35o 



CATALUNA. 



CATANIA. 



336 



of about 3000, and has a castle and long linea of fortiScations. It 

 contains a gothic church, in which are some sepulchres of the Cardona 

 family, whose palace also still remains, but in a dilapidated state. 

 lyualda, 40 miles W. by N. from Barcelona, stands on an eminence 

 near the northern bank of the Noya. The streets of the older parts 

 of the town are narrow and tortuous, but the Rambla is a wide street, 

 and there is a handsome suburb. It contains a parish church, college, 

 hospital, and cavalry barracks, and has manufactures of cotton and 

 woollen goods, hats, and fire-arms : population, 10,000. Manresa, 37 

 miles N.W. from Barcelona, is situated on an eminence in a fertile 

 and well-irrigated district near the left bank of the Llobregat. It is 

 a very picturesque town, and contains a collegiate church, four parish 

 churches, an hospital, and barracks, and has manufactures of cotton 

 and silk fabrics, broadcloths, ribbons, gunpowder, and brandy : popu- 

 lation, 13,400. Between Igualda and Mauresa stands the mountain 

 Jlonserrat, 4000 feet high, celebrated for the large monastery built 

 upon it. Mataro, 20 miles N.N.E. from Barcelona, with which it is 

 connected by a railway opened in October, 1848, is situated on a hill 

 which slopes down to the coast, where it has a small harbour with 

 docks. The town is chiefly old, with narrow streets, but has a new 

 quarter, a good principal street (the Riera), and two good plazas. It 

 ha 1 * a fine parish church, two or three other churches, an hospital, 

 and manufactures of silks, cottons, velvets, ribbons, and leather. 

 Ship-building is carried on, and it is a busy and flourishing place : 

 population, 14,000. Vich, 40 miles N. from Barcelona, stands on the 

 slope of a hill in a fertile plain, and consists of several irregular streets 

 branching out from a central group. It is an episcopal town, and has 

 a gothic cathedral. It has manufactures of coarse woollens and cot- 

 tons : population, 11,000. 



Tarrayunn, the capital of the province of Tarragona, is 55 miles 

 S.W. from Barcelona. It is the Tarraco of the Romans, and was in 

 their times a very large and important city and sea-port. It is situ- 

 ated at the mouth of the Fraucoli, and consists of an upper and lower 

 town. The upper town is surrounded by ancient walls, now partly 

 in ruins, but consisting of huge blocks of stone and of the most solid 

 masonry. The lower town is protected by a range of bastions fronting 

 the Francolt and the harbour. There are also two castles. Ships of 

 war can lie at anchor inside the mole, and out side there is a roadstead. 

 Beyond the rocky heights on which the town is built there is an open 

 coun'ry called the Campo de Tarragona. The town contains a cathe- 

 dral of early gothic architecture, an archbishop's palace, theatre, and 

 barracks. It has manufactures of coarse woollens, cottons, hats, and 

 soap, and a good export trade of nuts, almonds, cork, wine, nud 

 brandy : population, 12,000. There are remains of an amphitheatre, 

 circus, aqueduct, and other works of the Romans. Tarragona was 

 taken by the French under Suchet, by aiege and assault, June 29, 

 1811, and they held it till the termination of the war. lieu*, 8 miles 

 W. from Tarragona, consists partly of an old town, but chiefly of a 

 modern town which has arisen within the present century. It con- 

 tains several churches, barracks, a theatre, hospitals, and manufactures 

 of silk, cotton, and linen, soap, leather, glass, and spirits. A canal 

 connects it with the suiall port of Salon, through which it exports 

 nuts and other articles of Spanish produce to England. The popula- 

 tion in 1845 was 25,043. Torlnta, 50 miles S.W. from Tarragona, 

 stands on the eastern or left bank of the Ebro, 20 miles from the sea. 

