Reus is the capital of Baix Camp, in the province of Tarragona, in Catalonia, Spain. The area has always been an important producer of wines and spirits, and gained continental importance at the time of the Phylloxera plague. Nowadays it is known by its commercial activity, for being a center for rock-climbing and as the birthplace of architect Antoni Gaudí.
The origin of the name is a source of discussion. One of the theories is that Reus comes from the Latin word used to describe convict prisoners (reus), and as such, it would be a Roman penitentiary. Currently, the most accepted theory is that the name has Celtic roots, from the root red that originated the name redis (or reddis), that would approximately mean place in the way / place in the roads, or said alternatively, an inhabited place in a cross-road.
The principal Reus festivity is Sant Pere on June 29, declared of National Touristic Interest. Also, on September 25, the Mare de Déu de la Misericòrdia is held. One of the most characteristic and popular acts of these festivities is the so-called tronada, which is a series of 29 little mortars masclets with bigger and stronger bangers interleaved, arranged linearly around the Mercadal square (where the city hall is located), united by a hand craft gunpowder line. This line ends in a square shape in front of the city hall, with more bangers and 4 more masclets. Other noteworthy festivities are the Carnival and the Anada a l’Antiga towards Salou. Most of the neighborhoods have their own festivities.
In recent years tourism in Reus has expanded as more and more people come to the Costa Daurada region for their summer holidays or some winter sun. Nowadays the more important group of tourists come from Russia and then France and Holland. Recently Reus Airport has started to receive low cost flights from Ryanair that fly to Reus from many different European locations and North Africa. The airport also receives major charter flights from the United Kingdom. Barcelona Airport is another airport which serves the area for those destinations not served by Reus Airport.
[caption id="attachment_25484" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Jean-Baptiste Colbert by Robert Nateuil[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Jean-Baptiste Colbert was a French politician who served as the Minister of Finances of France from 1665...
