Cataluña
Autonomous community of northeast Spain; area 31,930 sq km/12,328 sq mi; population (2001 est) 6,361,400. It includes the provinces of Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Olives, vines, cereals, and nuts are grown, and some livestock is raised. Cataluña is the main industrial region of Spain. Originally based on the textile industry, the region has diversified into engineering, chemicals, paper, publishing, and many service industries; hydroelectric power is also produced. The capital is Barcelona, which contains more than one-third of the region's residents.
History
Cataluña was one of the first parts of Spain to be colonized by the Romans; it was subsequently overrun by the Visigoths in the 5th century. An independent county was formed in Barcelona in the 8th century, but in 1137 it was united with Aragón, and in 1479 both were united with Castile. Catalan art and literature flourished during the Middle Ages. The region has a long tradition of independence. It enjoyed autonomy 1932–39, but lost its privileges for supporting the Republican cause in the
Spanish Civil War.
Catalan and Spanish were the official languages of Cataluña according to the constitution of 1978, leading to a considerable revival of the Catalan language. Autonomy and official use of the Catalan language were restored in 1980, after Cataluña elected its first parliament as an autonomous region.
| French Cataluña is the adjacent département of Pyrénées-Orientales. |
| Northern Cataluña is mountainous, and the Ebro basin breaks through the Castellón Mountains in the south. The Segre, Llobregat, and Ter rivers also flow through the region. The soil is fertile, and the highlands are well forested, but the climate in the interior is arid. Tourist resorts have developed along the Costa Brava. |
