THE LANDSCAPE
THE AREA
La Mola d'en Beset is in a mountainous basin on the side of the Serra de Llaberia Serra de Llaberia
It is located 150 km south of Barcelona and 30 km south of Tarragona or Reus International Airport.
20km down the mountain is the Mediterranean Sea and Hospitalet de l'Infant - the closest port with a variety of great eating establishments.
Towards the west and also 20 km away we find the Ebre, the majestic river navigable by kayak on the banks of which sits the beautiful medieval town of Miravet, a center of traditional ceramics dominated by its Templar castle. poble medieval de Miravet, a traditional ceramics center dominated by its Templar castle.
Downstream is the poble d’Horta de Sant Joan, famous for inspiring the cubism of Picasso, who claimed to have learned everything he knew there.
To the north it borders Priorat, the region of wine excellence full of important wineries such as Falset or Capçanes. And to the northeast we have the Serra de Llaberia, an area of special landscape interest, passable by old paths suitable for hiking.
Between this range and the plain that goes down to the sea is the town of Mont-roig del Camp, birthplace and deep source of inspiration for the Catalan painter Joan Miró. And about 20 km to the north we find Reus, modernist city and birthplace of the architect of La Sagrada Família, Antoni Gaudí.
The medieval town of Tivissa, at the foot of the rocky limestone mountain range of Tivissa-Vandellòs, is the nearest municipality. Here you can enjoy renowned climbing routes and marvel at pintures rupestres of the Neolithic little known.
Tivissa is flanked by cherry groves, yet another reason to visit in spring, when the white blossom covers the mountain slopes.
To the west are the remains of an Iberian village, the Castellet de Banyoles, which extends over an impressive cliff overlooking the Ebro River. The Iberians were pre-Roman tribes known for their extraordinary art.
La Mola d'en Beset sits in the middle of this territory of extraordinarily rich cultural and natural heritage.
DESCRIPCIÓ
La Mola d’en Beset covers an area of sixteen hectares, and is about 450m (1300 feet) above sea level.
It is topographically complex with a multiplicity of microclimates and geological variants including small limestone outcrops, flat clay zones and rocky slopes.
At nearly its lowest point water issues at a spring - La Font de Cassanyes.
It makes for an interesting and beautiful natural landscape, but by far the most significant influence on the land is human.
Miles and miles of drystone walls terracing and shaping the slopes from top to bottom bear witness to the labour of men and women who have eked out a living from them over thousands of years. These walls are very varied reflecting the geological variations within La Mola Són molt variats, fruit de les variacions geològiques de la Mola.
Some are almost monumental - more than four metres high and metres thick, others more humble. Some in a state of disrepair, others incredibly well preserved considering their millennial nature.
They have seen a succession of plantations - dead almond and hazelnut trees are in evidence everywhere, dead or moribund cherry, apple and pear, a vineyard that was removed.
Almond and hazelnut trees can be seen on the terraces. dead or dying cherry, apple and pear trees, evidence of a vineyard that may have been removed due to phylloxera.
Now newer plantations of hazel and olives dominate.
Most of the ancient terraces have been overtaken by spontaneous growth of pines, wild strawberry, oaks and scrub.
The area was formerly divided into three smallholdings each with its own stone dwelling. El Mas de Beset, which is habitable, El Mas de Cassanyes, near the spring, and another house with no name. The latter two are in a state of disrepair.
