One Day Excursion - Churches of Sant Pere de Terrassa and Archaeological Site of L'Esquerda

9 September

Churches of Sant Pere de Terrassa

This is a monumental ensemble formed by the Romanesque churches of Sant Pere, Sant Miquel and Santa Maria. They are located on the site of the Visigothic settlement of Egara and bear witness to the episcopal see of Egara, which was established around 450 CE and lasted until the 8th century.

Originally there was a basilica and, later, a cathedral on the spot today occupied by the church of Santa Maria. A funeral sanctuary with an underground crypt was also built, and a parish church on the site now occupied by the church of Sant Pere. Later on, an episcopal palace was erected next to the cathedral. It is known that a provincial council of the Tarraconensis, attended by fourteen bishops, met for a session there in 615 CE.

This monumental ensemble stands as a testament to western Christian art at the time of the maximum splendour of the diocese of Egara. The existing Romanesque churches date from the 11th and 12th centuries and were built on the foundations of the Visigothic buildings.

Archaeological Site of L’Esquerda (Roda de Ter)

L’Esquerda contains archaeological evidence of different historical epochs spanning a very long period of time: from the 10th century BCE to the 15th century CE. It is strategically located on a neck of land surrounded by escarpments in one of the meanders of the River Ter, with visual control of the plain of Vic and the main route to the coast of Girona.

The most important historical epoch was the Iberian period, with a fortified oppidum built at the end of the 5th century or the beginning of the 4th century BCE, which was destroyed by a fire in the late 3rd century BCE. The settlement, however, was rebuilt during the 2nd and 1st centuries BCE, though in a higher position.

Silos and remains of a wall from the Visigothic era have also been discovered. The settlement was also fortified at the end of the 8th century in order to halt the Muslim invasion, and a church was built in the 10th century, with a necropolis of anthropomorphic tombs carved out the rock.

Schedule:

08:00  Departure from Barcelona (Plaça Universitat) by bus
09:30   Arrival to Roda de Ter, guided visit of archaeological site of'l Esquerda
11:45  Departure from Roda de Ter
12:45  Lunch in Terrassa
14:30  Guided visit of Churches of Sant Pere de Terrassa
16:30  Departure from Terrassa
17:30   Arrival to Barcelona (Plaça Universitat)


Fee:
80€

Fee includes lunch in Terrassa.

Sant Miquel de Terrassa. ©Enric, Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 3.0

L'Esquerda. ©Ajuntament de les Masies de Roda, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0