La Selva del Camp, Spain: travel guide to the walled medieval town of the Camp de Tarragona

La Selva del Camp is a town in the Baix Camp district of the province of Tarragona, in Catalonia, set where the plain of the Camp de Tarragona meets the first foothills of the Serra de la Mussara in north-eastern Spain. Home to around 5,700 people, it preserves a remarkable medieval old town and an unusual monument that has become its emblem.

For travellers searching for La Selva del Camp, the medieval walls, the aqueduct of els Ponts or towns near Reus, it offers history and Catalan character close to the coast.

History

Of ecclesiastical origin, the town grew from a repopulation charter granted around 1164 by the archbishop of Tarragona to the settlers of what was then called Villa Constantina, and it long belonged to the provost of the cathedral and then directly to the archbishop. Its medieval core, enclosed by walls built in the late 14th and early 15th centuries, still keeps sections of ramparts, towers and gateways.

Main sights

The great church of Sant Andreu is a jewel of Renaissance architecture, while beside it stand the remains of the old castle. The town's emblematic monument is "els Ponts," a 13th-century aqueduct built to raise water from the irrigation channel up to the town walls. On the main square the late-Gothic Casa de la Vila and, along the Carrer Major, the Font de Mitja Vila with its carved coat of arms of 1519 reward a stroll through the old streets.

Practical information

La Selva del Camp lies about 10 kilometres from Reus and some 17 kilometres from Tarragona, with its Roman heritage of Tarraco, making it an easy and rewarding detour in the Camp de Tarragona.