Logbook · 7 places

What to see and do in Sant Jaume dels Domenys

What to see and do in Sant Jaume dels Domenys (Baix Penedès, Tarragona): 7 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 4 Monuments · 1 Activities · 1 Food and drink

How far each place is from the centre of Sant Jaume dels Domenys

Towns near Sant Jaume dels Domenys

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What to see and do in Sant Jaume dels Domenys

Sant Jaume dels Domenys
Village
Sant Jaume dels Domenys is a municipality in the northeast of the Baix Penedès comarca, with the castles of Gemenells and the tower of Lleger. Its territory, made rugged by the buttresses of the Montmell range, also shares in the flatlands of the Penedès depression and is divided into three sectors: one limestone and steep in the north, an area of low mountains in the centre, and, in the south, the most populated and productive part. It is drained by several watercourses, among them the riera de Marmellar and the riera de Banyeres. Besides the village of Sant Jaume dels Domenys, the municipal seat, the territory includes the settlements of Torregassa, Lleger, Cornudella, el Papiolet, l'Arquet, l'Hostal and la Carronya, and numerous farmhouses such as Llobets, el Gatell or Gomila.
Castellvell de Gemenells
Monument
The Castellvell de Gemenells, declared a bien cultural de interés nacional (Catalonia's highest level of heritage protection), are the remains of a rectangular-plan fortification located next to the Sant Marc stream, on the sheer edge of a spur of the torrent, in the municipality of Sant Jaume dels Domenys. Of the construction, documented between 1365 and 1370 and built of irregular ashlar bonded with mud, barely a few small walls and a tower of cylindrical form remain standing. The exact location of the old castle of Giminells or Gemanella has been the subject of controversy, although the researcher Vicenç Carbonell placed the castle in this area and identified it with these ruins.
Castellnou de Gemenells
Monument
The Castellnou de Gemenells, in the municipality of Sant Jaume dels Domenys, is a farmhouse with the appearance of a fortress built on a small hill, preceded by a bastion with a flattened arch and declared a bien cultural de interés nacional (Catalonia's highest level of heritage protection). Its three-storey façade has, on the ground floor, the round-arched main door and, to the right, that of the old wine cellar, where wine vats are preserved on both sides; the upper floor is used as a loft, and the rear is reinforced with powerful buttresses. Abandoned by its owner, who sold the land but kept the house, local oral tradition even recalls the existence of a prison. It was restored in 1985 by people from el Vendrell, who left on the door the inscription “Manso del Castell de Gemenelles, 1773-1985”.
Tower of Lleger
Monument
The Torre de Lleger is a cylindrical tower of irregular ashlar, about eight metres high, standing at the highest point of the village of Lleger, in the municipality of Sant Jaume dels Domenys; today it is partly collapsed, although its arrow slits can still be made out. The place is documented since 1023, and in 1410 an inventory of Beatriu de Tous mentions among her possessions the castle of Lleger, of which the tower is the last surviving trace. Like the rest of the towers in the area, it had a defensive character and was built around the 10th century, in the time of the Reconquista, to warn of the enemy with fire signals by night and smoke by day. About forty years ago half of the structure collapsed, and to avert danger two or three metres were removed from the upper part.
Farmhouse of Valldeflor
Monument
Historic farmhouse in the municipal district of Sant Jaume dels Domenys.
Sant Jaume dels Domenys Main Festival
Activity
The Festa Major de Sant Jaume dels Domenys, a town in the comarca of the Baix Penedès, in Tarragona, is celebrated in July, coinciding with the feast day of Sant Jaume, patron saint of the village. It includes a correfoc with ball de diables, the festa del pa beneït and a fireworks display. The town also celebrates a second festival, the festa major petita or diada del vot del poble, in November.
Penedès Designation of Origin
Food and drink
The vineyards of the comarca, which come to around four thousand hectares, come under this designation. The white varieties macabeo, xarel·lo and parellada predominate, together with reds of garnacha and ull de llebre made in family wineries and cooperatives.