Llorà: Discover Romanesque architecture and trails

For a trip to Llorà, two main areas of interest stand out: Romanesque architecture and routes connected to the town. Sant Pere de Llorà, Can Pascual and the chapels on the Pla de Sant Joan represent different architectural forms and periods. Hiking and cycling routes also lead to Llorà or include it along the way. When looking for a hotel, you can start by deciding whether you mainly want to explore the architectural history or make a route the focus of your trip.

Sant Pere de Llorà and Can Pascual

Sant Pere de Llorà is the town’s parish church and is located on the road between Sant Gregori and Sant Martí. The well-preserved Romanesque building consists of a nave and a semicircular apse; two small side apses were discovered only recently. The nave is the church’s elongated main space, while the apse forms the end of the church interior. The additional side apses supplement this basic layout with two smaller architectural elements.

Recent restoration work revealed Romanesque paintings in the lower part of the apse and the side apses. Their location links the paintings to precisely the parts of the building that define the church’s layout. The structure and the surviving paintings thus represent two distinct aspects of Sant Pere’s history.

Can Pascual stands directly beside the church. The building preserves remains of Llorà’s medieval fortified house. Two construction phases can be distinguished on its west façade: remains of opus spicatum, masonry laid in a herringbone pattern, belong to the older phase, dated to the 10th century. The upper construction phase dates from the 12th century and features loopholes. The façade thus preserves side by side architectural features from two different centuries.

Chapels on the Pla de Sant Joan

The Ermita de Sant Medir is at the eastern end of the Pla de Sant Joan, between the road and the river. It has largely retained its unchanged 11th-century Romanesque structure: a nave, a semicircular apse and a bell gable with a single arch. The Esglesiola de Sant Joan del Pla also dates from the 11th century. It stands in the middle of the Pla de Sant Joan, on the road between Llorà and Sant Martí. It has undergone no major alterations, so the chapel has retained its original appearance.

Both chapels are Romanesque buildings from the 11th century, but the features described place the emphasis on different aspects. At the Ermita de Sant Medir, the nave, apse and bell gable are part of the surviving structure. At the Esglesiola de Sant Joan del Pla, the emphasis is on its limited alteration and the preservation of its original appearance. If you are interested in Romanesque architecture, you will find more than one building here where you can explore the region’s religious architecture.

Hiking and cycling routes connected to Llorà

The Camí Ral de la Vall de Llémena passes Llorà and the hamlet of Sant Medir before reaching the Pla de Sant Joan. The route thus follows a sequence of town, hamlet and plain. In this respect, it differs from the several hiking and cycling routes that use the Banya de Boc volcano as a starting point or destination. These routes begin in Llorà or Sant Martí de Llémena.

On the route to the Banya del Boc volcano, when you arrive in Llorà you can make a short detour to the Romanesque church of Sant Pere and the historic town centre before crossing the road. This detour connects the route with the buildings and the town centre without requiring you to choose a different route.

The crater of Banya del Boc is a geologically remarkable natural area. It consists of a volcanic cone open above the Llémena valley. The crater measures 1,300 by 860 metres and is 100 metres deep. These dimensions give the geological features their own distinct scale alongside the history of the churches and architecture found in Llorà and on the Pla de Sant Joan.

You can then tailor your hotel search to your travel plans; check the offers using your travel dates.

For the main travel overview: Sant Martí De Llémena.