La Selva del Camp (13th c)

Roman aqueducts: La Selva del Camp (Reus - Spain) La Selva del Camp (Spain)
For the photo's, see below
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La Selva del Camp is a nice and small (6.000 inhabitants) town in the area of Reus, 30 minutes by car from Tarragona (Spain). A settlement under the old town was uncovered by the excavation of an Iberian silo under the Placeta de Sant Andreu. Though no continuation with any Roman settlement has been found, ample evidence in the rest of the municipal territory demonstrates this. Yet the first walled community dates back to the 13th c and was smaller than the present one.
In 1165 the town was granted its Carta de Poblacio (Municipal Charter), placing it under the Tarragona Archbishop's dominion.
The walls that shaped the current old town of La Selva date from the 14th c when Peter IV of Aragon (1336 - 1387) granted permission to repair the old ones.

ELS PONTS (the arches)

This monument popularly known as Els Ponts, a name that stems from its two arches, is an aqueduct bridge in the Calle de Molins in La Selva. The aqueduct originates from the 13th c. and was built to get water from the higher reaches of the La Riera (the stream) de la Selva and to supply the Moli del Canal (Canal Mill) near the
Remains of old flour mills west of La Selva del Camp
fed by the Rec del Selva

Moli del Pont Rec de la Selva Moli Moixo
Moli Joan Barcelona La Rescola Moli Joan Barcelona
Moli Muntanya Pont Sec Moli Ramon i Barnat Aluder

Photo source
Pati de la Carnisseria (butcher's courtyard, the municipal abattoir) / now the Placeta Sant Andreu, on the rim of the Castle. When the mill was built it was necessary to raise the level of the stream to reach the mill tub (note: these flour mills had a vertical axle, a tub and a vertical turbine).

On one of the walls of Els Ponts is a commemorative tablet with a text in Latin that refers to the lining works of the Rec walls which begun in 1539, and were finished in 1557, when the aqueduct had to be restored.

THE MILLS

The existence of flour mills in the area of La Selva del Camp was already documented in 1209, which suggests that its construction may even be prior to the repopulation charter of the town (1165).

There have been ten water mills, most of them still remain, especially the tubs (cacaus). Along the La Riera de la Selva-stream there were the mills of Mas de Moixó (also called Huguet or d'Arnau Carbó), Ramon, Bernat Aluder, Joan Barcelona, Muntanya and the Molí del Pont or de la Porta.

Closer to the city center, in the well-named Cami dels Molins (the road of the Mills), there were the moli of Más Amunt or Baiget, the one of Mig or Saforcada and the Moli Mes Avall (or) del Rovellat (or de la Pallota). The latter mill can easily be found in front of the Sercotel hotel in the west of the town.
In the city center, within the walls, there were the Molí del Canal and the Sotterani or de la Volta, known in the 19th c as Molí de Caselles.

The mills along the La Riera stream stopped working towards the 17th century, except that of the Moixó farmhouse that was still in use in 1835. Those along the Cami dels Molins-road were still in operation in 1840. The one of the Canal, built in the 14th century, happened to be a powder mill and varnished in 1534 and was demolished in 1615.

THE PONT ALT

The so-called Pont Alt (High Bridge) is the most visible work of the Rec-canal that brought water to the city of La Selva del Camp. It is a slender stone construction - 3 km out of town - tied with mortar with a pointed or gothic arch, which was built to bring water from one side of the La Riera river to the other. It measures 12,70 m in height and is 57 m long.
Traditionally known as the bridge of the Moors, it was already cited in a document from the year 1209 as a superior bridge (pont major). On one of the sides is a tablet commemorating its restoration in 1567.

THE RESCLOSA AND THE PONT SEC

Water channels are hard to date, but throughout the thirteenth century there were many documented references to the Rec. La Resclosa (the lock) collected the water of La Riera, which, through the Pont Sec (dry bridge), it was sent to the Rec. Above the parabolic stone bridge, the remains are visible of a tub (or cacaus) of the Moli del Pont or de la Porta, which in 1285 was owned by Joan Mulné.

