Empordaguia

There are many reasons for visiting Ventalló. It lacks walls and mediaeval buildings, yet it is magically attractive. Terenci Moix and many of his friends fell in love with this place. Was it the peace and quiet that brought them here, the centenary olive trees, or the friendly people? Roam the streets and discover the secrets of Ventalló.

Leave your car on the square and stroll through the alleys. Stop at Flora and Maria’s shop, the oldest one in town, where you find everything from vegetables to gas bottles, fresh eggs, and local news. The bakery Ca la Lourdes that conceals a tiny corner where you can enjoy a coffee or a beer. Can Roca, the oldest butcher’s shop in Catalonia, will delight you with its Serrano ham, home made sausages, and prime cuts from lamb or veal.

Above all, Ventalló is famous for its olive oil. Every January the main producers of the county come to the Oil Festival. In the village, you can visit the Oil Mill Sala, where oil is freshly pressed and sold, and the Trull Serraferran, where oil is pressed from olives grown in the municipality using traditional methods to produce a pure and organic olive oil.  There are three restaurants, each different, and all of them good. On the main square, is the restaurant Pera Batlla, where Antonia Quiñones prepares with tender loving care and respect for the seasonal produce of her own vegetable garden and Clara Isamat presents you in the dining room with her personal selection of wines for which they gave her the third prize for best wine list in Catalonia. The large dining room of El Teatret is always full of people enjoying home-style cooking. Local artists meet here, And on the first floor is the municipal bar where you can breakfast, tapas, coffee, drinks… throughout the day.

Art is present in Ventalló: In a mysterious nook we find Laurent Lo, the well-known French bamboo artist has his studio nearby. The lightness of his works contrasts with the grand wood and iron sculptures we find in Enric Pladevall’s foundation L’Olivar. In Tina’s workshop L’Antic Ventalló we also find works of art: perfectly restored furniture. In the nearby hamlet of Vilarobau, Elena brings all sorts of antique furniture into top shape in her workshop Kom. She also makes new pieces to measure.

Next is Valveralla, a sportsman’s dream thanks to the little lake in the middle of the plain. Xavi Mill Esquí Competició offers water ski in a perfect setting. At the Llac de l’Aventura nearby young and old find adventure games of all sorts.

Last but not least, lets save some time for culture. Don’t forget to visit the small hamlets in the area, in which you can discover various churches that deserve a visit: In Montiró the whole nucleus with Ca l’Isern (fortified 16th C. house) and a conglomerate of 17th C. masías with the church of Sant Sadumí in its centre, in Saldet, the Romanesque church of Santa Eugenia of Saldet (12th C.), in Pelacalç, that of Santa Maria de l’Om, and in Vila-robau, the Pre-Romanesque, 10th C. church. For those that decide to stay in the area for a few days, nothing better than a stay at Can Marisch, a gothic-renaissance house that offers rural lodgings, or Can Roca in Montiró, a whole house for rent by days or by weeks.