Joan Sala, Serrallonga
Joan Sala Ferrer (1594-1634), the most visible leader of Catalan banditry in the 16th and 17th centuries, a time when bandits were the focus of all regions, turned Les Guilleries into a perfect hideout against his enemies.
Joan de Serrallonga is one of the best-known bandits of the 16th and 17th centuries, a time when bandits were the protagonists of many regions.
Joan Sala Ferrer was born in Viladrau on April 21, 1594. Three of his brothers, Pere, Joan, and Segimon, were also bandits.
In 1618 he married Margarita Talladas, a heiress from the Serrallonga farmhouse (Querós, Sant Hilari de Sacalm), which is where his nickname comes from. He lived there with his wife and children as a farmer.
Serrallonga’s career surely began by committing small crimes in the shadow of criminals like the Margarit brothers. It was not until 1622 that he committed the first crime of sangmata against his neighbor, Miquel Barfull, for ratting him out.
In 1627, Serrallonga became the leader of Catalan banditry, with a band of more than 100 men. They could act with total impunity, hidden between Guilleries, Montseny, and Collsacabra, due to their knowledge of the territory, the lack of collaboration of the people with the royal forces, and the complicity of some lords. As an example, Serrallonga enjoyed the protection of the rector of Castanyet – who promised him that he would take care of his family after his death – or of the monks of the monastery of Sant Pere de Rodes.
He participated in the confrontations of nyerros and puppies. First, as a defender of the Nyerros and under the protection of the bishop of Banyoles. When things got complicated, in 1630, as the persecution intensified, he left for France with his lover, Juana la Maciza, the widow of a miller from Castelló d’Empúries and of puppy descent. There in France, things did not go well.
He returned to the Guilleries, and on Monday, October 31, 1633, the ruler’s troops captured him at the Agustí de Santa Coloma farmhouse, betrayed by the heir of the house. He is tried and sentenced to the death penalty. At the trial, Juana la Maciza defended herself by claiming that she had been kidnapped by the bandit and was released. On January 8 they executed him, with ridicule and cruelty: he received between one hundred and two hundred lashes, his ears were cut off and his boss was hanged in the portal of Sant Antoni.
It is said that the same night the leader of Serrallonga disappeared and that it was the fault of his companions, who buried him in Tavertet.
