Culture and traditions

Following in the footsteps of Bishop Oliba a thousand years after his appointment as Bishop of Vic has encouraged us to explore other Romanesque gems in the area surrounding Barcelona, because there’s always some secret left to discover. If we had a protractor, the city of Vic would be at the centre of its base, just a few kilometres from places where Romanesque heritage blends into beautiful nature.

Long before Disney popularised Jack Sparrow and the Pirates of the Caribbean universe, the inhabitants of the Catalan coastline were all too familiar with the attacks launched by sea bandits. Films, series and novels have presented pirates as romantic characters, but they could be the most cruel of criminals. Their role in local history is certainly worth discovering and it’s been kept alive in many towns in regions such as Garraf or Maresme as a way to explore their historical heritage.

The abundance of water is one of the defining features of Capellades, a town nestling on the right bank of the Anoia River. Water carved escarpments where Neanderthals lived in prehistoric times. Much later, from the 17^th century onwards, several paper mills were built along the river to take advantage of the plentiful flow of water. Still today, the same water attracts many visitors, keen to discover the wells, springs, lavoirs and reservoirs spread throughout this medium-sized town. Do you know the main attractions of one of the unmissable tourist destinations in Barcelona’s counties?