La Figuerosa
A small village in the historic Segarra, at 400 metres above sea level, with views over the Sió Valley, the Plana d’Urgell, Montsec and the Prades mountains.
The place
La Figuerosa belongs to the municipality of Tàrrega, only 6 km from the capital of the Urgell, but its landscape is entirely that of the Segarra. It is very well connected by the A-2 motorway (Lleida–Barcelona) and the C-14 road (Tarragona–Andorra): Lleida or Igualada are 30 minutes away, and the Pyrenees, the Costa Daurada or Barcelona just over an hour.
The village sits around the south-west slope of the Turó del Molí de Vent hill, with splendid views. The climate is continental Mediterranean with big contrasts: hot summers with cool nights thanks to the evening sea breeze, and very cold winters with frosts and sometimes fog.
Dry-farming country
85% of the area is dry-farmed land, with cereals (wheat and barley), almond and olive trees. Vineyards have almost disappeared, but the cellars and wine vats in every house recall how important wine and eau-de-vie once were.
These fields also hosted the nine editions of Figa Rock, an alternative festival of poetry, songs and singer-songwriter rock that made the village a cultural reference across the Catalan Countries.
A thousand years of history
The first documented mentions of La Figuerosa date from the 11th century, during the conquest of the area by the Counts of Urgell; the village name is first written down in 1061. The castle is documented in 1075 and the village grew up around it.
The transitional Romanesque church dates from the 13th century. On Carrer Major you can still see cal Felip (1601), and a kilometre from the village, la Torre (1699). In the 18th century the population grew and suburbs were built outside the walls.
La Figuerosa on screen
In November 2009 singer Charlie Winston and actress Audrey Tautou shot the video for “I love your smile” in the village. Part of the crew stayed at Ca l’Ortís for three hectic days.