Olivella () is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

, in the province of

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, Spain. It is situated in the

comarca A ''comarca'' (, , , ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain, and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, mark ...

Garraf Garraf (), is a comarca (county) in the Penedès region in Catalonia, Spain. It is named after the Garraf Massif. The capital is the city of Vilanova i la Geltrú. The GR 92 long-distance footpath, which roughly follows the length of the Me ...

History

The first known village in the area was founded in 992 around a castle known as ''Castell vell''. The inhabitants lived off

dryland agriculture Drylands are defined by a scarcity of water. Drylands are zones where precipitation is balanced by evaporation from surfaces and by transpiration by plants (evapotranspiration). The United Nations Environment Program defines drylands as tropical ...

. This initial nucleus was almost abandoned after the

black plague The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...

caused numerous deaths. The area was resettled in the 14th century and gradually prospered. Nowadays there are some new housing developments in the area as well as the "

Sakya Tashi Ling Sakya Tashi Ling () is a monastery belonging to one of four Buddhist schools from Tibet, the Sakyapa tradition. It is an ancient order that follows the Tibetan spiritual leader and ancient king Sakya Trizin. The monastery is ruled by Lama Jamy ...

"AADD. ''Museus i Centres de Patrimoni Cultural a Catalunya'', Departament de Cultura de la Generalitat de Catalunya, Barcelona 2010,

Buddhist monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which may ...

, located in

Plana Novella Plana Novella () is an old country estate and village located on a small plain in the middle of the Garraf Massif National Park, about three kilometers to the east of Jafra and within the municipal boundary of the town of Olivella, Spain. It is ...

Geography

The village is located in the

Garraf Massif The Garraf Massif (, ) is a mountain range of the Catalan Coastal Range, Catalonia, Spain. Its cliffs reach the Mediterranean waters. Its highest point on the coastal side is La Morella, 593 metres above sea level and further inland rises the hig ...

, in a natural park area, not far from

References

External links

Olivella official website

Government data pages
Municipalities in Garraf {{Barcelona-geo-stub