Photograph of a view of a rocky escarpment in Montserrat, Catalonia. Near the top of the escarpment is a large building, possibly the Abbey of Santa Maria. In the foreground are trees and on the right stands a single domestic building.

Montserrat, which means serrated mountain, has been a spiritual base for hundreds of years. In a sanctuary alongside the abbey is located the Virgin of Montserrat, the patron saint of Catalonia who is believed to have been resident in the rocky outcrops since the 8th century when originally placed there for safe keeping during the Moorish invasion of Catalonia.