BarcelonaFilm Commission
Castell Riudabella
Updated: 07/25/2019
Castell de Riudabella, s/n
43430
Vimbodí i poblet
Tarragona
The origins of settlement in Riudabella go back to the Neolithic Period (4th-5th millennium BC), whilst the prehistoric, Iberian and Roman archaeological sites discovered in the area testify to a very rich local history. After Ponç II of Cervera had won these lands back from their Moorish occupants around 1132 AD, Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona, donated them to the Abbey of Fontfroide in 1150 so that Poblet Monastery might be founded. Riudabella later became one of the most active Cistercian farms in the area, and in the 15th century Abbot Delgado ordered the construction of a rest-house for elderly monks here. In 1835, the confiscations decreed by Mendizábal forced the monks to leave Poblet, and their properties were sacked and destroyed. In 1841, Riudabella castle and farm was bought at a public auction by Pedro Gil y Babot, and its restoration began in 1860. Gradually, under the watchful eye and careful management of the Gil Moreno de Mora family, the site was converted into the walled enclosure we see today.
