Exspaining Spain: Regions
Catalonia (Catalunya/Catalonha/Cataluña)
Catalonia is divided into four provinces, Barcelona, Girona (Girona/Gerona), Lleida (Lleida/Lhèida/Lérida), and Tarragona. Its capital city is Barcelona.
The region’s traditional construction is the masia, a large, isolated structure with stone walls, wooden beams, and a tiled or slate roof. The entrance may be an arch or a lintel. The first floor was used for farming activities and housing livestock.
The predominant climate type is Mediterranean, characterized by dry summers and mild, wet winters. There is very little precipitation in the summer, but heavy rains in the spring and fall. The average annual temperature is 17 °C (62.6 °F).
Industry has always been the most important economic sector, but tourism has quickly become another significant source of income, as Catalonia is the most popular Spanish destination for foreign tourists.
The most important industries are textiles, car, and chemicals. The main tourist destinations are Barcelona, Costa Brava, and Costa Daurada.
Ana María Matute - writer
Dani Pedrosa - motorcycle racer
Gerard Piqué - soccer player
Joan Manuel Serrat - singer
Mireia Belmonte - swimmer
Pau Gasol - basketball player
The Catalan diet consists of fish, seafood, olive oil, bread, and vegetables. Typical dishes include pa amb tomàquet (tomato-smeared bread), escalivada (grilled vegetables), escudella (a stew containing pasta, meat, and vegetables), coca (a vegetable-topped pastry), and crema catalana (a yellow custard made with egg yolks, milk, and sugar).
8th century BCE: Carthaginians
3rd century BCE: Roman conquest
5th century CE: Visigoths
8th century: Muslim invasion
9th century: County of Barcelona
1137: union of the County of Barcelona with the Kingdom of Aragon
1635–1659: Franco-Spanish War, during which France briefly controlled Catalonia
1716: termination of Catalan separate institutions, laws, and rights
1874: beginning of Catalan nationalism
1932: first Statute of Autonomy
1979: modern Statute of Autonomy
2017: illegal independence referendum and independence proclamation
In Catalonia, four languages have official status: Catalan, Spanish, Aranese, and Catalan Sign Language. Aranese is a variety of the Occitan language spoken in the Val d’Aran. It differs from other Romance languages in Spain in that Latin f- became h- and intervocalic -n- disappeared. Other features of the language include Spanish and Catalan loanwords, the use of -u- instead of -v-, and the feminine plural ending in -es.
There are six UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Archaeological Ensemble of Tarraco (Tarragona), Catalan Romanesque Churches of the Vall de Boí (Lleida), Palau de la Música Catalana and Hospital de Sant Pau (Barcelona), Poblet Monastery (Tarragona), Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula (shared with other regions of Spain), and Works of Antoni Gaudí (Barcelona).
Catalan Romanesque Churches of the Vall de Boí
