Spain · ES

Ermita de Santa Maria del Solà o de Lloberola

Perched on a sunlit plateau above the Riera de Lloberola valley in the rural interior of Lleida province, the Ermita de Santa Maria del Solà is a compact Romanesque chapel whose 13th-century nave and semicircular apse have stood watch over Catalonia's countryside for nearly eight hundred years. Known locally both as Santa Maria del Solà — named for its position on the sunny side of the valley — and as Santa Maria de Lloberola after the nearby hamlet, it is one of two Romanesque monuments that anchor the heritage trail of Biosca. Visitors come for the architecture, the panoramic views across the valley, and the living tradition of the Easter Monday aplec, when local devotion to the Virgin of Solà draws a large gathering. The chapel itself is usually locked, but its setting alone rewards the short drive up from the village of Lloberola.