 The river up to Tortosa is an sestuary, and is there crossed by a bridge 

 of boats. The town is built partly on the rocky slopes of a hill and 

 partly on the flat ground close to the river. It is strongly fortified 

 by walls and outworks, and is entered by seven gates. It contains a 

 large cathedral, a bishop's palace, a town-hall, a college, an hospital, 

 and a palace of the Valcabra family. There are manufactures of 

 earthenware, glass, and paper, and an active fishery at the mouth of 

 the river. The town was taken by the French under Suchet, by siege 

 nnd assault, Jan. 1, 1811. The population in 1845 was 20,573. 



Lfrida, the capital of the province of Lerida, is 95 miles W. by N. 

 from Barcelona. It is the Herds of the Romans, and when held for 

 Pompeius by Afranius and Petreus was besieged and taken by Caesar. 

 It is situated near the west bank of the Segre, on the slope of a hill 

 surmounted by fortifications, a tower, and an old cathedral. The Segre 

 it here crossed by a good stone bridge. In the lower town is a cathe- 

 dral of Corinthian architecture, built in the reign of Fernando VI. 

 It has three other churches : population, 6650. Centra, 35 miles E. 

 from LiSrida, is built on an eminence, and contains a large unsightly 

 edifice built by Felipe V. for the university of Ldrida, which he trans- 

 ferred to this place, but which has in recent times been removed to 

 Barcelona, The town is well built, and is surrounded by old walls. 

 It contains a gothic church, and there is a fine cloister in the Dominican 

 convent : population, 5000. Soltona, 60 miles N.E. from Linda, con- 

 tains a cathedral and has manufactures of woollens and hardware : 

 population, 2200. Urgel, 75 miles N.N.E from Le'rida and 80 miles 

 N.W. from Barcelona, is situated beneath a spur of the Pyrenees, in 

 the angle just above the junction of the Valira with the Segre. It has 

 been the sea of a bishop wince the year 820. The hill which overlooks 

 the town in surmounted by a citadel The bishop is the spiritual head 

 nd in a great degree the temporal head of tho small republic of 

 Andorra, f AHDOBBA.] Population, 3000. 



Qtrona, the capital of the province of Gerona, is 60 miles N.N.E. 

 from Barcelona. It is a city, and has been the see of a bishop since 

 *;. nrv. vui.. ir. 



786. It is situated at the junction of the Oila with the Ter, ia of a 

 triangular form, and lies under a fortified hill called the Monjuich. 

 The streets are narrow, but clean. There are three pla-jas. The early 

 cathedral was pulled down, and the construction of the present was 

 commenced in 1316. The approach is very imposing, a superb flight 

 of 86 steps leading to the facade. The interior consists of a single 

 noble nave, with a semicircular apsia, and contains some interesting 

 sculptures. There is also a massive half-fortified collegiate church. 

 The town has manufactures of coarse woollen and cotton goods, 

 stockings, soap, and leather : population, 7660. Tho defence of 

 Gerona, when besieged bjbthe French in 1809, equalled if it did not 

 surpass in heroism and perseverance, that of the two sieges of Zara- 

 ! goza. Ampurias, 23 miles N.N.E from Geroua, a village in the fertile 

 1 district called Ampurdan, with a small harbour on the Gulf of Rosas. 

 The town was once important, was called Emporium, and was occupied 

 by a Greek colony from Marseilles about B.C. 545. Fiytteras, 20 miles 

 N. by W. from Gerona, is situated in a rich plain above the junction 

 of the Muga and Manol, which flow westward from the Pyrenees, and 

 enter the Gulf of Rosas. It is a straggling town, but is defended by 

 a large pentagonal citadel strongly constructed on the principles of 

 Vaubau, capable of accommodating 10,000 soldiers and vast stores. 

 It was gained by Napoleon in 1808 by a deception. It was recaptured 

 in 1811 by a Spanish partisan with some peasantry, by means of well- 

 managed surprise, but was retaken by the French after a siege of 

 nearly five mouths, when the ammunition of the garrison was all 

 expended. The town has trade with France, and manufactures of 

 leather and paper : population, 8000. Jlostalrich, 22 miles S. from 

 Geroua, was an important fortress during the Peninsular war. The 

 town is the see of a bishop, but has a population under 1000. Olot, 

 21 miles W. N.W. from Geroua, is situated between a volcanic hill and 

 the south bank of the river Fluvia. The base of the hill is chiefly 

 basalt. There are several craters of extinct volcanoes in the vicinity. 

