Magical environment in the middle of the Pre-Pyrenees
In Llimiana, the Books of Estimates reveal that one of the most important agriculture activities in the municipality was the cultivation of saffron, with production being dedicated, for the most part, to commercialization.
The records speak of heads of saffron in cahíces (measure of capacity that was equivalent to 8 Spanish bushels). In the inventory of the year 1454, the total in the houses of the municipality was 400.5 cahíces of heads of saffron and a list of saffron threads valued at 585 solidi of Barcelona. Sales were regulated by the orders that the Provincial Government issued in 1431 with the intention of avoiding fraud and controlling taxes. These orders refer to the places where the sale should be concentrated, among which were: Tremp, Conques, Balaguer and Vilanova de Meià.
Analysing the records, it appears that the region known as Tierra del Marquesado, mainly in its upper part around Montsec, was a saffron producing centre that was marketed through the Vilanova de Meià market.
