Logbook · 4 places

What to see and do in la Riera de Gaià

What to see and do in la Riera de Gaià (Tarragonès, Tarragona): 4 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 3 Monuments

How far each place is from the centre of la Riera de Gaià

Towns near la Riera de Gaià

What to see in la Nou de Gaià 2.2 km · 2 places
What to see in Altafulla 2.7 km · 6 places
What to see in el Catllar 3.2 km · 3 places
What to see in Torredembarra 3.6 km · 4 places
What to see in Vespella de Gaià 4.5 km · 5 places
What to see in la Pobla de Montornès 4.7 km · 3 places
What to see in Creixell 6.8 km · 5 places
What to see in Salomó 7.4 km · 3 places

Spain › Catalonia › Tarragona › Tarragonès › la Riera de Gaià

What to see and do in la Riera de Gaià

La Riera de Gaià
Village
La Riera de Gaià is a municipality of the Tarragonès with 1,834 inhabitants (INE 2025), formed in 1769 by the merger of La Riera with Virgili following the depopulation of the 14th and 15th centuries. Its economy has traditionally been based on agriculture, with hazelnut, carob and olive trees. It preserves the castle of Santa Margarita, or el Castellot, an old fortress of the lords of Montoliu already mentioned in 1118 and badly damaged during the Peninsular War, of which fragments of wall and a circular tower remain; and in the settlement of Vespella, the medieval tower of la Vella, built as a defence and lookout point. The parish church, dedicated to Santa Margarita, is Baroque in style and construction began in 1788. The main festival is celebrated in July.
Castle of Montoliu
Monument
Also called the castell de Santa Margarida or "el Castellot", it stands near the mouth of the Gaià; it belonged to the Claramunt family from when Ramon Berenguer I granted it to them in 1060, with the Montoliu family as castellans, among whom the vice admiral Berenguer de Montoliu stood out. A well-preserved 11th-12th-century circular tower and a two-story rectangular body with a pointed vault, added in the 13th or 14th century, survive, along with a rock-cut moat. It suffered severe deterioration after the Peninsular War. A Bien Cultural de Interés Nacional (Catalonia's top heritage-protection category).
Tower of l'Abella
Monument
Circular stone tower probably raised around the year 1000, when the Gaià marked the frontier with al-Andalus, to watch over the road at the entrance to the village. About seven meters of elevation survive, with stretches of opus spicatum and remains of the vault that covered it; it is half-ruined and covered in vegetation atop a small hill next to the road.
Tower of l'Alzina
Monument
Of this circular defence tower, situated on a hillock reached from el Catllar via the camí de Coll Canut, only the plan excavated in the rock remains: 4.15 metres in diameter and walls 105 centimetres thick, of stone bonded with lime mortar and river sand. It was preserved up to about two metres in height until in 1987 a digger destroyed the remains, for reasons unknown. There are no objective dating elements, but its visual relationship with other towers and castles on the frontier line of the Baix Gaià, such as the torre de la Vella and the castle of Catllar, places its construction in the 11th century.