Barberà de la Conca () 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 ...

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in Catalonia (Spain). It is the capital and largest town of Tarragonès county, the Camp de Tarragona region and the province of Tarragona. Geographically, it is located on the Costa Daurada ar ...

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 region in which Barberà de la Conca is located is named after this village. Some archaeological remains which have been found show that it was inhabited during the time of the Roman occupation. It was first mentioned in 945 with the name of Campo Barberano in a document outlining the donation of the San Pedro church to the Santa Cecilia de Montserrat monastery. In 1012 it appeared in the aforementioned's castrum of Barbará. At the beginning of the eleventh century the place was uninhabited, it was recovered thanks to Ramón Berenguer I donating it to Arnau Pere de Ponts, called the Puig of Barbará. He was charged with repopulating the area and raising a castle there. The complete repopulation occurred in the twelfth century when the castle was ceded to the Knights of the

Order of the Temple The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a Military order (religious society), military order of the Catholic Church, Catholic faith, and one of the most important military ord ...

. In 1307 the Templars were imprisoned by order of veguer of Montblanc and the property remained under administration royal until in 1307 when they were taken over by the Knights Hospitallers who retained the lordship until the end of the Old Regime. For over thirty years, the area was ruled by Guillem de Guimerà, a friar who expanded considerably the territory held under the order.

Culture

The village grew around the old castle. Built in the eleventh century, the expansion of the Templars were later commissioned, adding, among other aspects, the chapel. For a while it functioned as a public school after

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

ceded the rights to the municipality. At the end of fulfill that role it was abandoned. It is owned by the municipality. The parish church is dedicated to

St. Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

. This is a three-nave

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 ...

building that was built in the place that was once the old Roman temple. The tympanum in the old building is still preserved where an image of the Virgin can be seen enthroned. She has the child to her left and everything is framed by a

mandorla A mandorla is an almond-shaped aureola, i.e. a frame that surrounds the totality of an iconographic figure. It is usually synonymous with '' vesica'', a lens shape. Mandorlas often surround the figures of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary in tra ...

supported by two angels.

Economy

Currently, Barbará, has agriculture as its major source of socio-economic dynamism. In recent years, thanks to the momentum of the wine sector in the area due to the creation of the OJ Cuenca de Barberà, wine production has intensified. Another engines of the local economy is familial tourism.

Feasts

The main festival is celebrated on the second to last Sunday of August. During the month of May festivals are held in honor of the Virgin of the Rosary.

References

Bibliography

* Tomàs Bonell, Jordi; ''Descobrir Catalunya, poble a poble'', Prensa Catalana, Barcelona, 1994

External links

*
Government data pages

Article in the Enciclopèdia Catalana
(in Catalan) {{DEFAULTSORT:Barbera de la Conca Municipalities in Conca de Barberà