A distinctive way to discover Belltall is through garlic: it has been traditionally grown here for 300 years. The landscape along the dry-stone route and the village’s architectural heritage offer further perspectives, from agricultural land use to church architecture and historical details.

Garlic tradition and All de Belltall

All de Belltall is a smaller variety of garlic. Its white bulb is rounded, flattened at the base and forms two smaller bulbs in the middle. These characteristics give the long-standing cultivation tradition a tangible identity: alongside the agricultural theme is a specific variety with its own distinctive shape. Anyone interested in local produce can consider the bulb’s shape and the history of its cultivation as two sides of the same subject.

The Centre d’Interpretació de l’All de Belltall is located in the former abbey of Belltall and provides information about the cultivation and harvest of the garlic grown there. The subject therefore encompasses both the product and the work involved in producing it. When planning your visit, you can explore Belltall not only through individual sights, but also through a specific agricultural tradition.

Routes and the dry-stone landscape

The long-distance hiking trail La Ruta del Cister GR 175 passes through Belltall. The dry-stone route offers a different perspective: it passes through a landscape shaped by dryland farming and small areas of woodland, with older dry-stone walls, some of which have steps. The Belltall landscape also includes dry-stone huts associated with agricultural work. Together, these features illustrate the connection between dry-stone construction and the use of the land.

When choosing a hiking option, it helps to distinguish between their different focuses: the GR 175 is a long-distance trail that passes through Belltall, while the dry-stone route focuses on the landscape, dryland farming and older walls. This lets you decide whether the long-distance route or the special combination of landscape and dry-stone structures is better suited to your outing.

Church architecture and village details

The history of Sant Pere includes surviving remains and the reuse of materials. Only the foundations, the first courses of masonry in a side wall and the apse remain of the former church of Sant Pere de Belltall. The present-day church of Sant Pere de Belltall was built using materials reused from a neighbouring Romanesque church of Sant Pere, which has since disappeared. The bell tower of the church of Sant Pere is octagonal. These details draw attention to different aspects of the building’s history: surviving sections of wall, the reuse of materials and the shape of the tower.

The boundary cross of Belltall also offers an architectural point of interest. It probably dates from the 16th or 17th century and is designed in the Gothic-Renaissance style. The date is an estimate; the stylistic designation conveys a separate kind of information. This allows the clues to the cross’s history and design to be considered separately.

Other local details can be found in various buildings and places: the old cemetery has disc-shaped grave stelae, and Carrer Major passes beneath an old village house through a vaulted passageway. The washhouses and the Font de Baix are also among the village’s sights. Culture enthusiasts will find several specific subjects here, from church architecture and grave stelae to a passageway in the streetscape and local sights.

Discover more destinations: Valls, Ulldemolins, La Vilella Baixa, Bràfim, Alfara De Carles, Els Pallaresos, Batea, El Molar

For the overview of the wider area: Tarragona.