LÉRIDA AND PORTOLÁ
Lérida (Lleida) is the capital of a catalan province with regions of great diversity in which the most authentic joy in nature can still be found.
From the Pyrenean valleys to the fertile plains, the province has an enormous variety of crops and plantations, which have made it one of the wealthiest parts of Spain.
Lleida is a very pleasant region with a broad range of landscapes and settings, which run from the purest Romanesque art to the coloring of the fruit orchards.
Its regions are basically agricultural. The quality fruit is distinguised from the rest of the world's markets. The livestock farming is a source of remarcable incom. Besides of being a wealthy region, Lleida is a very pleasant country.
San Clemente de Taüll (Valle de Boi)
Click for enlargement.
In the city, the various cultures that have formed it over the centuries can be savored. There are abundant Roman, Arabic and mediaeval remains, as well as Art Nouveau buildings and examples of the latest architecture.
The main buildings are the City Hall, the Lleida Studies Institute, Sabatini’s neo-classical cathedral, the Art Nouveau house of Magí Llorens, the auditorium and the old buildings restored for cultural purposes.
The City Hall, located in the Main Street, an amazingly active shopping axis, is a magnificent example of Catalan civil Gothic style. It is used for the Mayoral office, the Council chamber, archive, museum and performance halls.
The old cathedral, the Seu Vella, is a Romanesque-Gothic temple which soars above the city. Given the many wars suffered by the town throughout its history, especially those in the reigns of Philip IV and Philip V, Lérida has lost nearly all its aristocratic mansions. It is a miracle that the Seu Vella has survived so many years of abandonment and stands out today restored and the live symbol of the city.
Its magnificent cloister, finished in a resplendent Gothic style, is the largest in Spain. The many items conserved from the years when the church was a military barracks were used in its restoration.
A recent study found that Lérida is fifth in the list of Spanish provincial capitals in terms of quality of life, and third in income per head. This means that its active, hardworking inhabitants enjoy high-standard parks and recreation areas, sports grounds, celebrated festivals, museums, auditorium, cinemas, shopping malls, public transport and services, restaurants, primary and secondary schools, and a University of great prestige.
Its University has a campus with more than 10.000 students, basically in the Faculties of Law, Economics, Medicine, Arts and Education Sciences.
The Higher Technical School of Agrarian Engineering, the Polytechnic University School and the National Institute of Physical Education deserve special mention.
Currently the city has 127,000 inhabitants and is 130 kilometers from Barcelona, to which it is linked by turnpike and toll road.
More detailed information on Lleida (Lérida), capital and Province, can be found at the Regional Council’s Tourist Office, tel. 34 973 70 03 19. Also at the Catalan Tourist Office, tel. 34 902 10 11 10, and at www.lleidatur.es
Lérida has many bonds with Gaspar de Portolá. This is logical due to the fact that he and his family all came from towns in the province’s counties, as Arties, Ager and Balaguer.
Portolá came at last to the city in 1786, with the post of King’s Lieutenant of the castles of the garrison. He was then Colonel attached to the Numancia Regiment in Barcelona, which he had joined after leaving the Mexican city of Puebla de los Angeles (Puebla) of which he was Governor from 1777 to 1785.
Click on the commemorative plaques to enlarge them..
Gaspar de Portolá died in Lérida in October 1786 after a short illness. His mortal remains were laid to rest in the military tombs of the actual parish of St. Peter, which was formerly the church of the Franciscan community.
On occasion of the Bicentenary of California in 1970 and of his death in 1986, the city placed there commemorative plaques.
Portolá’s attachment to the province of his birth and to the city of Lérida is shown by that he donated all his possessions to be used in pious works and charity. The executors of his will, determined that the belongings should be used to construct an Orphans’ and Charity House, building which is today, albeit much changed, the Palace of the Provincial Council.
A bronze sculpture of a group of figures was also placed at a striking location on the Paseo de Ronda Avenue. With the distinguished son, this also remembered the Franciscan Padre Junípero Serra, Lieutenant Fages and the soldiers who took part in the expedition that took possession of California.
Click on the statue to enlarge the picture
