The Vall de Boi is a narrow, steep-sided valley and a small municipality in the Spanish province of Lleida, in the autonomous community of Catalonia (also known in Spanish as Valle de Bohi). It lies in the northeastern corner of the comarca of Alta Ribagorça, on the edges of the Pyrenees. It is the largest municipality of the region, with its main town being Barruera. The valley is best known for its nine Early Romanesque churches, making it the site of the densest concentration of Romanesque architecture in Europe. It was designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO on 30 November 2000. The valley also includes the highest ski resort in the Pyrenees, at Boi-Taull, and borders the Aigues Tortes National Park which lies to the northeast.
The Moorish conquest of Spain did not penetrate the high valleys of the Pyrenees. The first Christian counties in the region were set out in the 9th century, in which the local counts paid little heed to their nominal Frankish overlords.
The valley first belonged to the county of Tolosa, which was joined with the county of Ribagorza. In the 11th century, the valley came into the hands of the county of Pallars, before being annexed by the Kingdom of Aragon in the 12th century. As a result of its strategic position, the valley contains many castles, but they are mostly poorly preserved.
Although the valley had a relatively low population in the middle ages, large quantities of silver enriched the local dignitaries to encourage them to join the Catalonian campaign to recover Barbastro and Saragossa. Much of the wealth was spent on the construction of many churches from the 11th to the 14th centuries, in the new architectural style imported from Lombardy. The churches are characterized by elaborate stonework and elegant bell towers. Wall paintings from the churches are conserved at the National Museum of Art of Catalonia in Barcelona.
Many of the churches have remained in use for religious worship since they were constructed and consecrated in the 11th and 12th centuries. Nine churches were included in the World Heritage Site: Sant Climent and Santa Maria in Taull, Sant Feliu in Barruera, Sant Joan in Boí, Santa Eulalia in Erill la Vall, Santa Maria de l'Assumpcio de Coll, Santa Maria de Cardet, la Nativitat de la Mare de Deu in Durro, and the hermitage of Sant Quirc near Durro.
The valley also contains the ruins of a number of other Romanesque religious buildings, including the churches of Sant Llorenç in Sarais and Santa Marti in Taull, and the hermitages of Sant Cristofol in Erill, of Sant Quirc in Taüll, of Sant Salvador in Barruera and of Sant Pere in Boí.
Getting there: Ryanair flies to Reus from London from £15.90 one way