Logbook · 7 places

What to see and do in Pontils

What to see and do in Pontils (Conca de Barberà, Tarragona): 7 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 5 Monuments · 1 Activities

How far each place is from the centre of Pontils

Towns near Pontils

What to see in les Piles 4.8 km · 5 places
What to see in Querol 6.1 km · 7 places
What to see in Bellprat 6.1 km · 3 places
What to see in Santa Coloma de Queralt 6.2 km · 5 places
What to see in Rocafort de Queralt 8.9 km · 3 places
What to see in Conesa 9.3 km · 6 places
What to see in Savallà del Comtat 10 km · 2 places
What to see in el Pont d'Armentera 11 km · 3 places

Spain › Catalonia › Tarragona › Conca de Barberà › Pontils

What to see and do in Pontils

Pontils
Village
Pontils is a municipality of the Conca de Barberà comarca, in the province of Tarragona, municipal seat since 1995 in place of Santa Perpètua de Gaià, today an attached settlement, together with Rocamora, Sant Magí de Brufaganya, Seguer and Vallespinosa. It has 124 inhabitants and its economy is based on dry farming, with vineyards, cereals and almond trees. The place was bought in 1057 by Ramon Berenguer I and afterwards remained in the hands of the Cervelló lineage throughout the Middle Ages. On a hill overlooking the village are preserved the remains of the old castle, known as the Castellot. In the municipal area there are also ruins of the 10th-century castle of Santa Perpètua de Gaià, and that of Montclar, as well as the sanctuary of Sant Magí de Brufaganya, documented since 1204.
Castle of Santa Perpètua de Gaià
Monument
The remains of the castle of Santa Perpètua de Gaià lie in the municipality of Pontils, in the comarca of the Conca de Barberà. The castle's name comes from a legend collected by the folklorist Joan Amades, with no historical basis: Perpètua, daughter of the lord of Gaià Castle, rejected her suitors to devote herself to religious life and ended up taking her vows at the monastery of Vallbona de les Monges; from then on the castle took her name. Santa Perpètua de Gaià was the head of its own municipality until 1995, when it became a hamlet attached to Pontils.
Castle of Pontils
Monument
Pontils Castle, of which only remains survive today, originally had a rectangular plan of about 32 by 35 metres bounded by a wall, with a circular tower at the centre; at its southern end the remains of an old church survive, next to a necropolis. Already documented in 976 as a boundary marker of Queralt Castle, in the mid-11th century it belonged to the counts of Barcelona, who sold it in 1057 to Ramon Berenguer I; the Castelló family held it in fief from 1062. In 1344 Peter the Ceremonious demanded homage from its castellans, and in the early modern period it passed to the counts of Savallà and later to the marquises of Aitona, until the Mendizábal disentailment; in 1648, during the Reapers' War, Castilian troops damaged it.
Castle of Vallespinosa
Monument
Vallespinosa Castle, in the municipality of Pontils, comarca of the Conca de Barberà (Tarragona), is a medieval fortress documented since 1030, although the surviving construction dates from the 12th century. In 1174 it was donated to the monastery of Santes Creus. It suffered two devastating assaults: one by the bandit Perot Rocaguinarda in the early 17th century, and another in 1648 at the hands of Castilian troops during the Reapers' War. Today only a circular tower and part of the perimeter wall survive, a double-walled enclosure of small ashlar blocks bound with mortar; before the Spanish Civil War it had two gates. It stands at 696 metres above sea level, next to a path leading out of the village of Vallespinosa, and is declared a National Cultural Asset.
Castle of Seguer
Monument
Seguer Castle, of which barely any remains survive in the hamlet of Seguer, in the municipality of Pontils, contained within its fortified precinct the chapel of Sant Bartomeu, a single-nave building with a flat apse, covered by a slightly pointed barrel vault. Its doorway, opened in the south façade, is a voussoired round arch, carved in reddish sandstone, while the rest of the masonry is made of small, irregular stone bonded with mortar, which required rendering both inside and out.
Castle of Montclar (Pontils)
Monument
Montclar Castle, today in ruins, stands near the summit of the Serra de Montclar (946 m), in the municipality of Pontils, next to the Romanesque hermitage of Sant Miquel, which must have been its chapel and where a pilgrimage is held on set dates; from the top there is a wide panoramic view. Formerly known as the Castellot, it played an important role in the reconquest of the territory; documented since 1013, it passed in 1033 into the hands of Bernat Sendred de Gurb and in 1057 to Ramon Arnau, together with the castle of Biure. During the 12th century it came under the domain of the Cervelló family, although it was also held by the Queralt, Montagut and Clariana families; in 1200 King Peter the Catholic granted it, together with those of Pontils and Montagut, to Berenguera de Querol.
Pontils Main Festival
Activity
The fiesta mayor of Pontils is celebrated on the first weekend of August.