The writer,
Josep Maria Espinàs, in one of his first travel books, renamed the Vilella Baixa with the name of New York from the Priorat, a nicknamer who has made a fortune.
And it is that the most peculiar characteristic of the town is the height of the houses that give to the coast of the two rivers, that can have six plants or more in this band, whereas these same
houses seen from the band of the street seems that in Have only one or two.
The
entire Vilella Baixa municipal area has a very pronounced orography, which causes many unevennesses between the banks of the river and the highest part of the town, the area of the old
town. Therefore, it is impossible to avoid the rises while
visiting this small gem protected by the mountains.
Despite being compared to Manhattan, Vilella
Baixa is the second small town in the Priorat, at a short distance from the smallest of all: Vilella Alta. The municipality is located next to the Montsant mountain
range, and it is a point of confluence of two rivers: the Montsant and the Escaladei stream.
These
rivers cross the town and there is an amazing Romanesque bridge with two arches, plus a third arc that was added to overcome the riverbank in 1886 and follows the architectural style of the other
two. Apart from the big bridge, the
church of San Juan Bautista, of the eighteenth century, with a Renaissance style with three naves stands out as a monument. Your bell tower becomes the highest point in the downtown skyline of Baja.
The street that does not pass.
Also highlights the street that does not pass, with
strong medieval reminiscences and where the original village is located. You pass through a porch of pointed
arches and the street has no exit. In the first arch you can still see the holes
that were used to close inside the walled enclosure in case of enemy raids.
The street that No Passa was still
used as a place of defense during the carlinades, when still, in moments of danger, the access door was closed. It is also interesting to see the Agricultural Union, of a modernist bill (1919).
Unlike
the large metropolis with which it is compared, Vilella Baixa has an influx of visitors and, therefore, is an ideal place to discover it, either by stepping on its steep streets or doing one of
the five paths of Short route that offers the
possibility of enjoying pleasant walks around the municipality, observing the landscape and its natural heritage. Always, yes, under the careful gaze of the Montsant mountain range.