ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on various aspects of the concept of the marginal area. It draws on a study of the role played by cultural links. The chapter suggests that the hypothesis that these links ought to be considered fundamental in the definition of the marginality of a given area and that their mere existence provides a certain guarantee for the future of the area. Man’s uninterrupted labour in a given geographical area, creates certain cultural links which constitute its maternal identity, which confers on each territory an unmistakable and genuine personality. Terra Alta was chosen as a case study as it is one of the most characteristic of the marginal areas in Catalonia and because it presents, at the level of the municipality, a certain variety in the condition of its cultural links. Terra Alta has one of the least developed demographic, social and economic structures of the Catalan comarcas.
