CHAPTER TWO

Olesa de Bonesvalls is a tiny, insular, and ancient village located in a small valley in a remote part of the Catalan region called El Penedès. Even though it is only seventeen miles from Barcelona, the town isolation is due mostly to the mountainous geography, the rugged terrain, and the bad roads.

 

CHAPTER THREE

As the eldest child and hereu, Bisabuelo Joan [1842-1907] was expected to farm and eventually to inherit whatever was left of the family patrimony. However, it is not known with certainty how much farming he did. He would become the first Ràfols de l’Hospital to leave Olesa in more than 350 years.