This route will take us 500 years back in time, when many Catalan peasants subject to slavery conditions and feudal obligations, known as mals usos, revolted against this situation, founding a union and taking the arms against the feudal lord. We will explain this story and visit the spots related to one of the best known and loved peasant leader, Francesc de Verntallat. Francesc de Verntallat (1428-1499) was born in a masia – a type of rural construction common to the Catalan Countries, which often has a family farming – in La Vall d’en Bas, where this route will start. Near the masia, we will find other elements which are connected to the origins of Verntallat, descendant of the Puigpardines family. Next to the village of El Mallol, and continuing within the limits of La Vall d’en Bas, there is the church, the castle of Puigpardines and the farmhouse mas Toralles, once the home of Puigpardines family. Verntallat became the leader of the most radical peasants in the fight against the abusive mals usos (feudal obligations) and the humiliations to which the peasants were subjected by the feudal lords. The feudal lords excessively controlled the peasants and their families, which could not abandon the mas (farmhouse) if the lord did not agree to free them. Apart from being physically abused, the peasants also had to pay abusive taxes to be able to work the land of the lord. At this point in time, Verntallat became the leading figure of the uprising and was followed by the peasants demanding justice and freedom. He managed to build a small army which allowed him to control most of the territory of the comarca of La Garrotxa and Guilleries, from where he planned incursions to attack other places in Catalonia. Verntallat’s army quickly grew in number and he created a system which allowed the volunteers to be stable. The peasants who joined Verntallat’s cause had the help of other peasants who stayed in the villages working the land, with the promise to take care of their crops while the war was on. This solidarity system allowed Verntallat and the Remences to keep fighting for many years, become stronger and, eventually, end up winning the war. Apart from this stability system, another key factor in the Remences victory was the alliance with King John II. The king had a dispute with his son Charles, prince of Viana. The General Council, an organization that favoured Charles, threatened John II and wanted to occupy his land. Therefore, John II was exiled to Aragon and, during his absence, he left the reign to his wife, the regent Queen Joana Enríquez, who managed to win the respect and sympathy of the peasants by abolishing the abusive mals usos during her regency. When the Queen suffered a siege in Girona, Verntallat and his men went down to the city to help her and their alliance became stronger, a positive factor for Verntallat. The Queen, grateful, appointed him royal captain. This fact conveyed the formal leadership of Verntallat. From then on, his followers were called verntallats. That same year, Verntallat became royal captain. In 1463, he took the castle of Hostoles and fortified it. When we go up to La Garrotxa through the comarca of La Selva, there are some visible remains on a hill. This is the castle of Hostoles, which Vicens Vives, historian and writer, described as “the most notable mountain fortress of the Remença resistance”. The castle of Hostoles, in fact, was the centre of the Remença power during the period in which the revolt took place. After its fortification, it was turned into a very safe spot, which could not be taken by assault. The same happened with the castles of Puig-Alder and Colltort, which stood on the frontier between the counties of Besalú and Girona. The castle of Hostoles is a geographical landmark in many ways. It is located between the villages of Les Planes d’Hostoles and Sant Feliu de Pallerols. In Les Planes d’Hostoles we can find the hermitage of Sant Salvador, where the castle of Puig-Alder would later be built. Its geographical location helps us to understand the military advantage the land had to offer. On the other side of the road that goes to Girona, Les Planes d’Hostoles and Sant Feliu de Pallerols, there is the church of Sant Pere Sacosta. There are references which show that in the 13th century the farmhouses of this area were subjected to the mals usos. In Les Planes we can also find the home of the Jonquer family, very prominent in that time. In Sant Feliu de Pallerols we can visit the mill Molí de la Conqueta, a flour mill first mentioned in the 12th century. It is important to highlight that, while the war continued, everything remained the same on the rear. People continued producing food to feed the peasants fighting in the front. Nowadays, the mill is a municipal property and it can be visited. Near Santa Pau we can find the castle of Colltort, from where we can already see the volcanic zone of La Garrotxa. Along this route we will also find out a couple of elements that are not linked to the Remença conflict, but are definitely worth a visit. The first one is the old washing place called Els Rentadors de la Pinya, in La Vall d’en Bas. They are a living proof of the hard work that washing the clothes implied back in those times, although they were also places where people gathered and enjoyed. The second one is El Firal (fairground) of Sant Feliu de Pallerols, where we will stop and enjoy the quietness in the village square. Between 1463 and 1469, the war slowly progressed with victories and defeats on both sides. Finally, the Remences lost the control of Besalú and Olot, and Verntallat went back to hide in the mountains around the castle of Hostoles. From there, in 1470 the Remences progressed, at a numerical disadvantage, up to Girona, where they lay siege to. In 1471 the city surrendered to Verntallat, who had the support of Finestres, an area in the west part of the castle of Hostoles. The land located within the municipal borders of Sant Aniol de Finestres had a vital strategic importance in many armed conflicts in the history of Catalonia. The fact of being a mountainous region difficult to access, near Olot, Banyoles and Girona, turned it into the perfect shelter for outlaws. A great proof of this is the chapel of Finestres, which also played a very important role in the Third Carlist War. Closer to the villages, we can find the churches of Sant Esteve de Llémena and Sant Aniol de Finestres. Back to Verntallat, still in 1471, Olot was also a victim of the siege laid by the Remences. On 28th October 1472 the Catalan Civil War finished with the victory of the royalists with the help of the Remences. The latter ones hoped the King would abolish the mals usos after the contribution of the peasants in the victory, but it was not like this, and a period of confusion began. Years later, the conflict started again, but this time the Second War of the Remences was started by Pere Joan Sala, a friend of Verntallat. After some victories near Barcelona, he was captured and publicly executed in Barcelona. Verntallat did not take part in this war. Instead, he negotiated and got nearly everything he wanted. He ended up securing, through an agreement known as The Sentence of Guadalupe, the abolition of the tax and the feudal abuses and injustices. This did not happen in many European countries until the 18th century. After the sentence, Verntallat stayed in the court and had contact with important figures such as Cristòfor Colom. Later, he retired in Sant Feliu de Pallerols, where he lived in the farmhouse mas Claperols, near Sant Miquel de Pineda, and also in the fortified house he had in the centre of the town, where he died around the year 1499. Nowadays, we can find a statue built in his honour. In the comarca we can also find many elements which remind us of him: schools, streets and shops show that Verntallat is still loved in these lands. Along this route we have gone through the life of Francesc de Verntallat and we have discovered one of the first organized social revolts that won in Europe. We have also seen the Remences uprising and the history of the towns and mountains located in the south of the comarca of La Garrotxa.
