Tivissa is a municipality in the comarca of Ribera d'Ebre, Catalonia, Spain. It is located below the La Llena massif. As well as the village of Tivissa itself, the municipality also includes the village of La Serra d'Almos, at the feet of the Montalt mountains, and the hamlets of Darmós and Llaberia. History The area was settled in prehistoric times, and cave paintings have been discovered in several sites near the village. In Iberian times, Tivissa was an important community, and the name itself may be of Iberian origin. There are the remains of an Iberian settlement at Banyoles, some five kilometres from the modern village and overlooking the Ebre river. The importance of these settlements was surely related to their position on the route through the pass of Coll de Fatxes, leading from the coast of Tarragona to what is now Zaragoza. In the Roman period, amphorae made in Tivissa made their way as far as Rome itself, presumably to transport olive oil or wine. In the Middle Ages it was home to a castle, and about 1350 Tivissa became a walled settlement. Some remains of these walls can still be seen, particularly the gateways of Portal de l'Era, Portal d'Avall and Portal de la Raval, as well as of the castle. Main sights Tivissa's main church has a 19th-century Renaissance-style appearance, but the interior is in Gothic style. The church was built on the site of an earlier Romanesque building in the 13th-14th centuries, and various additions and alterations were made in the 16th to 18th centuries. The octagonal bell-tower was built in 1550. During the 19th century the rector Pere Rius started to plan a larger building, and received the support of the local council and of the president of the First Spanish Republic, Estanislau Figueres, who had connections with Tivissa. Because of the lack of available space, it was decided to build the new church on the same site. It was constructed around the old church with the intention of subsequently demolishing the old building. However, when the rector died in 1894 the work came to an end and the demolition never took place, thus leaving the Gothic church standing within the new one. Castellet de Banyoles (Tivissa) One of the most important ancient Iberian settlements of Catalonia was discovered here in 1912. Also, the 'Treasure of Tivissa', a unique collection of silver Iberian votive offerings