MAYTE VISITS CASTELL D'ARO, PLATJA D'ARO I S'AGARÓ

Today, The Grandma has received news from Mayte, one of her closest friends. 

 

Mayte has been spending some days in the Costa Brava, Catalonia and has shared her memories and photos with The Grandma.

Castell d'Aro, Platja d'Aro i S'Agaró is a municipality in the middle of the Costa Brava in Catalonia.

It is formed from two parts: Castell d'Aro is an ancient village built around a medieval castle and a fortified church, 3 km inland on the road from Platja d'Aro to Santa Cristina d'Aro; and Platja d'Aro is a coastal town on the road from Palamós to Sant Feliu de Guíxols which stretches along a large 2 km beach.

Originally a small fishing village, Platja d'Aro is now a major coastal resort, popular predominantly with Catalans and villa-owning Northern Europeans.

Along the coast, connecting the main beach with numerous small beaches, is the Camí de Ronda.

Castell d'Aro is located in the heart of the Costa Brava, 80 km north of Barcelona. It borders with Calonge to the north, Santa Cristina d'Aro to the west, Sant Feliu to the south and the Coast to the East.

Castell-Platja d'Aro occupies the eastern end of the Vall d'Aro, a narrow plain drained by the river Ridaura and located between the Mountain ranges of Cadiretes and southern end of the Gavarres.

Platja d'Aro was originally a small fishing village on the highway between Palamós and Sant Feliu de Guíxols with a 2 km long beach. It is now a major tourist resort with hotels and other commercial premises.

The first evidence of human habitation are a number of tombs dating from the neolithic era 2500 BC in the Pinell area. Around 2000 BC, towards the end of the neolithic period, groups of humans settled in the mountains of Treumal and Vallvanera. There are a number of monuments from this period, including the menhir of Vallbanera and the dolmen Cova dels Moros.

Roman ruins were discovered at the Vila de Pla de Palol dating from the 1st-4th Centuries AD. These occupy an area of 10,000 m2, and retain the majority of the patios and open spaces. The villa was part of a large agricultural estate including vineyards. It also exported clay for the manufacture of ceramics that were later exported by sea from the natural harbor of Cove Rovira.

From the 9th century the countryside started to recover from Sarracen raids and the repopulation of the Vall d'Aro began. The first arrivals were farmers.

In 781, Charlemagne offered the Bishop of Girona the territory of the Vall d'Aro. The first documented reference of Platja d'Aro, in its original name of Fanals d'Amunt, appears in 968.

More information: Castell d'Aro, Platja d'Aro i S'Agaró

King Lothair I confirmed his possessions to Sunyer, the Abbot of the monastery of Sant Feliu de Guíxols, including Fanals d'Amunt and its church. The origin of Castell d'Aro is the Castle of Benedormiens. The Castle was first documented in 1041, when the religious authorities, the local Knights and Nobles granted the monastery of Sant Feliu de Guíxols the safekeeping of the castle with the obligation to protect all the Vall d'Aro, of which Fanals was an important part. 

In 1585 a new church was built in Fanals de Baix, the present Fanals d'Aro. A new settlement grew around this building deserting the older Fanals d'Amunt.

In 1774 an extension was completed to the Church of Fanals d'Aro.

During the following centuries only one municipality existed, in 1858 the area was divided with Romanyà, Bell-lloc, Santa Cristina d'Aro and Solius becoming separate from Castell d'Aro and Fanals d'Aro. This is regarded as the official creation of the two cities, Santa Cristina d'Aro and Castell d'Aro.

In 1843, the district was characterized by high rents, a centralized municipal model with limited suffrage. The elections of 1869 reflected the federal and republican character of Empordà and Fanals. As a result, constitutional guarantees were suspended and disarmament of the popular military service ordered by Central Government. The federalists took up arms supported by the inhabitants of Fanals, they participated in the Foc de Bisbal, where they faced a number of government forces.

