The course of the river Ges along the north
of Osona - one of the administrative
divisions in Catalonia called comarques - lends the valley its own identity,
and together with a number of geographical features and historical events
it shapes the valley's character. The valley, with a wide range of vegetable
species and notable architectural elements, consists of three municipalities
- Torelló (known in the past as Sant Feliu), Sant Vicenç de Torelló and Sant
Pere de Torelló
Torelló is the biggest of the three, and
the third in Osona as for its population. It is the most easily accessible
town in the valley, not only by road - there is an almost direct access to
A-road C-17 - but also by train. The landscape is made up of oaks, boxes,
poplars, elms, ashes, and hazelnut trees. Grain-producing fields and fodder
cultivations dot the area with dry farming.
Sant Vicenç de Torelló is the smallest
town in the valley. It includes two housing estates built at the end of the
19th century, when the textile colonies of Borgonyà and Vila-seca were established.
Sant Pere de Torelló is the most high-lying
village in the area, at a height of 621 metres. It is also the most extensive
municipal district in the valley, and takes in two small hamlets - Masies
de Sant Pere and La Vola.
Worth visiting in the valley are St Roc's
Chapel, the Sanctuary of Bellmunt, El Serrat - a traditional Catalan masia
or farmhouse - and the Castle of Torelló.
St Roc's Chapel, situated on the highroad
between Sant Pere and the small village of Vidrà, was built in the 19th century
to stop epidemics from spreading. It is placed on the slope from Sant Pere
to Bellmunt.
The first reference to El Serrat dates
back to the 16th century. This masia is not far from St Roc's Chapel, and
in the past there used to be a church called Sant Esteve del Serrat.
The Sanctuary of Bellmunt extends over
the upper part of the mountain, right where the Reganyada Castle - presumably
of Visigothic origins - used to be. Bellmunt offers a view of the river Ges
valley, the plain around the city of Vic, the Pyrenees, and the comarques
of El Ripollès and La Garrotxa.
The Castle of Torelló - also called Moorish
Castle - is at a height of 781 metres. The castle was first mentioned in 881.
A beheaded tower which dates from the 12th century is the only relic of note.
All that remains of the walls is a part of the foundations.

