Calaceite | Image | Dolors Joan Photography via Flickr
Near the Mediterranean Sea, on the border between Valencia, Aragon and Catalonia and hidden between Bajo Aragón, Maestrazgo and the south of Tarragona is located the Teruel region of Matarraña, a territory that in some way recalls the famous Italian Tuscany for its landscapes of pine, olive and almond trees and its medieval villages influenced by Mudejar, Renaissance and Gothic art.
Touring the Matarraña is one of the essential plans when it comes to getting to know Teruel. Here you have another concept of haste, which helps to relativize and disconnect from the hustle and bustle of day to day thanks to isolation and contact with nature.
caloil
Its historic center is one of the best preserved in the province, which is why it was declared a Historic-Artistic Site. From its Plaza Mayor the route to visit the town is woven through its beautiful streets, and where we can see stone manor houses decorated with wrought iron balconies, churches or squares such as Los Artistas.
Its Town Hall, from the 1613th century, is in the Renaissance style. On the ground floor it has a jail and a fish market and on the first floor the municipal offices and the plenary hall with an oratory from XNUMX. It also preserves a large number of scrolls and other documents from the XNUMXth century. In the courtyard there is a Gothic key from the old parish temple, the old Gothic cross that was moved from the Plaza Nueva and a relief from the second half of the XNUMXth century.
The Plaza Mayor is the nerve center of Calaceite. Its beautiful arcades and its accesses under covered steps stand out. Under the arcades of the square was the market and it was also the place where public trials were held and where neighbors met in assembly. Likewise, the heifer show was also held here.
In Calaceite, you must visit the parish church of La Asunción, one of the most relevant Baroque works of Matarraña, dating from the XNUMXth century but during the Spanish Civil War the building was burned down and had to be rebuilt. It was built on the remains of the old Gothic church of Santa Maria del Pla from the early 2001th century and of smaller proportions. On the outside, the tower and the facade with three doors stand out from which Solomonic columns stand out. It was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest in XNUMX.
Beceite
Image | Bancaja Retirement Association
Beceite is one of the most beautiful municipalities in the Maestrazgo and the Matarraña region. It is located near Tarragona, at the foot of the Natural Reserve of the Ports of Beceite. Perhaps that is why what stands out the most about this town is its natural environment as it is surrounded by olive trees and mountains of the Iberian System. In addition, there we find the famous Parrizal framed within the Natural Reserve of the Ports of Beceite.
The space is defined by deep canyons excavated by the rivers, with abundant crags, steep slopes and interfluviums of dense vegetation such as gall, scots pine, holm oak and holm oak. The fauna is protected in this area, so it is easy to run into animals. However, the most abundant colony is the mountain goat for whose presence the declaration of the reserve originated.
The town is located next to the Matarraña river and there is a signposted walk following its course from Pla de la Mina to the Straits that lasts an hour and a half. The walk between water and rocks, crossing several footbridges along the way, does not have great difficulties.
Other places of tourist interest in Beceite are the hermitage of Santa Ana, the lavaderos, the church of San Bartolomé or the stone bridge.
valderrobres
Image | Rural Route
The capital of the Matarraña region, Valderrobres, is one of the most beautiful in Spain. It is located on the side of a hill as far as the riverbed, on which a medieval bridge with pointed arches stands that offers an emblematic image of the town and its hanging houses.
Through the Portal de San Roque we enter the historical artistic complex of Valderrobres and it is in the Calle Mayor where the main monuments of historical interest are located, such as the Town Hall (example of Aragonese mannerism) or the palatial house that was the Fonda Blanc, or the Pereret's house. At the top of the hill stands the majestic church of Santa María la Mayor (in the Levantine Gothic style) and its imposing castle, built between the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries, which is considered one of the best Gothic castles in Aragon.
The Fresneda
Image | La Fresneda
La Fresneda may be a less known town than others in the Matarraña region, but it is one of the most picturesque. This town was owned by the Order of Calatrava and its old town has been declared a Historic-Artistic Site.
La Fresneda has numerous palatial houses from the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries, remains of an old castle and religious buildings such as the Convent and the Capilla del Pilar or the Gothic church of Santa María la Mayor.
From the hermitage of Santa Bárbara, the views of the town, the Matarraña river and the Valley of Silence are magnificent but to get there you have to climb many stairs, although the effort is worth it.