De Salses a Guardamar i de Fraga a l’Alguer: les comarques de parla catalana una a una. 51/88: el Matarranya (La Franja).
Matarranya is a shire named after the river that crosses it. Its capital city is Vall-de-roures, but Calaceit is considered its cultural capital city. Besides these two, none of the other towns in Matarranya have more than a few hundred inhabitants.
Its landscape consists of hills, often covered in olive tree fields and sheep flocks. The river Matarranya, though quite small, flows through the rocks and in Besseit even has created a beautiful canyon, known as Estrets del Parrissal.
Some caves with prehistoric rock art are located in Matarranya, all of which are protected as part of UNESCO’s World Heritage Site “rock art of the Iberian Mediterranean basin”. In fact, the first prehistoric rock art found in the Mediterranean basin was the cave called Roca dels Moros, in Cretes, Matarranya, discovered in 1903 by the archaeologist from Calaceit Joan Cabré. Other discoveries followed, such as Els Gascons or La Fenellassa caves. Some of the cave’s art was removed from the walls and taken to museums to preserve them.
Photos by calaceite.es (Lluís), Consolación hotel, ruralcalaceite, Alamy, elmarge (Xavier Sánchez Torres), visita els ports, mc.maite.