 The town has good streets and squares, two parish churches, a cavalry 

 barracks, and an hospital. There are manufactures of woollen anti 

 cotton goods, leather, soap, and paper : population, 12,000. RipoU, 

 32 miles VV. by N. from Geroua, is beautifully situated in the uugle of 

 the junction of the Fresne with the Ter, in a district of co:d and iron, 

 and has manufactures of fire-arms and nails : population, 3000. Rosas, 

 28 miles N.E. from Gerona, the ancient Rhode, was formerly an 

 important place, strongly fortified, and carried on a brisk trade by 

 means of its fine harbour in the Gulf of Rosas ; it is now a mere 

 fishing village with 2200 inhabitants. 



Jltatory. On the decline of the Roman empire iu the we.it, the 

 territory of this part of Spain was seized by the Goths and Alans, 

 when it is said to have been called Guth-Alania, whence by corruption 

 came the present name Cataluua. During a part of the 8th century 

 Catalufia was held by the Moors, till they were driven from it by 

 Charles Martell and afterwards by Charlemagne. The counts of 

 Barcelona from that time were the rulers of Cataluua and the French 

 county of Rousillon ; but when Rainiond-Berauger, Coude de Barce- 

 lona, was affianced to Petrouila, the infant heiress to the crown of 

 Aragon, Cataluua was annexed to Aragon, and he governed both with 

 the title of Principe (prince). Catalunu afterwards became one of the 

 provinces of Spain, with the title of Principality. It held its muni- 

 cipal privileges till the Wars of the Succession, when it supported the 

 Archduke Charlea of Austria, after which it was formally deprived 

 of its cortes and liberties by the conqueror, Felipe IV. 



The dialect of Catalufia is a mixture of the Romance language, or 

 Langue d'Oc, with the Spanish. 



(Mifiano, DiccioiMrio Geoyrajlco ; Madoz, Diccionario de Kspana ; 

 Ford, Handbook of Spain; Napier, Peninsular War; Vacaui, Sloi-le 

 delle Campagne e deijli Asiedii deyli Italiani in. hpayna, dal 1808 al 

 1813, 3 vols. 4to., with Atliis, Milan, 1823-5^ 



CATAMARCA, one of the uppar provinces of the Argentine 

 Confederation, South America, is bounded N. and N.E. by the 

 province of Tuouman, E. by Santiago, S. by Cordova, and S. W. by 

 La Rioja, and comprehends the little visited country between the 

 mountain ranges of the Sierra of Acouquija and Ambato on the east, 

 and the Andes on the west. The inhabitants do not exceed 30,000. 

 The country consists of a principal valley, Catamarca, from which the 

 province derives its name and in which most of the inhabitants are 

 settled ; and of some other valleys, running between mountain ranges 

 south-east and north-west, and terminating at their southern extremity 

 on the borders of the Gran Saliua, being thus separated from the 

 other inhabited countries by high mountains and deserts. The rivers 

 which water these valleys are lost in the Gran Salina. Ths climate 

 is sultry, especially when the south winds blow, which come over the 

 desert. Maize and wheat are raised to a considerable extent, but cannot 

 be exported over the mountains. The province sends only cotton 

 and red pepper (dried capsicums) to the adjacent countries, the latter 

 chiefly to Buenos Ayres, where it is extensively used. The present 

 capital is Catamarca, or San Fernando del Valla de Catamarca, in 

 27 28' 8. lat., whose population is stated to be 4000. The first 

 capital, called London, being founded at the time when Philip II. of 

 Spain married Queen Mary of England, was destroyed by the 

 Indians. [ARGENTINE CONFKDF.I:ATIO>-.] 



CATA'NIA, a province in Sicily, is bounded N. and N.E. by 

 the province of Messina, N.W. l>y that of Palermo, W. by 



2 ( ! 



