Piera is a

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

that covers a large portion of the southeastern corner of the

comarca A ''comarca'' (, or , or ) 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, ...

of Anoia in

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the no ...

, Spain, on the left bank of the

Anoia river The Anoia (''Noya'' in Spanish) is a river in Catalonia, Spain, most of whose course is within the ''comarca'' of the same name. Its source is in the municipality of Veciana (Anoia) at an elevation of about . It passes through Igualada and cross ...

. The agricultural land, mostly non-irrigated, is used for the cultivation of

cereal A cereal is any grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran. Cereal grain crops are grown in greater quantities and provide more food ...

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus '' Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years a ...

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ' ...

s and

almond The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within the genu ...

s. The town itself hosts a number of light industries:

textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, different #Fabric, fabric types, etc. At f ...

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adapta ...

s and construction materials. Tourism during the summer months is also relatively important for the local economy. The FGC railway line R6 from

Martorell Martorell () is a municipality that forms part of the Baix Llobregat comarca, in Catalonia, Spain, primarily known for its medieval Devil's bridge. It lies at the confluence of the Llobregat and Anoia rivers. It has three railway stations - ...

and

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern 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 ...

Igualada Igualada () is a municipality in the province of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain. It is located on the left bank of the Anoia River and at the western end of the Igualada-Martorell-Barcelona Railway. Igualada is the capital and central market of th ...

runs through the town, while local roads lead to

Capellades Capellades () is a town in Catalonia, Spain, located in the south of the comarca of Anoia, some sixty metres above the Anoia river where it cuts through the Catalan Coastal Range. The C-15 trunk road from Vilafranca del Penedès and the FGC ra ...

and Sant Sadurní d'Anoia. Notable monuments include the castle of Fontanet. The castle which was restored in 1916 by Ramon de Viala d'Aiguavives, Baron of Almenar is documented in 955 a.c. and now used for private functions. The sister of the Baron of Almenar, Isabel de Viala d'Aiguavives also financed and patroned the modernist church of Ca n'Aguilera which was donated to Barcelona's Bishop by Zaragoza de Viala family in 1921. The architect of Ca N'Aguilera modernist church is Francesc Berenguer i Mestres, who was Antoni Gaudi's disciple and personal friend. Another Piera relevant monument is the church of Santa Maria, with both Gothic and Roman elements.

Subdivisions

The municipality of Piera includes several outlying villages (''barris''): these are usually distinguished into the older, traditional settlements (''barris antics'') and the newer urbanisations which have been developed to cope with the expansion of the municipality (''barris nous'').

Population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction usi ...

s are given for 1999, from the Ajuntament de Piera and cited in ''Història de Piera'': the town of Piera (''nucli urbà'') had a population of 5036 at that date, whereas the total population of the municipality was 8551.

Traditional ''barris''

*El Bedorc (237), on the

* Ca n'Aguilera (161) *Can Cairot (28) *Can Creixell (2) *La Fortesa (57), on the Anoia river at the southern point of the municipality *Sant Jaume Sesoliveres (213)

Newer ''barris''

*Bosc de l'Àliga (88) *Can Bonastre (490) *Can Bou (93) *Can Canals (602) *Can Claramunt (494) *Can Martí (222) *Can Mas (427) *Can Mata (166) *Castell de la Ventosa (51) *La Grua (20) *Vallbonica (26), on the road to

Vallbona d'Anoia Vallbona d'Anoia is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Anoia in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated to the left of the Anoia river, on the road between Piera and Capellades. The town is served by a station on the FGC railway line R6 from Barc ...

*La Venta i Can Musarro (138)

Demography

Twin towns

Piera is twinned with: * Estepa, Spain

Independence declaration

On 30 October 2012, Piera proclaimed itself as a

Free Catalan Territory The Free Catalan Territory are those declared municipalities or regions of Catalonia that had approved a motion in a plenary session by the councillors of the town or the region council, as they represent the municipality's local authority. Such ...

References

*Panareda Clopés, Josep Maria; Rios Calvet, Jaume; Rabella Vives, Josep Maria (1989). "Guia de Catalunya", Barcelona: Caixa de Catalunya. . .

External links

*
Government data pages
{{Authority control Municipalities in Anoia