Alcanó () is a village in the

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

Lleida Lleida (, ; ; '' see below'') is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital and largest town in Segrià county, the Ponent region and the province of Lleida. Geographically, it is located in the Catalan Central Depression. It ...

and

autonomous community The autonomous communities () are the first-level administrative divisions of Spain, created in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978, with the aim of guaranteeing limited autonomy to the nationalities and regions that make up Sp ...

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

, Spain. It has a population of .

History

The municipality was first mentioned in a 1203 document which detailed the acquisition of a palace by Gombau of Camporrells, bishop of Lerida in exchange for the rights to the Alcanó Almunia. The Alcanó Almunia is of a Saracen origin. In documents from 1267 it appeared under the name Alcanó de la Frontera. The lordship of the castle belonged to Hug de Tolosa and later to Pere de Sanahuja. In 1450 he became the Clergy of

Symbols

The coat of arms of Alcanó is defined by the following blazon: "Losanjado Shield: Vert, a canyon of gold. For stamps a mural crown of the people." It was approved on August 17, 1993. The canyon is a popular traditional signal symbolizing the name of the people.

Culture

Close to the Plaza Mayor there is a building which corresponds to the ancient castle of the town. The building was renovated but original features such as an arched shaped window or some of the interior walls are still visible. The parish church is dedicated to Saint Peter. It is eighteenth century

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

. It has an oversized dome and its

belfry The belfry /ˈbɛlfri/ is a structure enclosing bells for ringing as part of a building, usually as part of a bell tower or steeple. It can also refer to the entire tower or building, particularly in continental Europe for such a tower attached ...

has an octagonal base. In 1936 two Baroque altarpieces that were kept inside were destroyed, both from the eighteenth century. Alcanó celebrates its main festival in the month of August.

Economy

The main economic activity is agriculture, especially

rainfed Rainfed agriculture is a type of farming that relies on rainfall for water. It provides much of the food consumed by poor communities in developing countries. E.g., rainfed agriculture accounts for more than 95% of farmed land in sub-Saharan Africa ...

. Crops include cereal crops, almonds and olives.

References

* Tomàs Bonell, Jordi; ''Descobrir Catalunya, poble a poble'', Prensa Catalana, Barcelona, 1994.
Article in Enciclopedia Catalana (Catalan Encyclopedia)

External links

Official page of the City Council

Government data pages
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alcano Municipalities in Segrià Populated places in Segrià