There are different versions about the origin of the place name. All of them coincide on the existence of many wolves in the area.

The tradition tells that the village could have been named in a different way a long time ago. The name was probably Villanova del Pi, and the land had belonged to the township of Siurana for centuries. This ended up in 1153, when the Moorish domain finished and the Christians occupied the lands.

The first reference we find in a document is the "Carta de Población" (a population permit), dated in 1258. In it, the Convent of Escaladei gave the place and the township of Gratallops to be repopulated. When it was already inhabited, Jaume II gave the direct domain over it to the Prades Counts. They are supposed to have built a castle in the last years of the 14th.century, from which there is not any part that has been conserved.

During the war against Felipe IV the population, as all the inhabitants of the Priorat, defended the Catalan cause. They promoted their fight against the Castellan. It is important to mention the roll of the "somatenes" of Gratallops. We have some proofs about their behaviour, activity and organisation. Firstly, during the fight against the Castilian in the 17th.century, and after this, during the "Guerra del Francés", when they went out with the inhabitants of the Priorat against the invaders. During the "Trienio Liberal" from 1821 to 1823, there was formed in the village a company of the national militia, and there was established a sort of ideological confrontation, what finally caused several fights and politician revenges in the village. During the first Fight between the Liberals and the "Carlinos", the village supported in every moment the Liberal side, and this tendency was also carried on during the second "Carlina" War. In 1868 it was set the "Junta Revolucionaria" in Gratallops. It was directed by Andreu Guiamet. For this reason, we consider that there is strong evidence about the liberal and progressive personality of the population.

One of the most famous sons of Gratallops is Pere Domènec (?-1560). He was the Abbot of Vilabertran, canon of Barcelona, and papal nuncio in Spain and Portugal, among some other charges he developed of a high ecclesiastical dignity.

Gratallops celebrates one feast on the 20th.of January, in honour to San Sebastián. The "Fiesta Mayor" is on the 10th.of August, Day of San Lorenzo.

In the cultural life of the village it is very important the creation of the "Societat Recreativa "La Flor de Maig"" in the beginning of the century. From then on, it has been the responsible of the organisation of all the cultural recreational events in the village.

Gratallops has still the aspect of a big village, with its wide and paved streets, and the ancestral homes of good proportions that still show their doors with voussoirs.

Between the most important buildings we have to take into consideration the Parish Church of Sant Llorenç. It is a Neoclassical building, built in the 18th.century. It has three naves, dome and a belfry incorporated to it.

The "Casa del Frares" (the friars' house) is very interesting. It used to be the residence of the monks of Escaladei, and its door is of the Renaissance.

In the township of Gratallops we can see the Mare de Déu de la Consolació Hermitage, which is very famous and in whose Mare de Déu there is a high devotion in the whole county. The building has a part that was built in the Middle Age, possibly in the 12th.century, and the other part was added in the second half of the 14th.century, and made in a style that showed the transition between the Gothic and the Renaissance.

This reformation and enlargement were financed by the ecclesiastical and son of Gratallops Pere Domènec.

- Asens, Joan.- Guia del Priorat .- Tarragona: Edicions de la Llibreria La Rambla, 1981.

- Anguera, Pere- M. Aragonès i Virgili.- El Priorat de la Cartoixa d'Escaladei.- Santes Creus: Fundació Roger de Belfort, 1985.

- Sabaté i Alentorn, Jaume.- Guia de Gratallops.- Tarragona: Diputació, 1986.