Josep Castellà Real Municipal Museum

A journey through the history of ancient Sigarra.

The town of Prats de Rei, set in the middle of the small valley formed by the course of the source of the Anoia river, in the north of the county of the same name, was the cradle of ancient Segarra, for centuries one of the most important cereal-producing areas in Catalonia. Today, agriculture in the area is increasingly giving way to activities related to trade and industry.

In 1972 a group of local residents, members of the “G.R.A. Sigarra” association, initiated an archaeological project in the town of Prats de Rei itself and in the surrounding area, carrying out a series of excavations that resulted in the discovery of an Iberian settlement, possibly Iltirkes, and the confirmation of the existence on this same site of the Roman town of Sigarra (Municipium Sigarrense).

This led to the creation of the Josep Castellà Real Municipal Museum (named in memory of its promoter and first director), which exhibits all the materials recovered from the archaeological excavations carried out between 1972 and 1975, as well as from subsequent excavations.

Furthermore, thanks to the incorporation of the collection of the Tools Museum of the Mare de Déu del Portal School and the contributions of other local residents, the museum now offers a comprehensive overview of the history of the town and sub-county right up to the present day.

The museum is housed in a building constructed at the end of the 19^th century that was the social centre of the Agricultural Cooperative “La Equitativa”.

For more information and visits to the museum, please call 93 868 81 92.