La Fatarella

La Fatarella is a village of around 1000 people in the inland county of Terra Alta, within the region of Ribera d'Ebre, in the province of Terragona, about 2 hours southwest of Barcelona.

The Ancient City

In 1228, the Arabic inhabitants of La Fatarella began to build their village, naming it after the Arabic word for tower, 'fatorella'. The villagers were vanquished in battle by the Knights Templar as the city was an important foothold in the area. In the Middle Ages, very thick protective walls were built around the city, but by the 16th century, the population had increased so much the city expanded beyond the walls. The streets of this lovely, little village are narrow, irregular and winding, and many buildings are connected by stone arches. At the end of Avinguda Misericòrdia, at the highest point in the village, stands the chapel of Mare de Déu of the Misericòrdia.

The Surroundings

La Fatarella, which is part of the neighboring Serra de la Fatarella mountain range, was one of the main locations of the Battle of the Ebro in the Spanish Civil War. The Serra de la Fatarella is one of the isolated mountain ranges of the Catalan Central Depression located off the southern end of the Catalan Pre-Coastal Range between La Fatarella and Ascó in Spain. This smooth range runs in a N - S direction, with the ridge's highest point at 563.5 m.

Festivals

There are six festivals celebrated in La Fatarella over the year. Early in February is the Winter Festival, in honor of Sant Blai, celebrated over three days. The Saturday after Easter is the festival of San Francesco that includes a 12K walk to the nearby hermitage of San Francesco and dancing into the night. The Our Lady of Honor festivities happen over 5 days, the first weekend in August. The Friday to Wednesday event that celebrates every member of society from the children to the elderly. In September, is the Feast of Our Lady of Mercy which includes singing and dancing.The first weekend of December is the Festival of Oil with all kinds of gastronomic delights.

A street corner of La Fatarella, festooned with a colorful bunting strung from corner to corner.

A long narrow terracotta container for plants decorated with the scene of the fighting between the Moors and the Templars in La Fatarella.

An ancient wall, about 15ft tall, made of dry stone, perfectly straight, and the lush green grass.

Lush green grass and the view of the blue sky, with wispy clouds.

The view of an abandoned plot of land against a mountainous background. Half the image is the bluest blue sky.

In the foreground is a white sun umbrella, beyond that is a large, blue swimming pool, and beyond that are a row of ancient apartment buildings.

La Fatarella on the right side of a river bank. Heavy rain is falling on the river.

Looking down a sloped, wet, narrow street at a yellow truck.

Looking up a narrow, stone avenue. The blue sky makes an inverted triangular shape.

Looking down a street in La Fatarella, with the sun hitting the houses on one side while the other side of the street is shady.

Looking into an arched entrance of an alley. The ceiling of the alley is old timber and is beautiful. The alley is dark but the sun enters from the arch on the far side.

From the shade underneath an alley protected by a stone, peaked-arch, we see the sunlit street beyond and the blue sky above.

A stone arch that is peaked at the top, showing master-level skills of stonemason.

The details of an ancient wall still in pristine condition in the village of La Fatarella.

From the streets of La Fatarella, we see the colors of twilight; pink, peach, and light blue.

The sunset as seen from the church at the highest point of the town of La Fatarella. The sky is light blue, peach, and shades of orange.

The sun has set over the village of La Fatarella. The top half of the image is filled with the colors of sunset: peach, a light yellow, light blue and then a twilight indigo.

The colors of the sky during sunset framed on both sides by the narrow streets of La Fatarella.

A full Moon in a dark sky with a few wispy light grey clouds. The Moon is directly overhead the village of La Fatarella, in the Terragona region of Spain.

People are crowded into a dark alley to listen to live music. At the end of the alley is a well-lit stage with a white canopy over the top.

The view from a high point in the village of La Fatarella showing the streets, fields and wind turbines beyond.

An overhead shot of the town of La Fatarella, in Terra Alta Catalunya, Spain