Historic ensemble of Siurana de Prades

A small village with a markedly mediaeval character located at an altitude of 730 metres and dominated by the remains of a 9th-century Moorish castle. We can also highlight the church of Santa Maria, in a Romanesque style and very well preserved.

Siurana de Prades is a little village on top of a 730 metre cliff that overlooks the whole Siurana valley and a large part of the El Priorat region. Totally surrounded by cliffs of almost 300 metres, over the river and the reservoir, the village has a strong medieval character and is rich in legends that contribute to create an almost mythical atmosphere around it.

The best known of these legends speaks of a time when Siurana was the only Islamic bastion in Catalonia, and its castle was the last stronghold of the Arab wali Almira Alemoni. When the Christian troops of Ramon Berenguer IV arrived, the daughter of the wali, called Abdelàzia, of singular beauty, preferred to jump to her death from the cliff rather than fall into the hands of the enemy. She covered the eyes of her horse and rode it towards the abyss. The animal realized what was happening too late to avoid the fall, but its desperate attempt to stop at the last moment can still be seen in the mark of a horse shoe left in the rock of the cliff, now known as the Leap of the Moorish Queen.

It is precisely the remains of the Arab castle that greet visitors to Siurana. This is a military building from the 9th century, which formerly entirely closed the way to the town. What is know locally as the Prison is an interesting room with an ashlar vault.

The edge of the Siurana cliff is occupied by the church of Santa Maria, built in Romanesque style at the end of the 12th and beginning of the 13th centuries, and in an excellent state of conservation. It has a single nave with a semicircular apse.

It should also be mentioned that Siurana has been inhabited since prehistoric times, as demonstrated by the remains of flint tools found there.