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| A day in Tortosa, Baix Ebre |
Claire Fontaine and her friends are visiting Tortosa. They took a boat in Miravet and have sailed along the Ebre river from one Templar town to another.
Tortosa is a mix of different cultures (Roman, Arabian, Jewish and Templar) which appreciated its geostrategic position and its local development and became the city in one of the most important places during all the centuries. Today, the city is the capital of the Baix Ebre and one of the most important cities in the south of Catalonia.
Tina Picotes has joined them in Tortosa to enjoy the city and discover lots of interesting stories about its past and its present.
During the travel from Miravet to Tortosa by boat, The Grandma has studied a new lesson of her First Certificate Language Practice manual (Vocabulary 13).
More information: Technology and machines
Tortosa is the capital of the comarca of Baix Ebre, in Catalonia. Tortosa is located at 12 metres above sea level, by the Ebre river, protected on its northern side by the mountains of the Cardó Massif, of which Buinaca, one of the highest peaks, is located within Tortosa's municipal boundary.
Before Tortosa, across the river, rise the massive Ports de Tortosa-Beseit mountains. The area around Mont Caro and other high summits are often covered with snow in the winter.
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| Joseph de Ca'th Lon visits the Museum of Tortosa |
Tortosa, from Latin Dertusa or Dertosa and via Arabic Turtūshah, is probably identical to the ancient Hibera, capital of Ilercavonia. This may be the ancient settlement the remains of which have been found on the hill named Castell de la Suda.
In Roman times, the town adopted the name Dertosa. After more than 400 years of Muslim rule, the city was conquered by the Count Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona in 1148, as part of the Second Crusade.
Because of the crusading appeal made by Pope Eugene III and his representative Nicholas Brakespear, the future Pope Hadrian IV, the siege received the aid of crusaders from multiple nationalities Genovese, Anglo-Normans, Normans, Southern-French, Germans, Flemish and Dutch, who were on their way to the Holy Land. The siege of Tortosa was narrated by the Genovese chronicler and diplomat Caffaro.
More information: Tortosa Turisme
After its conquest, the city and its territory were divided among the victors, with multiple lands being granted to foreign crusaders and to the military and religious orders.
Formerly there was a railway line between Tortosa and Alcanyís, opening a communication gate between this region and Aragon. Construction work began in 1891, but it was haphazard and the first trains between Alcanyís and Tortosa began only in 1942.
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| The Grandma visits the Jewish Quarter |
Tortosa Renaissance Festival. Over 3,000 citizens in period costumes and 60 shows a day with over 500 actors transport us to the Tortosa of 500 years ago. In the second half of July, Tortosa celebrates the Renaissance Festival.
Under the title the Splendour of a 16th Century City, the Festival commemorates, through a wide range of cultural and recreational activities, the historical period of the 16th century, one of the most interesting periods in our city's existence.
More information: Festa del Renaixement
Tortosa has amazing places to visit like the Castle of Sant Joan or Suda, which commans the city from a 59-metre-high hill. Though the Romans were the first to fortify the place, the current structure dates to Muslim Caliph Abd ar-Rahman III.
After the conquest by Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona, in 1148, it became a residence of the Montcada and the Knights Templar, and from the 13th century it became a royal mansion; and the Cathedral, begun in 1347 and consecrated in 1597.
More information: Patrimoni-GenCat I, II & III
Real cultural diversity results from the interchange of ideas,
products, and influences, not from the insular development
of a single national style.
Tyler Cowen
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