page_title: L'Hospitalet de l'Infant
section_title: "The Child's Hospital"
hierarchical_section_title: L'Hospitalet de l'Infant / History / "The Child's Hospital"
caption_attribution_description: English: Plaza del Pou in the centre of Hospitalet de l'Infant. Hospitalet de l'Infant, municipality of Vandellòs i l'Hospitalet de l'Infant, comarca Baix Camp, province of Tarragona, Spain.
context_page_description: L'Hospitalet de l'Infant, Catalonia, Spain is coastal suburb of Tarragona, inside the municipality of Vandellòs i l'Hospitalet de l'Infant and southwest of Baix Camp. The town center is on a rocky promontory flanked by an extensive beach called L'Arenal and crossed by the Llastres seasonal river. Tourism is one of the main economic activities of the town and the area represented by the regional brand Costa Daurada. The Local tourism brand is “L’Hospitalet de l’Infant i la Vall de Llors”. L'Hospitalet de l'Infant has three beaches: L’Arenal, La Punta del Riu and El Torn. All are certified Blue flag beaches.
context_section_description: The building is an excellent example of Catalan Gothic civil architecture, with a 55 sq meter-area central courtyard, flanked by four towers. Each side leads to a nave through an arched door with wooden lintel; main access was by the existing door to the southern tower, not the current access that leads to the Plaza Berenguer de Entença. The central courtyard has been modernized substantially; historically, the plaza featured a treadwheel-powered well.  
  The fortified nature of the building is reflected in 11.7-meter thick walls and 18-meter high towers. Surviving plans suggest that originally six towers were planned: one in each corner and two in the middle of the northern and southern walls, but only four were ultimately constructed. The building has no windows, except for remnants in the north-east and loopholes present around the perimeter.
  The building was an important fortification in the Catalan Civil War, and the site of the 1640 Battle of Coll de Balaguer in the Reapers' War.  The building was most seriously damaged in the Peninsular War. As a hostel, the structure remained in use by travelers until the nineteenth century. The current historical site maintains four raised towers, the entrance to the Plaça del Pou, three facades and three gothic arches behind the patios of the houses inside.
caption: Hospitalet de l'Infant - well square
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