The architect Rafael Masó Valentí was instructed by the Ensesa family to design a new residential estate at S'Agaró. It was designed as a self-contained garden city. At the same time swimming pools at Sant Pol were built as well as the luxurious Monumental Hotel and the Hotel Gavina.

In 1962, as part of new tourist development the municipality changed its name from Fanals d'Aro to Platja d'Aro. The council moved their offices at the same time from Castell d'Aro to Platja d'Aro. The town sought to promote itself internationally; in 1964 an offer was made for a week holiday to 50 couples celebrating their silver wedding anniversary. Another campaign focused on honeymooners with the slogan love is found in Platja d'Aro.

In 1970, the City Council, owner of the Castle of Benedormiens de Castell d'Aro, ordered its first restoration. The oldest part was conserved dating from the 12th century.

In 1978, a Carnival Fiesta and in 1979 the first democratic Council was elected. In 1983 the rooms of the Castle of Benedormiens were altered for exhibition space. In 1995 the old nucleus of Castell was declared as an official area of interest and conservation area by the Generalitat de Catalunya, together with S'Agaró.

More information: Catalunya

 Dance with the waves, move with the sea.
Let the rhythm of the water set your soul free.

Christy Ann Martine

MALGRAT DE MAR, BONET & PENALVA VISIT EL MARESME

Malgrat de Mar, El Maresme

Today, Claire Fontaine and The Grandma has travelled to Malgrat de Mar in El Maresme, Barcelona to listen to an incredible concert performanced by Maria del Mar Bonet and Borja Penalba in La Barretina, the local cultural centre.

Claire and The Grandma are big fans of these wonderful artists and they go to listen to them as times as they can. Some days ago, they went to the Pedrera in Barcelona and today in Malgrat de Mar, a nice town in the border between Barcelona and Girona where the Costa Brava starts and the sea has this incredible colour when the sun goes down on it.

Malgrat de Mar is a municipality in the comarca of the Maresme, in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia. It is situated on the Costa Brava between Santa Susanna and Blanes. A local road runs from the town to the main N-II road, while the B-682 connects it with Blanes, Lloret de Mar and Tossa de Mar. It is served by a RENFE railway station on the R1 line between Barcelona and Maçanet-Massanes.

The town is located 4 meters above sea level. It has a coastal-Mediterranean climate, with smoothed temperatures almost over the whole year. The annual precipitation amount averaged over the last 18 years is about 650 mm.

Malgrat de Mar was first populated between the 13th and 14th centuries when it was known as Vilanova de Palafolls. However, it is known that the early inhabitants of Malgrat built their houses on the hill, named El Castell, that is located in the middle of the town.

Traditionally, Malgrat has been predominantly an agricultural town with considerable maritime commercial activity and, since the 19th Century, an important industrial centre. The tourist activity started in Malgrat de Mar around 1960. And since then it has become an important touristic destination.

More information: Ajuntament de Malgrat de Mar

-Church of St Nicolau. Built on 16th century and enlarged in the 18th century. Because of its size, it is known as the Cathedral of the Coast

-Peixateries velles (The old fish market). On the south side there were the meat market, while on the North side there were the fish market. On this later side, the stone-made waiter where the fish was sold is still conserved

-Town hall. A Modernist style building, which was inaugurated on 15 August 1913

-La Cooperativa (The Cooperative-The library). One of the oldest buildings in Malgrat, built by the Clapers family in the 16th century. Later, it was a blood hospital (18th century), the Casino Malgratenc, a cultural society, on the 19th century, and a worker's cooperative on the 20th century. Finally, it has become the library in the 21st century

-Ca l'Arnau. A Modernist style building, built on 1914. Recently, it had been renewed and it has become the Music School

-The Old Hospital. In 1441, Hug Descolomer founded this hospital to help the poor people. Nowadays it has become a therapeutic center, and its chapel is used as an exhibition gallery

