Cadaqués in the Costa Brava

Núria Valley in the Eastern Pyrenees

The Catalan Countries composed of the Principat de Catalunya, País Valencià, les Illes Balears (Mallorca, Menorca and Eivissa) and la Franja de Ponent are the countries were the Catalan language is spoken. Their origin lies in the Middle Ages when the Christians refuged in the Pyrenees and Occitània started recorvering the lands conquered by the moors. A political entity leaded by the Counts of Barcelona unified them (the Catalan-Aragonese Confederation).

Click here if you want to check the history of Catalonia: 
 

Catalonia's history is the history of a struggle for political and cultural survival. The last of the many attempts to destroy its distinctive language and culture was Franco's dictatorship. Now, Catalonia is partly ruled by an autonomous government (the Generalitat de Catalunya), and the Catalan language, now official, is in a process of recovery. Nevertheless, Catalonia's right of self-determination still hasn't been recognized by the Spanish State, not to speak of northern Catalonia, under French rule and where Catalan language is still unofficial.

Some interesting links

 Vilaweb (the e-journal of the Catalan Countries)

Mary Martin's home page (the best catalan links)

Estel Nel

Check here if you want to learn about Catalan's passion for human castles