There is an empty Catalonia just as there is an empty Spain. The demographic hole is concentrated in the interior, such as the border between the provinces of Tarragona and Lleida. It is a land of vineyards, almond and olive trees. Of starry skies, oblivious to the disturbances of city lights. A constellation of towns structures a dry land area on whose roads one can travel for several kilometers without encountering another vehicle. “The deep Catalonia, let’s go,” says Rosa Maria Salvadó, ironically, mayor of Solivella, a town of “635 inhabitants”, she specifies, which in the last century has lost 61% of its inhabitants and which is now struggling to get ahead, taking advantage of the opportunities and overcoming the challenges posed by the depopulation of the rural world.
The Tarragona region of Conca de Barberà, whose wines have a designation of origin and their own variety (the climb) is one of those that suffered the most, since the mid-20th century, from the abandonment of the countryside. It also has some of the most evocative place names in Catalan geography: Montblanc (its walled capital, origin of the legend of Sant Jordi), Vallfogona de Riucorb, Llorac, Passanant, Blancafort, Vallclara, Vimbodí… or Solivella. In 1920, this town, 40 kilometers north of the capital Tarragona, reached its peak: 1,600 souls. But when her neighbors could not make a living from agriculture, “they looked for work in Barcelona’s textile and automobile industry,” says the mayor, herself “the daughter of pagesos”.
Catalonia has reached eight million inhabitants, but, like Solivella, half of its 947 municipalities now have less population than a century ago. A study by the University of Lleida indicates that 200 of them are at risk of disappearing (the majority, in the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees). The report adds that only the improvement of the housing stock – many owners are reluctant to sell or rent -, the commitment to infrastructure and the maintenance of basic services can save them. Three years ago, the Generalitat promoted a pilot program to rehabilitate disused houses in rural areas, while particular initiatives, such as Repoblem, connect supply and demand to “refill with life nuclei that lost neighbors and have not recovered them.”
The new neighbors
The existence of Solivella, of which there are records since the 12th century, is not in danger for now. Crossed by a road that leads to Andorra, in the middle of the Cistercian route – near the Vallbona de les Monges monastery – and with an intense social life, it faces the challenges of the depopulation of other enclaves but from an advantageous position. Populated mostly by older people and with traditional stores that are about to close due to the retirement of their owners, it found its opportunity in 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic made some people rethink their life project. “Many young families who came only for the summer have renovated the old family house. godparents [abuelos] and they have settled here,” explains Salvadó.
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Although it may sound paradoxical, finding housing is not easy in Solivella or in other towns in inland Catalonia, plagued by empty houses that are used only for weekend celebrations or for children and grandchildren to occupy during the town festivals. “We spent a long time until we found a rental house,” says Roser Capdevila, 26, who a year and a half ago attracted her partner, Joan Mateo, 28, to her town. “Living in a community, being more aware of what there is around you, it is an enriching experience,” she says. “We must overcome the romantic vision that people leave the city to work in the fields with a mule. Living in a town is not incompatible with other jobs,” he says.
Roser and Joan are architects. They need to travel often, but they also work remotely. Solivella offered them solutions in both cases. After the pandemic, fiber optics were installed, a fundamental tool to add inhabitants. The town is also crossed by the C-14 highway, which takes you to Montblanc in ten minutes by car and Tarragona in half an hour. An advantage that other towns in empty Catalonia do not have, more located in Lleida and more isolated. “We buy the bread here, in the forn. On Saturday there is a fruit and vegetable market. But for large purchases we go to a hypermarket,” says Joan, who when settling in was afraid of always being seen as “the outsider.” That fear has dissipated. His incorporation into the local group of grallers (a wind instrument) has accelerated its complete assimilation.
Fewer services for seniors
Solivella has a nursery and primary school (basic services if you want to attract families) and boasts cultural offerings. “The idea is that people do not have to leave town to enjoy the culture,” says Salvadó, who remembers the summer concert series, which this year will bring artists such as Judit Neddermann or Triquell. There is pride in this ancient stone-built town. “Here we eat very well, we make good wine and we have one of the oldest laundries in Catalonia,” claims the councilor, aware that the Achilles heel of this resurgence is the lack of opportunities for those who have been there for the longest time. : the elderly.
“If there is something we need, it is more things for the elderly, who are often cut off from communication, with only one bus line in the morning.” The doctor’s office, which previously offered services every day, is now open three mornings. The few grocery stores that remain are about to close because the elderly are retiring and the children are not taking over. “In three years there will be none. The town councils will have to create a cooperative”, such as wine, a crop affected this year by drought, the same thing that has happened with olive and almond trees.
The Association of Microtowns of Catalonia, which fights for the “repopulation” of rural areas and to facilitate the settling of young people and families in those areas, is made up of 300 municipalities with up to 1,000 inhabitants. They occupy more than half of the Catalan territory, but are home to only 3% of its population. Among them is Solivella, whose neighbors knew who their mayor was going to be before the 2023 municipal election day: a single candidacy was presented. In the regional elections, the people and the region vote in favor of independence. In the last elections, those of 2021, these forces accounted for almost 77% of the votes in Conca de Barberà, with Junts in the lead (31% of votes), followed with the same percentage by ERC and, further away, the CUP (9.8%).
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