Nestling in the pine-clad hills above Barcelona, the ancient terracotta-tiled town of Moia could be straight out of a fairy tale. Narrow cobbled streets wind up towards the honey-coloured church in the centre, where the main plaza is decked with streamers and flags from the recent fiesta.
But for all its Disney-esque charm, Moia is rotten to the core.
"We are broke," said Dionís Guiteras, the town's newly-elected mayor. "We managed to pay the council staff on July 31, but I don't know if we will be able to on August 31. We haven't got any money to pay the electricity company, so maybe the street lights will go out. All of our buildings could be for sale."
In a bleak warning to residents, Mr Guiteras even prophesied that, unless Moia's residents rapidly adopted money-saving measures, the town would not be able to bury their dead. "We cannot keep our heads in the sand," he said.
This apocalyptic vision of the Spanish economic meltdown may seem pessimistic - but the near-bankruptcy of Moia town council is far from unique.
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