THE ROMANESQUE PERIOD IN Vall de Ribes
The Romanesque Period is one of the grat moments in the history of Catalan art. Due to the exceptional importance of some of the internationally recognised monuments, and because in Catalonia’s history and imagery has almost mythical connotations, associating itself with political and national origins of the area. The concepts of Catalonia and the Catalan language became popular throughout the 11th an 12th centuries, a time in which the firts texts in Catalan werw written. Artistically speaking, these centuries make up that known as the Romanesque Period.
Campelles
Sant Martí Church: A former Romanesque church that was demolished by a French invasion and was rebuilt and extended at the end of the 18th century.
Pardines
Sant Esteve Church: Little remains of the original romanesque building. We can only observe an apse, wich is narrower thanthe nave, which was convertes into the base of a defence towe in the 14th century.
Santa Magdalena de Puigsac Church: An original 12th century building.
Planoles
Sant Marcel de Planès Church: An 11th century church, with a barrel vault and crowned with a horseshoe-shaped apse on the inside and semi-circular onthe outside. It has a bell gable tower. This small church is a example of the rural Romanesque architecture of the time.It has a bell gable tower.
Sant Vicenç de Planoles Church:This building dates back to the Lombard architecture of the 11th century, although due to its rustic quality it could be dated to the 12th century. Today. we find a small, porched atrium. As for the bell tower, this was built in the 19th century, obviously with a different style than the rest of the building.
Queralbs
Sant Jaume Church: Romanesque church from the 12th century. The porch stand out, made up of six arches which are supported by five blue columns, making the ensemble one of the best and most well-preserved examples of Catalan Romanesque architectur still standing today. During the 15th and 17th centuries the original structure urdenwent some modifications such as the extensions of the central nave with two square chapels; the construction of a sacristy with a chapel; and the building of a bell tower crowned by a small gable tower.
Fustanyà
Sant Sadurní de Fustanyà Church: On the south-facing façade there is the entrance door that satnds out for the decorations and alyout of its ironwork, commonin the 11th and 12th centuries. On the south side of the church was part o a medieval cemetery and ceramic fragments such as the small pot with a poring lip made of black pottery next to a tomb and highly likely to be related to it. Its characteristic make it possible to date it back to the end of the 11th century or beginning of the 12th century.
Serrat
Mare de Déu del Remei del Serrat Church: It dates back to the 12th centurys.
Ribes de Freser
Santa Maria Church: The original Romanesque church was demolished in 1936, being replaced by a modern church designed by the architect Josep Danés. Inside there is a reproduction of the famous Baldachin of Ribes, one of the best pieces of Catalan panel painting from 12th century. Only the three apses of the original church remain, which today are the side chapels.
Ribes Castle: A structure known as “the tower”, which is the tallest and most well-preserrved part of entire castle. It retains at least three floors where some windows and embrasures are still visible.
Segura Castle: From the 13th century, remaining part of the eastern side of the wall, a section of wall of the nothern end and a large cistern, protected outside by a large carved stone. Inside, the barrel-vaulted ceiling and plaster or stucco covered walls of the period are still visible.
Ventolà
Sant Cristòfol de Ventolà Church: The first references date back to 12th century. The bell tower, with pointed or ogival windows, was built later. It has recently been restores and a modern porch with an old structure has been added.
Bruguera
Sant Feliu de Bruguera Church: Dates back to the 12th century, although it urderwent a biggest trasformation in the 18th century. Of the original church only part of the apse is lacking in ornamentation, and despite being covered, a part of the bell tower is still visible, a portal with an arcade.
Batet
Verge del Carme Chapel: This chapel has been restored.
Toses i Dòrria
Sant Cristòfol de Toses Church: A splendid 11th century Romanesque building. The most prominent elements of the building are the ironwork ornamentation on the door, the bell tower decorated with lombard arches, and the Romanesque painting inside, reproductions of the originals now held at the National Art Museum of Catalonia.
Sant Víctor de Dòrria Church: Romanesque mural paintings discovered in November 1997 resulting from a restoration project carried out on the church. Original frescoes from the 12th century, and the only ones we find throughout Ripollès.
Romànic en viu
Romànic en viu is a series of concerts held in the Churches of the Barony of Toses. Small concerts wich are really warm and pleasant, perfomed in enclosures of unbeatable acoustics and which have attractes bigger audiences for the Festival year on year. Vall de Ribes and Ripollès in general have been enjoying this extraordinary series of concerts since 2003. Every year, the most north-western corner of the region, the deep valley of the Rigat River, between Vallde Ribes and Cerdanya, presents a quality musical offer in the incomparable context of its small Romanesque hermitages. This series of concerts is unusual as they are performed solely in the churches of the towns of Toses and Planoles, in a total of six millennial Romanesque hermitages, offering a total of 8 live music concerts to the thousands of inhabitants and summer lolidaymakers who come to thes areas during the hottest months of the year. The host towns of the musical performances are Dòrria, Nevà, Fornells de la Muntanya, Toses and Planoles, all of which are located in the two aforementioned towns. For it first six editions the concerts were called EMUSICAL, however the concert series was renamed in 2009 as ROMÀNIC EN VIU (LIVE ROMANESQUE MUSIC) and has since been called “Cultures Convidades” (Invited Cultures): a variety of groups of diverse cultural origins that inable the audience to enter into the musical universe of each one, offering a cultural trip through music. All the moment, audiences have been enjoyed concerts perfomed by artists form Occitan, Basque, Catalan, Brazilian and Balearic Islands’cultures, and it is expected that new corners of the world will be discovered each year from within these Romanesque monuments in Vall del Rigat.