Torrebesses

The small town of Torrebesses, is located in the south-east of Segrià, at kilometer 130 of the C-12 (Ebro Axis), 25 km from Lleida, Flix 21km, 17km of the AP- 2 (out Lleida), a 47km and 188km from Barcelona Airport Alguaire.

Torrebesses The name is a compound of the nicknames "towers" and "beces" meaning twin towers or equal. This name corresponds to a farmhouse in the Alt Penedès, near which were two towers. After the Arab invasion, the year 1149, we wanted to repopulate the area and the new settlers gave the people the name of the site from which they came.

Torrebesses belonged to the house of Cervera after restocking and soon became the lordship of the monastery of Scala. This continued until 1835, by the confiscation of Mendizabal and ceased to belong to Escaladei.

The Spanish Civil War also did remove Torrebesses, was a war between brothers who killed 23 young people in the front, and other deaths by shooting, bombing or accidents with handling explosives. The war ended in Torrebesses on December 24, 1938 with the entry of the troops totalitarian.

To this day the population has been thriving and maintaining a great atmosphere among all the inhabitants of Torrebesses and anyone who's going to.

Torrebesses has a magnificent monumental formed by the castle, the Romanesque church and some Renaissance and Baroque houses that constitute the "Vileta" old core of the town, the higher, still retaining ancient portals and the typical arrangement of the streets which gives a traditional setting.

Torrebesses Palace Castle, currently privately owned and one of the symbols of the town, was built by the Arabs to monitor and protect Christian attacks.

Wrapped Cyclopean walls at the base unit, appears before the Saracen domination, maintains much of the Romanesque and Gothic building, while the facade, dating from 1730, is a late Baroque.

It was rented to teachers and mayors and school and hospital was during the Civil War.

The Parish Church of Sant Salvador is a temple of simple structure but very well maintained medieval appearance Romanesque, Gothic transitional, built around 1170.

Headlining the main facade are the characteristic bell tower with space for two bells.

Inside, in the chapel of Sant Joan Baptista, find a XIV century altarpiece and a figure of the saint declared a historic monument since 1985.

The New Church was begun in 1869, and that of Sant Salvador remained small by population increase, which should be paid with the contributions of the neighbors.

The proponent of this idea was the Mayor Tomas Ballesté, together with the rector and bishop of Lleida. He blessed the cornerstone and the year construction was stopped because the budget was up to 105,000 pesetas and you could not achieve this figure. The agricultural crisis and the situation in the country, made the mayor sell their farms to overcome the construction debt, which led to its downfall.

New Church, have been the walls and the main facade, and the interior has been configured as Tomas Ballesté Square, where on August 6 is dancing festival.

Stresses the Gothic-Renaissance architecture of some houses of the people as the house prayed and Gort house, built between the fourteenth and eighteenth centuries.

Half a mile short of Torrebesses, find the Fountain of Sant Roc, water which is considered miraculous as never interrupted, either near the hermitage of the same name. For the festival celebrates a visit sardine and Sant Roc Day and Women's Day.

The term of Torrebesses is rich in dry stone constructions, highlighting the cisterns, tanks cut into the stone of considerable capacity and covered with false dome structures, were used to store rainwater and were scattered throughout the territory, also we highlight the bow cabins, ponds and "Cadolles", altogether about 150 constructions.

Other attractions of the town that you can visit, would the Pozo de la Villa, the Old Oven Pan, Josep Jané Museum Periu and Interpretation Center Building Dry Stone.