Logbook · 6 places

What to see and do in Vila-rodona

What to see and do in Vila-rodona (Alt Camp, Tarragona): 6 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 2 Monuments · 1 Activities · 1 Historical milestones · 1 Food and drink

How far each place is from the centre of Vila-rodona

Castle of Vila-rodona 200 m
Castle of Vilardida 2.7 km

Towns near Vila-rodona

What to see in Aiguamúrcia 2.1 km · 9 places
What to see in Alió 4.5 km · 3 places
What to see in Bràfim 4.6 km · 3 places
What to see in Rodonyà 4.8 km · 3 places
What to see in Montferri 5.1 km · 5 places
What to see in Puigpelat 6.2 km · 4 places
What to see in Masllorenç 6.6 km · 4 places
What to see in Vilabella 7.3 km · 2 places

Spain › Catalonia › Tarragona › Alt Camp › Vila-rodona

What to see and do in Vila-rodona

Vila-rodona
Village
Vilarrodona, officially Vila-rodona, is a municipality of Tarragona located at the eastern end of Alt Camp, bordering the Baix Penedès. The area has been inhabited since ancient times, as shown by the megalithic remains of the Cova Gran and several Iberian and Roman sites; among the latter a restored Roman columbarium is preserved, for depositing the ashes of the dead, one of the most singular heritage elements of the municipality. The first documentary reference, from the year 959, mentions the place as Vila Rotonda, and since 1210 there is record of its castle and walls, under the dominion of the bishops of Barcelona; during the Carlist Wars, the liberals held out behind the castle walls. It lives on dry-farming agriculture, livestock and poultry farming. It has 1,382 inhabitants.
Castle of Vilardida
Monument
The castle of Vilardida stands at the centre of Vilardida, a small settlement on the left bank of the Gaià river, divided between the municipalities of Montferri and Vila-rodona. In 1152, Ponç Pere de Banyeres recognised Ramon Llorenç and his descendants' authority over the place, with the obligation to build a fortified house there, the origin of the castle; from then on the Llorenç family adopted the surname Vilardida, and in 1194 Bernat de Vilardida is documented as lord or castellan of the place, under the jurisdiction of the bishop of Barcelona. The lordship remained tied to the bishopric until 1710, when it passed into the hands of Jacint Tudó.
Castle of Vila-rodona
Monument
A border castle that gives its name to the vila of Vila-rodona (Tarragona). It preserves the Torre de l'Homenatge (keep), fully restored, and is now inhabited. It is declared a cultural asset of national interest.
Vila-rodona Main Festival
Activity
The fiesta mayor of Vila-rodona is celebrated in a town that preserves a 1st-century Roman funerary columbarium, one of the best preserved in Catalonia, next to the terraces of the Gaià where wines protected by the Tarragona denomination of origin are produced.
Roman columbarium of Vila-rodona
Historical milestone
The Roman columbarium of Vila-rodona, from the 1st century, is the municipality's most important Roman remain and one of the best preserved in Catalonia. It stands beside the road that ran up the Gaià valley, as a rectangular funerary tower measuring about ten by six metres, intended to hold the urns with the ashes of a family; it preserves the apse with its six niches, three on each side, and on its east and west faces a stylobate decorated with seven arches, on which four columns with capitals rest. The rest of its walls date from the medieval period. Acquired by the municipality in 1976, it was restored by the architect J. Ferrer Bosch, who removed later additions and preserved the medieval south wall, and it was presented to the public again on 3 November 1984.
Gaià wines of the Tarragona DO
Food and drink
The terraces of the Gaià valley produce whites of macabeo, xarel·lo and parellada and reds of garnacha and cariñena covered by the Tarragona designation of origin. The local cooperative also makes rancio wines and mistelas.