In Martorell, the traditional Tres Tombs festival is celebrated, taking place on the Sunday before the day of Sant Antoni Abat. Sant Antoni is the patron saint of four-legged animals —horses, donkeys, and piglets— and, by extension, of cart drivers, muleteers, and stable sailors.

The oldest festival in Martorell, it began in 1647 with the founding of the brotherhood of Sant Antoni Abat, patron of carters and hauliers, and Sant Isidre, patron of farmers. The first written records specifically of the Tres Tombs in Martorell date from 1854.

Martorell preserves all the ethnographic features characteristic of the festival, common throughout the Catalan Countries: the wind candles in the Plaça de la Vila, the fire accompanying the flag bearers at the start of the festival (symbolizing the devil’s temptations), the gastronomic tradition of pork with breakfast of butifarra and bacon, the guild flags that open the procession of Els Tres Tombs, and the blessing of the animals.

The Amics de Sant Antoni Abat, the organizing entity of the events, have a heritage of carts and carriages of great historical value that reflect the agricultural and livestock vitality of Martorell’s economy. This entity originated from a committee created in 1968, which has successfully kept this centenary festival alive and up to date.

The social venue of the Friends of Saint Anthony Abbot houses a large collection of carts, carriages, wagons, agricultural tools and equipment, as well as an important documentary and graphic archive about the history of the festival in Martorell.