The “rec”, the irrigation canal, of Igualada takes water from the river Anoia and covers about two and a half kilometres. . Built in the High Middle Ages, it has been used to power the hydraulic mills, irrigate the allotments and, since the 18th century, to supply water to the tens of tanning and dyeing industries lining the canal.

Despite its appearance as a tanning district, the Rec has brought together a very diverse industry. As well as the tanneries there were large, steam-powered, cotton textile factories, which are exponents of the first Catalan industrial revolution; new knitwear textile industry; and other buildings of architectural and historic value that still remain today.

We invite you to reconquer the Rec district of Igualada to discover unique architecture comprising buttresses, gangways, lattices, basins and “boixarreres” [water outlets], and to experience the bustle of a district that is home to tannery workers, cultural activists and visitors.