The Templar Heads of Cal Sant

For many, the region of La Terra Alta is a sort of Tuscany in the province of Tarragona. The landscapes, the weather, and the crops in both areas have similarities. Several Terra Alta towns share a Templar past; one of them is La Fatarella. Cal Sant is a building from the 17th century with baroque elements in the center of La Fatarella, Tarragona (Terra Alta), which is included in the Inventory of the Architectural Heritage of Catalonia. The most curious elements of its facade are two rather roughly sculpted stone heads that are ashlars from two of the beams in the building.

From the 12th to 14th century, Cal Sant was the seat of the Commander of the Order of the Temple in the area. The building is known for its historical importance but mainly for the two carved ashlars in the shape of a face on the facade.It is believed that the house we see today was once part of a larger mansion that used to occupy a fair amount of the center of the old town and that would have been connected by corridors formed by the current arches found on the streets and inside some other houses.

From the 12th to the 14th century, the Order of the Knights Templar dominated a territory that ranged from Tortosa to the north of Castellón. Ever since the Templars settled in the area, numerous towns in the Ribera d'Ebre and Terra Alta reached their splendor once the reconquest from the Saracens was over. The Templars built hermitages and raised towns and districts with a sense of military defense. Elements of the Templar past can still be found in many of the towns in the area.