Priorat () is a comarca (county) in

Camp de Tarragona Camp de Tarragona () is a Natural region, natural and historical region, as well as one of the nine Vegueries of Catalonia, regions (''vegueries'') of Catalonia. It is the third most populated region, with 536,453 inhabitants as of 2022. The re ...

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 ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. The region is named due to the monastery of Scala Dei which held many properties and the capital is now the town of Falset.

Economy

The central part of the comarca, ''Priorat històric'', produces the highly regarded wines that are certified under the DOQ Priorat. Wines from elsewhere in the comarca are certified as DO Montsant although this region also has a small segment of the neighboring comarca,

Ribera d'Ebre Ribera d'Ebre () is a comarca (county) in Catalonia, Spain. It extends to both sides of the Ebre river between the reservoir of Riba-roja and Miravet. It belongs to the Terres de l'Ebre Terres de l'Ebre (, in English 'Ebro, Ebre Lands') is t ...

. However, galena mining was the main activity since prehistoric times until 1972, when the last galena mine closed. The other main agricultural activity is the production of olives and olive oil, the latter of which is certified under DOP Siurana. Historically there was greater production of hazelnuts and almonds but these activities have become mostly for personal use. In late 1800s, a devastating attack of the insect phylloxera destroyed vines and mining kept activities and around twenty mines opened at that time. Priorat saw a steady loss of population throughout the 20th century due to a number of external factors such as the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

and the rise of coastal tourism. In 2004, with a more prosperous economy there was an overall increase in population that peaked in 2010 and has since been decreasing again each year. In 2001, the population was 9,196, with only the capital exceeding a population of 1,000 and while it has over 2,800 residents as of 2017, the comarca overall has reduced to 9,345 from a high of 10,145 making it the 3rd least populated comarca in all of Catalonia.

Physical geography

Priorat has an area of 496 km² and is bordered by the River

Ebro The Ebro (Spanish and Basque ; , , ) is a river of the north and northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, in Spain. It rises in Cantabria and flows , almost entirely in an east-southeast direction. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea, forming a de ...

, and by the comarques of

Baix Camp Baix Camp () is a Comarques of Catalonia, comarca located in the region of Camp de Tarragona, in Catalonia.The capital is the city of Reus. Baix Camp is located on the coast, between Tarragonès to the northeast and Baix Ebre to the south. It als ...

, les Garrigues, and Conca de Barberà. The region is mostly hilly, and in the extreme north of the comarca is the Montsant mountain range, rising to over 1000 m; the south is bordered by the Mola de Colldejou and the mountain ranges of Serra de Llaberia and Serra de Santa Marina. The climate is continental: dry and hot in summer, cold in the winter.

Municipalities

References

External links

*
Tourism office website
{{Coord, 41, 08, N, 0, 49, E, type:adm2nd_source:cawiki, display=title Comarques of the Province of Tarragona