Tarragona sits on the mouth of the river Francola on the Mediterranean. It was formally known as Tarraco and in 218BC was captured by Roman forces. They built up is fortifications against attack by the Carthaginians. The ruins of Roman walls and an aquaduct remain still. It fell to both the Visigoths and the Moors in the 5th and 8th centuries respectively. The Christians recaptured it in the 12th century but when it's trade was captured by either regions Barcelona or Valencia it fell into decline. In 1903 Carthusian monks settled in the city having been expelled from La Grande Chartreuse in France. Their famous liqueur is produced here to this day. Today it is important as both a commercial centre and port. Industries include flour mills, an oil refinery and wine production and export. Some of the countries finest wines are made nearby in the Priorat region.

Lleida lies on the river Segre. Formally known as Llerda, Julius Ceasar defeated the generals of Pompey here in 49 BC. The Moorish invasion from the south saw Lleida fall in 714. It was liberated by Christian forces in 1149. By tradition a strategic, fortified city, Lleida became a key defence point for Barcelona in the Spanish civil war. It eventually fell to Franco's forces in the April of 1938 having withheld for nine long months. A castle, whose ramparts enclose a Romanesque cathedral, dominates the old section of the city. Lleida is the centre of a fertile farm area and agriculture predominates. There is little in the way of a manufacturing industry.