Cap a Capellades

Today a trip to visit an old school friend in the town of Capellades, a small town in Catalonia, located in the south of the comarca of Anoia, some sixty metres above the Anoia river where it cuts through the Serrelada Pre-litoral (Catalan Coastal Range).

Capellades has been known for the manufacture of paper since the seventeenth century. There is a small amount of agriculture, both irrigated (market gardening) and non-irrigated (cereals, grapes, almonds), although the territory of the municipality is small. Textile and ceramic manufacture and tourism during the summer also contribute to the local economy. Munich (sport shoes) has its headquarter in Capellades.

The site has been inhabited since the middle Paleolithic era (50000 years BP), and an archeological site just below the modern town, known locally as the Abric Romaní, is open to the public. There is also a Museum of Paper (Molí-Museu Paperer) housed in a converted papermill, below which this shot was taken.

The water is the main reason for the town becoming a paper making community, although recently the main paper mill closed, owned by a multi-national production was moved to Italy. A serious blow to the town where nearly 60% of families had someone connected to the mill.