The fountain of the saint of Camp
Since last year I had not included in this one Now We Discover not a single corner of my house. Or, to be more precise, the Barberà Basin or the Lower Segarra... or perhaps the Alt Gaià, the Segarra of Tarragona, or that little piece of the world between Sarral and Santa Coloma de Queralt.
It was during Roger Mas's concert with the Cobla Sant Jordi, this August in the square in front of the San Magín de la Brufagaña sanctuary, that I asked myself: how is it possible that, in more than forty articles, I still haven't talked about this space? Well, today is the day.
The sanctuary stands within the municipality of Pontils, next to the Brufaganya forests, in a natural border landscape between the plain and the mountains, crossed by the Gaià River. Tradition says that it was here that San Magín hid from the Christian hunt in Roman Tarraco. The hermit, according to legend, made water gush forth with his gaiato to quench the thirst of the soldiers who were leading him to imprisonment and martyrdom. And these waters, which still flow into the Sant Magí Fountains today, have become a symbol of popular devotion and the heart of one of the most beloved festivals in Camp de Tarragona.
The fountains, the sanctuary with its adjoining houses and caves, as well as other structures that have been lost in the mountains and forest, form a legacy of years and locks. The most notable feature is the single-nave church with side chapels and a small alcove in the presbytery. The nave has four bays covered with a barrel vault, as well as pillars with pilasters and molded cornices. The side chapels are covered with groin vaults, and the chancel with a lowered dome on shells. As in most good shrines, behind the altar stands a niche with a modern image of the titular saint, a native of Camparó.
The confiscations and wars left the shrine and convent quite damaged, but faith and devotion to the saint have helped it survive. A good example are the votive offerings. These telluric and popular elements were once concentrated in a superlative way on the walls of the temple. Of that entire collection, only a simple small table and two enormous whale cutlets remain; an example of the saint's relationship with water—fresh and salt.
The relationship with water, in all its forms, is the common thread that runs through the shrine and its devotion. The fountains, which never run dry, are still today the starting point for the Bringing the Water of Sant Magí, the tradition that moves roads, groups, and devotees every summer to carry the water to Tarragona. But the saint goes further: cities like Cervera, Igualada, Mallorca, Barcelona... have a special relationship.
Perhaps this is what makes San Magín de la Brufagaña special: it is not just a monumental complex, but a living space where history and legend, nature and spirituality intertwine. A corner of our territory that continues to give us fresh water and, above all, the feeling that time slows down here. A place always worth returning to, if only to remember that, sometimes, miracles are hidden in the simplest details.