Village
Tamarite de Litera, in Catalan Tamarit de Llitera, is the historic and geographic capital of the comarca of La Litera, in eastern Huesca province, with 3,528 inhabitants and a density of 33.6 inhabitants/km² over its 110.6 km². It forms part of the so-called Franja de Aragón, the Catalan-speaking territories of the autonomous community. Its name comes, according to one interpretation, from the Arabic ṯamarāt, 'fruit trees'. Situated at 360 metres above sea level, it has no rivers of its own beyond seasonal streams, and is flanked by the steppe range of la Gessa, a gypsum fold declared a Site of Community Importance. To the south, a plain irrigated by the Canal de Aragón y Cataluña extends towards the Ebro. The historic and geographic capital of La Litera, it has origins that go back to the Iberian peoples.
Monument
A Romanesque church with elements transitional to Gothic, probably built in the second half of the 12th century, when Alfonso II granted Tamarite de Litera the charter of Zaragoza to repopulate it. It has a basilical plan with three naves covered by pointed barrel vaults and a transept with three apses, above which rises an eight-windowed Gothic lantern with pointed lights; at its feet stands the bell tower. The south façade preserves a Romanesque doorway with a tympanum depicting two angels holding up a chrismon, above which a Renaissance pediment was added. The main altarpiece, commissioned in 1500 from Miguel and Juan Ximénez, was lost during the Civil War, except for the panel of San Miguel, now in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The church was restored between 1992 and 2009.
Monument
Church dedicated to the Virgen del Patrocinio, patron saint of Tamarite de Litera, a city that Martín el Humano raised in rank after it had hosted Cortes of the Crown of Aragon in 1375 and 1383; in her honour the town holds its main festival with giants and bigheads and the traditional Interpeñas supper.
Activity
The Corpus Christi festival of Tamarite de Litera is famous for its ephemeral carpets: on the night before the feast, residents of the old town trace designs in the streets which, over several hours, they fill in with sawdust dyed in different colours, until forming striking carpets. Over these the following day passes the Corpus Christi procession, which winds through the decorated streets of the town's historic centre, in the Huesca comarca of La Litera.
Activity
The Fiesta Mayor of Tamarite de Litera is celebrated in the first week of September in honour of the Virgen del Patrocinio. Among its most notable events are the parade of giants and big-heads, the Interpeñas dinner and the classic veal stew, the centrepiece dish of these patronal festivities.
Monument
The only surviving tower of the old Castillo de los Moros in Tamarite de Litera.
Nature
A historic irrigation canal, originally called the canal of Tamarite de Litera, which transformed the comarca of La Litera into a vast market garden. Inaugurated in 1906, it irrigates 104,850 hectares between Huesca and Lérida, the second-largest irrigable area in the Ebro basin; it is fed by the Ésera river, drawn from the Joaquín Costa reservoir, and is 124 kilometres long. The idea of diverting the waters of the Ésera to the comarca dates back to the 18th century, when in 1782 the residents of Tamarite requested a study for an irrigation channel that would avert the hardship of drought. After several failed attempts at private construction in the 19th century — such as that of the Real Compañía del Canal de Tamarite de Litera, of 1834, which gave the canal its present name in 1876 — a public meeting in Tamarite in 1889 called for the State to undertake the work.
Curiosity
On the eve of Corpus Christi, the residents of Tamarite de Litera draw patterns in the streets of the old town which, over several hours, are filled in with sawdust dyed in different colours, forming carpets over which the procession passes the following day. This tradition turns the processional route into a genuine ephemeral gallery of folk art made from coloured plant material.
Activity
Tamarite de Litera's winter festival is held in the town that hosted the Cortes of the Crown of Aragón in 1375 and 1383 and to which Martín I el Humano granted the title of city; centuries later, the regenerationist Joaquín Costa argued here that the State should take charge of the canal works, a decisive push that led the 1896 law to declare it a public work.
Activity
The Mercado Medieval de Tamarite de Litera, reaching its 28th edition in 2026, is held in May (9 and 10 May in 2026) with around 70 stalls of craftspeople and traders dressed in period costume, traditional food and entertainment in the streets and squares.
Monument
Centre devoted to the history and traditions of the comarca of La Litera.
Nature
Landscape of traditional orchards and market gardens around Tamarite de Litera, in the Huesca comarca of La Litera, irrigated by the Canal de Aragón y Cataluña. The area also benefited from the old Canal de Tamarite, granted by royal charter in 1834 to take water from the rivers Ésera and Cinca and irrigate about 104,000 hectares as far as the beds of the Cinca and the Ebro. On this irrigated land grow fruit crops of apple, pear and peach trees, alongside cereals such as wheat and barley, and pig and cattle farms that support a large part of the town's economy.
Curiosity
Traditional irrigated market garden of Tamarite de Litera, transformed since 1906 by the Canal de Aragón y Cataluña, a project inspired by Joaquín Costa's regeneracionismo that gave a vital boost to the impoverished comarca of La Litera. The irrigated plain extends south of the town as far as the Cinca and Ebro rivers, with fruit crops of apples, pears and peaches, as well as cereals such as wheat and barley.
Activity
The Feria de Santa Lucía de Tamarite is held in the stronghold that Sancho Ramírez took in 1064, lost two years later, and which Alfonso I held between 1107 and 1134, until Pedro de Estopiñán won it definitively for Aragón.
Monument
Old flour mill in Tamarite de Litera, beside the River Cinca.
Historical milestone
Pedro de Estopiñán won for Aragon the stronghold that Sancho Ramírez had taken in 1064 and lost two years later and that Alfonso I held between 1107 and 1134; with it the plain of La Litera was secured.
Historical milestone
Martin I the Humane granted the town the rank of city by royal privilege; it had already hosted the Cortes of the Crown of Aragon in 1375 and in 1383 and was one of the kingdom's main centers.
Historical milestone
At a mass rally, the regenerationist argued that either the State took charge of the canal works or it was preferable to remain dry farmland; his pressure was decisive in getting the law of 1896 to declare it a public works project.