Vilafranca is a big town or a small city, depending on how you see it. A town means a population centre that is not a city but has some privileges that distinguish it from being a village. Vilafranca del Penedès is the capital of the Alt Penedès district, the most renowned and traditional wine-growing district in Catalonia. Its origins date back to the 12th century and since then it has been an important centre of communication.
Vilafranca has historically been one of the most important medium sized towns in Catalonia. It has an outstanding historical-artistic heritage made up of a group of buildings dating from medieval times, which have later been restored. For that reason Vilafranca still preserves a noble medieval atmosphere. The Modernist buildings are also important, being built during the urban expansion which took place at the end of the 19th century.
Most of the historical buildings of medieval origins are located around the Basilica of Santa Maria: the old neighbourhood, with the Palace of the Counts and Kings, the Palace Baltà and the Basilica of Santa Maria with the crypt and group of sculptures by the sculptor Josep Llimona.

COUNCIL OF VILAFRANCA DEL PENEDÈS
Cort, 14
Phone: 93 892 03 58
08720 Vilafranca del Penedès
www.vilafranca.cat

Most of the historical buildings are located in the town centre. One of the most outstanding among them is the imposing silhouette of the Basilica of Santa Maria, construction of which started in the year 1285. The church, which received the honorific title of Basilica in the year 1920, belongs to an initial phase of the Catalan Gothic architecture applied to a parish church. The side façade which was the main primitive door of the Basilica still preserves remains from wall pictures from the 14th century. There are also a wide variety of gargoyles and sculptures located on the upper part. In the inner crypt we can find the sculpture group of the “Descendimiento de Cristo” (Christ being taken down from the cross), work done in Carrara marble by the Modernist sculptor Josep Llimona. The bell tower – which dates from the same time - is a Gothic building independent from the Basilica, which has an eight-sided tower with two bodies. In Jaume I Square, in front of the main door of Santa Maria, we find the old Royal Palace, dating from the 13th century – the time of Pere el Gran - which hosts the VINSEUM.

The VINSEUM is located within the architectural group formed by the Royal Palace, a Gothic chapel and other modern buildings. There are many sections such as the Museum of Archaeology from the region, the Geological Museum of the region, art collections, ornithology collections and the Wine Museum, which is the most popular. The Wine Museum was inaugurated in 1945 and there are eleven rooms where diorama, models, tools, pottery and glass objects let us appreciate the evolution of wine-growing techniques down the ages.Next to the Basilica of Santa Maria we find the Palace of Babaus or Palace Baltà, which dates from the 14th century and was restored in 1889.
The Museum of Vilafranca is located within the architectural group formed by the Royal Palace, a Gothic chapel and other modern buildings. There are many sections such as the Museum of Archaeology from the region, the Geological Museum of the region, art collections, ornithology collections and the Wine Museum, which is the most popular. The Wine Museum was inaugurated in 1945 and there are eleven rooms where diorama, models, tools, pottery and glass objects let us appreciate the evolution of wine-growing techniques down the ages.Next to the Basilica of Santa Maria we find the Palace of Babaus or Palace Baltà, which dates from the 14th century and was restored in 1889. Nearby, in Jaume I Square we find another important building: La Casa Gomà, where the beautiful Gothic interior arches can be seen on the bottom floor. It was the ancestral home of the bishop of Torras i Bages, nowadays hosting the public library of the same name. If we walk down Santa Maria Street we reach the Town Hall square. The Town Hall is a Gothic building with a Modernist façade and next to it we can see Can Macià, a noble Gothic house from the 15th century.In nearby Sant Joan Square we find the Sant Joan Chapel, a Gothic church built in the 14th century, which is representative of a new system of construction in meridional Gothic architecture, as the nave is covered with wood and is supported by diaphragm arches. Nowadays it is closed, with only certain cultural exhibitions taking place inside.
The Church and Convent of Sant Francesc are also important as they preserve many medieval tombs and gravestones as well as the famous altarpiece of the Presentació de la Mare de Déu i Sant Jordi, one of the main exponents of the then new artistic current in painting known as “The International Style”, painted by Lluís Borrassà at the end of the 14th century.
Around the town centre you can see many Modernist buildings, some of them very representative, such as the Guasch Chemist, the façade of the Town Hall, Can Freixedes, La Casa Berger i Balaguer or Casa Miró. In the Casa de la Festa Major, located in the old hen market you can find a permanent exhibition representing the mystery and magic of the Town Festivity. It is a very peculiar building, which gathers the rich folklore of our festivity, the most typical in Catalonia.