Ulldecona’s secrets, thousand year old olive trees and rock paintings
In the Montsiá region lies a town called Ulldecona, in the province of Tarragona. This peculiar 127 km2 town has a rich history from all the cultures that have lived there. Among those are the Iberians, Romans, Arabs and the Christians. The ancient olive trees are part of its history, as well as the medieval castle and the cave paintings.
The town is located in the inner zone of Tarragona and offers activities for all tastes. One of the most outstanding and most popular activities for nature lovers is to visit the Olivos Milenarios Natural Museum. This museum has the oldest olive trees in all of Europe. Which is something really impressive if you think about it, because these ancient olive trees have endured years and years of history around them.
The olive museum is located outdoors. Among these ancient olive trees lies the oldest olive tree in the world, it is 1,702 years old.
For art and history lovers Ulldecona offers the cave paintings of the Sierra de la Pietat. These paintings were discovered in 1975 by a group of cave explorers. These paintings are of such historical wealth and interest that Unesco itself has included them in the Declaration of Rock Art of the Mediterranean Arc (Declaración del Arte Rupestre del Arco Mediterráneo), and are recognised as World Heritage of Humanity.
These paintings represent characteristic scenes of that time, catalogued as Levantine Rock Art, in which you can recognise hunting scenes, female figures, archers, animals, bows, arrows and so on…
Another point of interest in Ulldecona is the medieval castle of the town itself. In recent years it has been revealed that this castle is built on a primitive Iberian settlement from the mid 6th century. The construction of the castle was the work of Arabs, so it is easy to see remains of their architectural art.
The olive museum is located outdoors. Among these ancient olive trees lies the oldest olive tree in the world, it is 1,702 years old.
For art and history lovers Ulldecona offers the cave paintings of the Sierra de la Pietat. These paintings were discovered in 1975 by a group of cave explorers. These paintings are of such historical wealth and interest that Unesco itself has included them in the Declaration of Rock Art of the Mediterranean Arc (Declaración del Arte Rupestre del Arco Mediterráneo), and are recognised as World Heritage of Humanity.
These paintings represent characteristic scenes of that time, catalogued as Levantine Rock Art, in which you can recognise hunting scenes, female figures, archers, animals, bows, arrows and so on…
Another point of interest in Ulldecona is the medieval castle of the town itself. In recent years it has been revealed that this castle is built on a primitive Iberian settlement from the mid 6th century. The construction of the castle was the work of Arabs, so it is easy to see remains of their architectural art.