the city's defenders were executed and both the church and townhall were burnt down. Vila-seca's population also suffered large losses during the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spai ...

. At the end of the twentieth century, Salou separated from Vila-seca, becoming its own municipality.

Tourism

In recent years the municipality has become popular with tourists, as La Pineda has experienced a revitalisation to include an improved choice of hotels, an updated beachfront, while including an array of attractions such as the aquopolis water park with

dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (the b ...

and

sea lion Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear flaps, long foreflippers, the ability to walk on all fours, short and thick hair, and a big chest and belly. Together with the fur seals, they make up the family Otariidae, eared seals. ...

exhibitions and the nightlife hotspot, Pacha. The area 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 operates many low cost and charter flights to destinations around Europe and North Africa.

Barcelona Airport 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 ...

also serves the area.

Gallery

References

External links

Vila-seca City Council web page

Government data pages
Municipalities in Tarragonès Populated places in Tarragonès {{Tarragona-geo-stub