Capçanes: what to see, where to eat and wineries

Capçanes is the southernmost municipality in the Priorat comarca, sitting at 223 metres of altitude in a valley surrounded by mountain ranges, with around 445 inhabitants. It is a DO Montsant village well known for its cooperative winery, the internationally renowned Celler de Capçanes, which offers vineyard tours by 4x4; the Vinyes Domènech winery also operates in the area.

It keeps the neoclassical church of la Nativitat de la Mare de Déu, whose foundation stone was laid in 1791, a 16th-century archway on the square next to the town hall, and several fountains, including Font Antiga, Font Nova and Fonts de Santa Rosalia. At the centre of the village stands a monument — by sculptor Francesc Carulla i Serra — to the War-of-Succession guerrilla Pere Joan Barceló, known as Carrasclet (1687-1741).

Its municipal area holds prehistoric rock art discovered in 2006, with over 150 human and animal figures including a 54-cm bull, and the Avenc de la Fou, a natural sinkhole on the Riera de Capçanes that overflows spectacularly after heavy rain, about a two-hour walk from the village. The festa major is held the last weekend of July in honour of saints Abdó and Senén.

Sources: ca.wikipedia.org · turismepriorat.org

Photo: Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0