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In the area of ??Sant Quintí de Mediona, the protagonist of this report in La Vanguardia’s Readers’ Photos, prehistoric finds have been made.
The medieval hagiographic sources of Sant Quintí (which gives rise to the name of the town) appear documented for the first time in the year 962, in the Novum Speculum of the Bishopric of Barcelona. Later, the name of Sant Quintí is mentioned on February 11, 1021 in a document of a sale at the site of Riudebitlles that says: “Quod confronted de oriente in strada, meridie in uia uel in tierra de Sancti Quintini.” (That I looked to the east on the street, to the south on the highway or on the land of San Quentin).
The old castle of Sant Quintí de Mediona, which belonged to the barony of Mediona, has been documented since the year 977. The town was created from the 10th and 11th centuries after the battles between Saracens and Christians, when from the castle of A contingent of inhabitants descended on Mediona and settled in the river valley.
In the 11th century, the most fertile and most profitable areas of the territory dominated by the lords of Mediona Castle were donated to monastic houses and the area of ??Sant Quintí was donated to the Benedictine Monastery of Santa Maria de Ripoll.
The initial nucleus of Sant Quintí was born around the priory and the first houses, which formed a closed town that served to isolate the population from wars and epidemics.
In the 16th century, the town was closed by the portals on Calle de Baix, Calle del Reguedó, Calle Mayor, Calle de Dalt and Calle de la Villa (currently Plaza del Portal). A century later, construction began along the roads leading out of the town.
In the medieval period, and in later periods, the Plaza Mayor (currently Enric Prat de la Riba) was the main square of Sant Quintí. Formerly, it was porticoed and activities such as the market, the fair or the charms were carried out.
In 1314, Mayor Ramon Amat made an establishment contract in Berenguer Mulner for a dirt patio in the Plaza Mayor de Sant Quintí so that the butcher’s table could be built.
In 1403 the houses in this square were inhabited by some of the most notable families of the town, such as the Borredàs (one of them, Berenguer Borredà, parish priest of Mediona), the Boxadores (two of them, Bernat and Roger, priores) or los Amigó (Jaume Amigó, priest of Sant Quintí).
In 1572 there lived some of the peasant owners of Sant Quintí with the most land, such as the Gili of the square, the Bargalló, the Tort of the square or the Busquets of the farmhouse. And where there had been the Gili house in the square, there is still a piece of molded plaster ceiling, possibly from that time. In 1850 this place was known as “Plaza del Mercat”.
At the beginning of the civil war (1936-39), when it was decided to change the names of the municipalities that had some religious connotation, they were first called San Quintín, but a few months later the name was changed again to Aigüesbones.
A very important revolt took place in Penedès, starting on January 4, in Sant Martí, during the War of the Spanish Succession, with a Bourbon detachment of 150 soldiers. There was an uprising of the population, which received the Bourbons with the cry of “Way out thieves”, killing a few and making the rest flee.
Consequently, the peasants ambushed the soldiers, who suffered many casualties and had to flee. Everything indicates that behind it was the veguer of Vilafranca and some magnates from Penedès.
Bearing in mind that Josep Ferrer and Roca, Señor de Mediona, was an Austracist, it is not surprising that these, called seditious by the Bourbons, will roam around the area of ??the mountain of Bolet and Mediona, and also that on the 9th they will concentrate in Sant Quentin
To control the revolt, Brigadier Diego González was sent, with 300 infantry and 300 dragoons, and Felipe de Lede with 400 infantry soldiers and other cavalry.
On the morning of January 10, a contingent of 2,500 soldiers led by Diego González went up towards Sant Quintí, which surrounded Sant Quintí.
The troops entered the town to slaughter it, looted it and executed the inhabitants who could not flee. Subsequently, the town, which then had about 140 houses, was burned down and its 800 inhabitants were killed.
On the 11th, the Duke of Pópuli informed Philip V that “the town was attacked in three parts, managing to seize it, putting to the sword all those who disputed its entry, and that only those who managed to escape were spared, and Then he told me that they had ordered to set fire to the town, which had 140 houses, without the surrounding farmhouses.”
In the following week’s letter, Pópulo wrote that the revolt in Penedès had calmed down “largely like the punishment of San Quentin and the arrival of the Knight of Lede to Villafranca.”
Later, in the 19th century, with the industrial revolution, the towns that were on the banks of the rivers became industrialized and received large masses of population.
In Sant Quintí, water is the most abundant natural asset and for this reason, in the mid-19th century, it was filled with textile industries, which caused a strong increase in population, which gave rise to new streets and new houses.
The first documentary reference to the church of Sant Quintí is from the year 1021. Over time this building has undergone various transformations and the last one was from the year 1858. The tabernacle chapel is the oldest part of the church, although there are historians which they maintain that its Romanesque doorway is.
It has a square bell tower and at the entrance there is a niche and part of the old Romanesque doorway. In 1541 the French soldiers met resistance to staying in the town and burned the church and demolished the prior’s house. Prior Sebastià Ric commissioned its reconstruction.
In 1567, the first stone of the new church was laid, which was intended to be rebuilt on top of the previous one, which was smaller. The result was a temple of considerable dimensions. The main altar had a magnificent altarpiece, paid for by the town. In 1588, the jurors of Sant Quintí hired the services of the sculptor Joan Llunell, who would make the main altarpiece and that of the Roser.
In 1595, master Agustí Pujol, one of the most important artists of the Catalan Baroque, sculpted some images to improve the work that was already being done.
