- Baix Penedès
Spanish comarca
comarca_name = Baix Penedès
location_
province = Tarragona
capital =El Vendrell
largest_city =El Vendrell
demonym =
population = 61,256 (2001)
area = 295.5
pop_density = 207.3
municipalities =Albinyana |L'Arboç |Banyeres del Penedès |Bellvei |La Bisbal del Penedès |Bonastre |Calafell |Cunit |Llorenç del Penedès |Masllorenç |El Montmell |Sant Jaume dels Domenys |Santa Oliva |El Vendrell Baix Penedès is a comarca (county) on the coast of
Catalonia ,Spain . The area has been settled since the times of theIbers , with ancient ruins remaining inBanyeres at "Can Canyís", in the capital elVendrell at the village of "Guàrdies" and inCalafell at the villages of "Toixoneres" and "la Ciutadella" ("The Citadel").Municipalities
Populations are for 2001.
*
Albinyana - pop. 1780
*L'Arboç - pop. 3977
*Banyeres del Penedès - pop. 1862
*Bellvei - pop. 1532
*La Bisbal del Penedès - pop. 2349
*Bonastre - pop. 424
*Calafell - pop. 15883
*Cunit - pop. 7339
*Llorenç del Penedès - pop. 1821
*Masllorenç - pop. 453
*El Montmell - pop. 784
*Sant Jaume dels Domenys - pop. 1637
*Santa Oliva - pop. 2422
*El Vendrell - pop. 26,820Gastronomy
Typical dishes of this region include:
* "el xató" (a dish with vegetables)
* "la coca de verdures" (cake of vegetables)
* "el civet de senglar" (a way of cooking wild boar)
* "el bull de tonyina" (a type of sausage of tuna)
* "l'arròs a banda" (rice cooked in fish and shellfish stock)Desserts include:
* "els bufats" (?)
* "les orelletes" (?)Castellers
Baix Penedès has one of the longest-lived traditions of
casteller s in Catalonia. (Castellers practice the traditional Catalan art/sport of makinghuman pyramid s.) The comarcal capital, el Vendrell, has a monument dedicated to castellers.Present-day teams:
*els Nens del Vendrell (founded 1926)
* la Colla Nova
* elsminyons de l'Arboç The most important competitions of Castellers in the comarca occur each year as part of the August festival in honor of the Virgin Mary at Bisbal and on the fourth Sunday of August at l'
Arboç del Penedès , with castellers from all over Catalonia.People from Baix Penedès
Among the most important historical figures from Baix Penedès are:
*
Àngel Guimerà (1845-1924): writer. Guimerà was originally from theCanary Islands , but his mother was from el Vendrell, and he eventually settled there in his ancestral home, "cal Guimerà".
*Pau ("Pablo") Casals (1876-1973): cellist and composer. The house-museum "vila Casals" is at Sant Salvador, as is a concert hall, l’"Auditori Pau Casals".
*Aureli Maria Escarré (1908-1968): abbot of Montserrat. Since 1978, there has been a monument to him in his home village of l'Arboç, where his ancestral home is on the main street.External links
* [http://www.ccbp.altanet.org/consells/bpenedes/ Official comarcal web site (in Catalan)]
* [http://www.municat.net:8000/omunicat/owa/mun_p03.mapa_comarques?via=1&codcoma=8101200000&err=0 Map, on the site of the Generalitat de Catalunya]
* [http://www.idescat.net/territ/BasicTerr?TC=3&V0=2&PDF=FALSE&V1=12&VOK=Confirmar IDESCAT: statistical information about this comarca]
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