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The moon invites us to reflect while we enjoy the views from the Minyona tower of the Cardona castle, in the Bages region, as seen in this photograph in The Readers' Photos of La Vanguardia.
Cardona Castle is probably the most important medieval fortress in Catalonia. It is strategically located on a hill that overlooks the saline valley and the Cardener valley.
It was built in the year 886 by Wifredo el Velloso. Romanesque and Gothic in style, it includes the so-called Sala Daurada and the Sala dels Entresòls.
Its jewel is the Minyona tower, which is located at the highest point of the mountain. Its original structure corresponded to a cylindrical tower of about 10.5 meters in diameter by 25 meters in height, comparable to those of the primitive castles built in Catalonia in the 10th-11th centuries as watchtowers for surveillance and control of the territory, in addition to towers representing the lord's jurisdiction.
Its current appearance, only 12.5 meters high, is the result of the reforms carried out between 1794 and 1810 to prevent it from serving as a firing reference for artillery in the event of a siege. It owes its nickname to an 18th century legend that tells of the love of one of the viscounts' daughters, Minyona, with a Muslim leader.
