Osona (Catalan pronunciation:[uˈzonə]) is a
comarca situated in the
central region of
Catalonia,
Spain. Its capital is
Vic. Its population in 2001 was 129,543. Osona covers roughly the same area as the historic Catalan
county of Osona. The name Osona comes from Ausetans, a group of Iberian people who had their capital in Ausa (today
Vic); the
Romans called the area Ausone or Ausona. While most of the comarca is within the
provinceof Barcelona, the municipalities of
Espinelves,
Vidrà and
Viladrau form part of the
province of Girona.
The most important town of Osona is
Vic, its capital and an important and ancient urban center in this
natural region that lies in the midst of the
Plain of Vic. Other significant towns in the plain are
Manlleu and
Tona.
Long famous for its local
sausages (especially fuet) and other
pork derivatives, in recent years the area has become somewhat infamous for the pollution of its many waterways due to the
factory farming of
pigs and
Dairy cattle. There are more pigs than people living in Osona.
In the comarcal revision of 1990,
Sant Quirze de Besora became part of Osona; previously it formed part of the
Ripollès. In May 2015, Osona lost the municipality of Collsuspina to the new comarca of
Moianès.[1]