Font Vella
Font Vella is a natural water spring that was declared for public consumption in 1956. Currently, its water is bottled to be distributed throughout Spain.
In the past, and still today, both townspeople and summer visitors walked there to enjoy the surroundings reserved for resting. During the summer season, there were tables and chairs, and people sat to drink a glass of water with sweets made of anise.
Moreover, Font Vella has been associated with two historical figures. One was Father Cinto Verdaguer, who often visited the town and Font Vella. He found inspiration in these places and he dedicated some verses which nowadays are chiselled on a stone in Font Vella.
Another figure closely related to this space is Jaumet, better known among the summer visitors as Jaumet del Flabiol. This man, with a peculiar appearance, used to walk to Font Vella, where he filled some earthenware jugs with water and distributed them to the visitors and the townspeople in exchange for a tip. He was, in fact, the first Font Vella water distributor. Jaumet had a little intellectual disability and he was dumb. That’s why he used his flabiol (a Catalan flageolet) to communicate himself with the people, cheering children and adults.
The love people felt for him was so great that summer visitors who came to Sant Hilari created a procession and gave him a cart with which he could easily carry the earthenware jugs. He made so many deliveries that the cart got damaged. Later, the town council and the procession together gave him a second cart, which is still kept in Sant Hilari. Jaumet died in 1956 at the age of 83. He became a historical character, one of the most important in our town. In fact, we have a typical sweet named after him: the Jaumets.
HISTORY
In 1898, Jaumet started to deliver the water, mainly to summer visitors.
This water was first analysed in 1917 by Doctor Moragas and was described as pure and excellent. The following year, 8-liter glass bottles began to be bottled and, the following, some 1-liter bottles. In 1925, they became well-known and the bottles were taken to Breda and, from there, to Barcelona by train.
The spring was declared for public consumption on 27th March 1956.
The bottling company has always got the water from the aquifers. It is currently an important national company and it is part of Aguas Danone SA.