The work of gilding and polychroming the main altarpiece, around 1605, was entrusted to the Milanese painter Juan Bautista Toscano. The intervention of all these artists in the church of Sant Quintí managed to leave a small mark in the history of Catalan art.
Unfortunately, all this heritage was destroyed by flames in 1936, during the civil war. In this way, a spectacular and magnificent work disappeared, of which only a few photographs remain, which allow us to give a slight idea of ??the magnitude and greatness that it once had. In 1858, expansion works were carried out on the current church.
Once the civil war ended in 1939, restoration work was carried out on the church. Josep Ballvé Pallisé, an important textile businessman who ran the ca l’Oliver factory, paid for the repair work on the place that had previously been occupied by the main altarpiece and it became what can be seen today.
The image of Sant Quintí was placed in the center and below the images of San Juan, Santa Rosa, San José and San Luis, which correspond to the names of the businessman and his wife in the center and his two children at the ends. It is worth highlighting a ceramic baptismal pike, with a lid, from the 15th or 16th century.
The rectory buildings were in the past the center of the religious life of Sant Quintí, since its origins, around the 11th century. First it was a Benedictine priory, with a prior and some monks who depended on the Ripoll monastery, until in 1586 it became part of the Chapter of the Barcelona Cathedral.
There were some rooms where grain and oil were stored and birds and other farm animals were also kept, as payment for the taxes (mainly tithes and first fruits) paid by the population of Sant Quintí in Priorat.
These buildings have suffered looting and fires over the centuries, due to the various armed conflicts that have taken place, which is why they have had to be rebuilt several times. The underpass that allows you to travel from the Plaza de la Iglesia to the Plaza dels Avis was formerly one of the entry and exit points to the town.
There was a schedule established by the City Council by which the doors had to be closed at a certain time. At night the town had to be well protected from the outside danger of thieves and looters.
In 1651, during the Reapers’ War, Castilian soldiers commanded by the Marquis of Los Vélez looted and burned the parish house. During the first Carlist War (1833-1840) the parish house was looted by the miquelets.
During the 19th and 20th centuries it was the subject of dispute between the Church and the City Council. The building was not in good condition but the City Council wanted to use it as a public school.
The fact is that, during the 20s and 30s of the 20th century, the parish priest Josep Pla took advantage of this place to carry out various activities for children and young people of Sant Quintí (catecheses, music, choir, candy, gymnastics, film screenings, etc. ).
During the Civil War, from 1936-1939, the rectory was occupied by the Local Committee of Anti-Fascist Militias. In 1972, the Sant Quintí City Council bought the building in the Bishopric of Barcelona to build the town hall. In 1975 the inauguration ceremony was held and the space currently occupied by the Vila house
In the 11th century, the Ripoll monastery founded a Benedictine priory in Sant Quintí de Mediona. The number of monks who formed it was very small but, with great drive, they tackled the forestation enterprise of this area, which was then on the border with Muslim territories.
This priory was governed by a prior who had, together with the lord of Mediona castle, economic jurisdiction over the town of Sant Quintí. The Quintinense peasants were “homines propio te afoque”, that is, their vassals.
The prior could establish emphyteutic contracts (it is a real right that involves the temporary transfer of the useful ownership of a property in exchange for the annual payment of a fee or revenue) with the peasants, so they could use and work the land in exchange for payment. of a tax called census or tithe.
In Sant Quintí, unlike other places, the right to administer justice continued to be held by the lords of Mediona castle.
In the Middle Ages, wherever there was a Benedictine monastery or priory, there was always a hospital or house for the poor. The first documented reference to the Sant Quintí hospital is from the year 1341. The patrons were Pere Mas and his wife Sibila. The building was located on Barenyes street (currently Anselm Clavé).
In 1586, by a bull of Pope Sixtus V, the priory was annexed to the Barcelona cathedral. The last prior was Lluís Jaume d’Olzinelles, but before that there were some illustrious ones such as: Fray Pedro de Luna: prior from 1357 to 1363. Later he was bishop of Urgell and co-prince of Andorra. Fray Antonio of Avignon and Moles: prior from 1418 to 1427.
Fray Sebastián Rico: prior from 1531 to 1579. He was a man with a lot of drive, who dedicated himself intensely to the religious community of San Quentin (he made many donations of valuable objects to the church). He is buried at the foot of the altar of the church of Sant Quintí.
In 1809, during the War of Independence, Napoleon’s soldiers besieged Sant Quintí and stole numerous objects from the church and the priory house.
One of the elements that has made the town of Sant Quintí most popular is the water, which has brought wealth and prosperity to its inhabitants.
The erosive force of water has shaped the relief to give it these peculiar shapes that can be seen in the area of ??Les Deus, a place where prehistoric remains have been discovered that show that it was a place frequented by human beings since ancient times. .
In Sant Quintí there were many sources and the presence of water was constant thanks to the extensive network of irrigation ditches that distributed it throughout much of the lower lands of the area close to the river, including the urban area.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the summer phenomenon turned this town into a pole of attraction for wealthy families, especially from Barcelona, ??who were looking for places in direct contact with nature and with plenty of water.
The importance and popularity that water had acquired in the town was a factor to be taken into account. In the middle of the 20th century, there were still few people who went to walk or bathe in Les Deus.
It was not until 1954 when, with the discovery of the caves and the inauguration of the fountains, this place became a very important tourist attraction.
