| Romanic Art: The ancient art. Romanic art or emerging Catalonia |
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Of the country’s oldest and best-preserved buildings the Penedès region has an exceptional group at Olèrdola, an old Iberic fortress, which later became a Roman and then a medieval fortress, as the different layers of the wall reflect. Ruins of houses, silos, water tanks, tombs, part of a Mozarabic church and a Romanic church complete the group. Its location, upland, with views of both the Penedès region and the coast, along with its excellent organization make the Romanic group even more attractive. Should you visit, you will pass from antiquity to the medieval era without realizing, something very typical of the region. Despite being dominated by the Romans and the Via Augusta being very important, there are very few Roman remains, the most important archaeological heritage coming down from the medieval era, particularly Romanic Art. |
Monastery of Sant Sebastià
dels Gorgs |
Romanic Art has been correctly identified with the emergence of Catalonia, the most splendid centuries being the 11th and 12th when the old Catalonia had already been formed and pacified but the Penedès region was an unstable boundary land. For that reason we do not find big constructions in our region such as the ones in Cuixà, Ripoll, La Seu d'Urgell, Cardona or Sant Cugat del Vallès, the most important Romanic buildings being defensive castles such as the ones at Gelida, Subirats, Mediona, Castellví, Sant Martí or Castellet: these last two have been restored, with work now being undertaken on the first two. In the castle enclosures were the corresponding churches, most of them continuing with their religious work after the castles stopped being strategic points. As such they are still well preserved. There are some towns where hardly anything remains of these castles – such as Torrelles and Pontons - but the small churches from Foix and Sant Joan have been preserved and they have achieved the verdaguerian category of “chapels suspended in the air”. Also, in these two mountain towns along with others such as Castellví, there are still fortified houses from the Romanic age.
As we have already mentioned, the Romanic churches located in the population centres have small dimensions, with many of them having been restored. The Church of Sant Jaume de Moja in Olèrdola has been perfectly preserved and has great purity and harmony of lines. The Church of Sant Pere Sacarrera in Mediona is also remarkable. There are around 20 other churches or chapels around the region, stand out examples being the Preromanic Church of Sant Benet d'Espiells in Sant Sadurní, the Church of Santa Margarida d’Agullàdols in Mediona, the Church of Sant Joan Samora in Sant Llorenç d'Hortons, and the Sepulcher of Olèrdola, with a round design and with wall paintings from the period.
There are a few larger churches, three in particular being worthy of mention. First of all, the Church of Sant Martí Sarroca, which is without doubt the most important example of Romanic Art in the Penedès region, with an apse considered to be among the best in Catalonia. Its location is also remarkable. Next, the Church of Sant Marçal de Terrassola, a Romanic church with a Latin cross design, with beautiful proportions and an exquisite sobriety. Finally we need to mention the old Benedictine priory of Sant Sebastià dels Gorgs, from which the church, part of a small cloister and a solid bell tower of Lombard style – the best example in the Penedès region - have been preserved.
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