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In La Vanguardia's Readers' Photos we discovered today in this photographic report the Can Donadeu ice well and the Can Rovira quarry, in the Vallès Oriental.
Between the 16th and 17th centuries, the monks of the Cartuja de Montalegre, in Tiana, ordered the construction of an ice well located in the area of Cabanyes, in Sant Fost de Campsentelles.
Currently known as the Can Donadeu well, it was built in a cylindrical shape taking advantage of the unevenness of the terrain. Its walls are made of rustic stone masonry and it has a large brick dome.
Also noteworthy is the attached rectangular tower with an internal staircase that communicates the different sections and heights of the well through five windows.
It is 14 meters in diameter and 21 meters high, making it the largest well in the Western Mediterranean. An architectural treasure!
With the volume of 2,617 cubic meters it could store 620 tons of ice per season. Above the well there is a large rectangular pond measuring 40 x 20 x 4.5 meters, with a stone wall thickness of 1.60 m and a staircase with 14 steps to go down one side.
The water that was collected came directly from the torrent, turning it towards the pond when the flow slowed so that it did not fill with earth; Then, through a channel with a wooden door and later a metal one, it was led on one side to the other pond, which is half the size further ahead, completely covered with weeds and difficult to locate.
Further down there is a very high stone wall that contains the path and a low wall on the other sides, with a brick floor where about two spans of water were placed where at night the water remained frozen due to the low temperatures, which later After cutting it, it was taken to the well.
At the base of the foundation there is a mine that connects and surrounds the well where they also removed ice blocks to transport them in horse carts to the city.
Fortunately, after more than 20 years trying to protect it, in May 2021, the Cultural Declaration of Local Interest (BICIL) was achieved, unanimously in the Plenary Session of the Sant Fost de Campsentelles City Council. Even so there is still a lot of work to do!
Located in the grounds of the Pedrera de Canró, all the buildings, raft included, have been invaded by vegetation and after the roof of the ice extraction tower collapsed, there is an imminent danger that the great dome, the jewel most emblematic of the complex, suffers the same fate, due to the large trees that have grown on top due to lack of maintenance of the architectural complex.
The quarries are also part of the visual and urban landscape of our town, especially in the Cabanyes area. Despite recognizing that these types of quarries are necessary to provide construction companies with sand and stone, it must be said that they cause irreparable damage to the natural spaces that host them, which is why they have also been a source of controversy. Our people have already contributed enough in this sense and now they should be stopped definitively.
