The 1179 documentation of Sant Pere de les Ventoses

Perched on a ridge above the river Sió in Preixens, the church of Sant Pere de les Ventoses stands as a solitary monument to the past. This isolated structure maintains a single nave and a semicircular apse, serving as a rare physical survivor from the medieval era.

We can trace its documented history back to 1179. During that year, a papal bull of confirmation recognized the ecclesiam de Ventoses as a possession of the abbey of Sant Pere d'Àger. This connection to a monastic estate was documented again in 1648 and remained in synodal books until the 18th century.

The building features a facade facing the town square with a brick bell tower and a 1730 lintel at the main entrance. The east end preserves masonry from the 12th or 13th century, including a semicircular apse with a double-light window and a southeast corner resolved with a buttress in the style of Santa Maria del Castell de Cubells.

Now designated as a protected cultural asset, the site shows the evolution of local construction. One can see the transition from the regular, polished stone blocks of the medieval walls to the later brick work used for the bell tower and the triangular crown on the left side of the facade.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons