Sant Boi de Llobregat () is a city in the Province of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain, located on the banks of the Llobregat river. In 2019 it had 83,605 inhabitants. The city is divided into six neighborhoods (named ''barris'' in Catalan): Ciutat Cooperativa-Molí Nou, Marianao-Can Paulet, Barri Centre, Vinyets-Molí Vell, Camps Blancs-Canons-Orioles, and Casablanca. It is bordered on the north by the towns of Santa Coloma de Cervelló and Sant Joan Despí and the village of Sant Climent de Llobregat; on the east by the town of Cornellà de Llobregat; on the west by Viladecans; and on the south by El Prat de Llobregat and the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

(via a narrow southward salient).

Economy

Although the main business activity is trading, which is centered around the service sector, Sant Boi is also known for industrial activities, especially

metallurgy Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the ...

. Agriculturally, its mild climate and fertile waterlogged lands, located at the mouth of the Llobregat river, produce a wide variety of vegetables, including the famous Llobregat Delta artichokes. The region offers three different artichoke varieties: white artichoke from Tudela, ''camús'' from Bretagne (considered to be the largest variety) and artichoke from Benicarló. Production is concentrated mostly in March, but products can be found in local markets throughout the year.

Politics

The mayor of the town is Lluïsa Moret Sabidó (

Socialists' Party of Catalonia The Socialists' Party of Catalonia (, PSC–PSOE) is a social democratic political party in Catalonia, Spain, resulting from the merger of three parties: the Socialist Party of Catalonia–Regrouping, led by Josep Pallach i Carolà, the Socia ...

, PSC), and the political composition of the city council seats is as follows: :

: 10 : Initiative for Catalonia Greens: 4 : Citizens – Party of the Citizenry: 3 :

Republican Left of Catalonia The Republican Left of Catalonia (, ERC; ; generically branded as ) is a pro-Catalan independence, social democratic political party in the Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia, with a presence also in Valencia, the Balearic Islands and t ...

: 3 : Gent de Sant Boi: 2 : People's Party: 2 : Convergence and Union: 1

History

The finding of archaeological remains corresponding to Iberian colonies (VI-I bC) and to the Romans (I-V aC)―a noteworthy Roman bath is located near the river―suggests that Sant Boi was created in pre-Roman times. As with most of the surrounding lands, from the 8th to the 11th century the town was controlled by the

Moors The term Moor is an Endonym and exonym, exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslims, Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a s ...

, until their expulsion from

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, compri ...

during the

Reconquista The ''Reconquista'' (Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese for ) or the fall of al-Andalus was a series of military and cultural campaigns that European Christian Reconquista#Northern Christian realms, kingdoms waged ag ...

. The Moors called it ''Alcalá'', which means "castle", due to the existence of a hillock from where the river and the valley were dominated. The town's current name is derived from the name of Saint Baudilus, known as Boi or Baldiri in

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 ...

.Samboal
/ref> During the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, the village progressively grew, expanding from the castle's surroundings to adjacent zones. A baroque-style church was built during the 16th century. The growth continued in the following centuries, giving rise to numerous "masies" (typical Catalan agricultural country houses) near the river and fertile lands. By the end of the 19th century, Sant Boi was a village of nearly 5,000 inhabitants, with an economy driven mainly by agriculture. In the early stages of the 20th century, industry arrived and subsequently flourished in Sant Boi, ranging from brick manufacturing to metalwork. With the end of 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 ...

in 1939, there was a massive influx of immigrants from many different parts of Spain. These new arrivals consisted mostly of people from villages and small towns. They were searching for jobs and career opportunities in the city of Barcelona since it was stimulated by the regrowth of Catalan industry in post-war Spain. The population rose from 10,000 people in 1940 to 65,000 in 1975. This period is characterized by the construction of complete quarters (Casablanca, Camps Blancs, and Cooperativa) for the housing of immigrants. Sant Boi is now a town with more than 80,000 inhabitants, with well-established industrial and service sectors, and good cultural and recreational offerings.

Demography

Notable places

* Sant Baldiri's Church * Roman Bathhouses * Sant Ramon Hermitage

Sport

The town has a rugby union club ( UE Santboiana), and a football club ( FC Santboià).

Prominent people from Sant Boi

* Sergio Aguza – footballer * Carlos Casquero – former footballer * Pau Gasol – NBA player (

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

) *

Marc Gasol Marc Gasol Sáez (, ; born 29 January 1985) is a Spanish former professional basketball player who is the president of Bàsquet Girona of the Liga ACB. The Center (basketball), center is a two-time All-NBA Team member and a three-time NBA All-St ...

– NBA player (

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), E ...

) ** Both Gasol brothers were actually born in Barcelona, at the hospital where their parents worked. The family moved from another Barcelona suburb, Cornellà, to Sant Boi when Pau was 6 years old and Marc was a year old. * Oriol Ripol – professional rugby player * Manel Esteller – scientist * Toni Ribas – pornographic actor and director

References

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

External links

Artistic and historical buildings in Sant Boi de Llobregat
(in Catalan)
Sant Boi's City Council's Site

Sant Boi's City Council's official statistic site in Catalan

Book 'Secret Stories of Sant Boi' written by José Antonio Lozano

Government data pages
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