THE PEIXERA AND THE PANTANET

In the river bed of the La Riera you can see the remains of a primitive well-known lock called the Peixera where the canalization of the town's Rec begins. A few meters further, the Pantà factory is preserved, a hydraulic work started in 1739 and abandoned two years later. This work was initiated by the town-council, authorized by the archbishop, lord and baron of the town, and led by Major Teacher Miquel Malet, his children and various workmates. The costs were of the order of 5,370 pounds.

The actual walk in beautiful surroundings

The start of the walk along the Rec de la Vila is opposite the Sercotel in La Selva del Camp, at the opposite side of the roundabout in the Carrer dels Molins / Cami del Molins, see signpost. The complete route - 6 km one way - has been adequately signposted. A good map - available at the Tourist Office inside the La Selva castle - might be of help (Xarxa de senders locals - local network of trails).
On the roundabout itself one can find the remains of the Moli Mes Avall (or) del Rovellat (or de la Pallota).

Two alternatives:
Walking down into the town one cannot overlook the remains of a substructure and aqueduct bridge (Els Ponts) over the Raval de Sant Rafael-street. Note the small aqueduct bridge model / fountain. The aqueduct continues on top of the wall of the Castle. A little further was the site of the Moli des Canals, near the present Placeta Sant Andreu.

If you want to make a short-cut, start your walk at the Pont Alt, 3 km out of town. There is a parking lot along the TP7013-road from La Selva to Vilaplana. Walk 50 m upwards - be careful because of the road traffic. When one follows the dirt road down to the river, there is a small bridge over the Riera de la Selva. From there the routes in both directions are signposted. You can follow the trail upwards to Tres Aiges (3 km one way) and Les Pins (another km one way).

LES TRES AIGUES

Here the Riera de la Selva-stream strats. It is called the Tres Aigues (the Three Waters) because three torrents converge: (from the west:) the Gatellar from Mas Ripoll, (from the north:) the Salt, and (from the northwest:) the Font Major, which started near Albiol.

It forms a rich ecosystem in flora and fauna that deserves a walk. The old road has now become the foot-path that joins La Selva with Vilaplana. At the end of the trail, 2 km above the Tres Aigues, at the Three Pins, beautiful specimens of pineapples are raised.
Relatively close, already near Aleixar we can admire one of the monumental trees of Catalonia, the holm-oak of the Mas (farmhouse) of Borbo.

In the year 1217 Dalmau d'Avinyó, lord of Albiol and his wife Berenguera, due to the donation of Archbishop Hug de Cervelló, sold to the inhabitants of La Selva the right to use all natural resources, the most valuable being the water that came to light there that passed through the valley of the La Riera de la Selva.
In ancient times, once a year, the inhabitants of La Selva were called to participate in the 'act of the empriu', which consisted, above all, in making a representation of the water course and to symbolically renew the right of exploitation of the resources of the Albiol.
The town people were gathered in the Carnisseria (butcher's courtyard), and there, with flag and drum, the course of La Riera went through the various stages, as proofed by different documents kept in the Municipal Historical Archive.

Wilke D. Schram
Adapted from the website Ruta del Rec (in Catalan)


The Mitja Vila Fountain

Until late in the twentieth century, most of the squares and courtyards in the town had public fountains to provide running water to the population. Yet until the sixteenth century there was only one public fountain in the entire town, the one in the castle. That is why in 1519, on the orders of the La Selva Council, another was built, the New or Mitja Vita (Mid-Town) fountain.
The Mitja Vita Fountain initially received water from "the sakia (waterwheel) of La Calsinada courtyard", but in 1665 it was decided that it should take water from the Rec de la Vila (the town water channel), which was considered cleaner. Later, new fountains were built in most courtyards in the Old Town along the Carrer Major, such as those in Placa de l'Hospitalet, Placa Mayor, Portal d'Avall or Portal de Matas; nowadays most have disappeared.
In the 1950s, the fountain was repaired due to its poor state of conservation. The decision was made to move it further back towards the buildings and so to create a square in front. At the same time it was also decided to demolish the old Chapel of the Angels, which was adjacent to the Mitja Vila fountain.
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Moli del Pont
Only the abutments
Pont Alt
Restoration

On top of the bridge
Moli del Rovellat
The mill tub
Overflow

Fountain
Cross-section
Els Ponts
Commemoration

Continuation
Taking the curve
Quo Vadis?
Font de Mitja Vila

Aigua bona
Cami del Rec
Signposts