Catalonia's most renowned monastery was established in 1025 to commemorate local shepherds' visions of the Virgin Mary, accompanied by celestial light and a chorus of holy music. Today, a community of 55 monks lives here. The monastery complex encompasses two blocks: on one side, the basilica and monastery buildings, and on the other, tourist and pilgrim facilities. Admirable monastery architecture lining the main Plaça de Santa Maria includes elegant 15th-century cloisters and a gleaming late-19th-century facade depicting St George and St Benedict in relief.
Most visitors make a beeline for the basilica to venerate La Moreneta ('Little Brown One' or 'Black Virgin'), a 12th-century Romanesque wooden sculpture of Mary with the baby Jesus (and Catalonia's official patroness since 1881).