Maria del Mar Bonet & Borja Penalba in La Barretina

-El castell. It is a tower located on the top of the hill, just in the center of the town. It is surrounded by a park, and it can be accessed by the Hug Descolomer road, totally constituted by steps, next to the Passatge dels Arcs (Arches passage). The park offers a panoramical view of Malgrat and its surrounding areas

-Torre d'en Riera, also called Torre de la Vídua de Can Sala. It's a Modernist style house

-Parc de Can Campassol. It is a park located in Carrer de Mar street. It housed a colonial style house where Zenobia Camprubí was born, the wife of Juan Ramón Jiménez, Nobel Award of Literature, 1956. In the artificial lake of the park there is a sculpture of her

-La Pilona. It is an artificial island located in the middle of the sea. In the 1910s, it was used to load ships with mineral extracted from the mines of Can Palomeres, in the mountains located in the North of Malgrat. There was an aerial structure to transport the mineral from the mines towards the platform. Today is home to many shags

-Torre de l'Esquena. It is a house designed in 1895

-Plaça de Marià Cubí. It is a square inaugurated on 1956. The sculpture is dedicated to Marià Cubí i Soler, born in Malgrat on 1801, who became a frenologist and linguist

-Pla de Pineda. Located behind the hotels in Passeig Marítim. This space has conserved the agriculture in spite of the hard urbanistic pressure. It is very pleasant to take a walk around this place

-Pla de Grau. Located at the east of the town, between Malgrat and the Tordera river. It is the greatest agricultural space in Malgrat. Produce include the fesols del ganxet, a variety of white beans. This space has been protected

-Mouth of the Tordera. Usually, the Tordera river is dry in many parts of its course, but there is a lake in its mouth. There can be found a lot of bird species

-Parc Francesc Macià. The newest and biggest park in Malgrat, home to fantastic figures inspired by children tales

-L'Astillero. Located opposite to the tourist hotel zone

-Central beach. Located In front of downtown Malgrat

-Tordera Mouth beach. The largest beach in Malgrat. It extends from Malgrat downtown to the Tordera mouth. There is a nudist zone

More information: Turisme Malgrat de Mar

Maria del Mar Bonet i Verdaguer (born 1947 in Palma, Mallorca) is a Balearic singer from the island of Mallorca.

Bonet studied ceramics in the school of arts, but eventually decided to dedicate herself to music.

She arrived in Barcelona in 1967, where she began to sing with the group Els Setze Jutges.

She has published many rock music albums in Catalan, in spite of the ban on the Catalan language and its music during Francisco Franco's dictatorship. She has performed throughout China as well as in Japan, the former USSR, Tunisia, Netherlands, Poland, Belgium, France, United Kingdom, Brazil, Sweden, Switzerland, Venezuela, Mexico, and the United States.

More information: @mmarbonet

Borja Penalba Català (Valencia, 1975) is a composer, record producer, arranger and musician.

He has worked with and for, among others, Feliu Ventura, Lluís Llach, Lluís Danés, Obrint Pas, Miquel Gil, Joan Amèric, Marc Parrot, Sílvia Pérez Cruz, Bruno Oro, Albert Pla, Lídia Pujol, Elena Gadel, Verdcel, Aspencat or Andreu Valor. He also was a member of the valencian rock band Dropo.

More information: @BPenalba

 Because the dictatorship is still alive,

we are still singing this song.

[Què volen aquesta gent?]

Maria del Mar Bonet

ROSES, THE GREEK MASSALIAN COLONY OF 'RHODE'

The Grandma visits Roses, Alt Empordà

Today, The Grandma is visiting Roses, a wonderful town with Greek origins in L'Alt Empordà, Girona.

She has travelled there to meet up with Alberto, a closer friend who is spending her holiday in this amazing place.

Alberto and The Grandma have been talking about Roses and its Greek origins and they have been remembering how important has been Greek culture and its influence over Mediterranean countries.

Roses is a municipality in the comarca of the Alt Empordà, located on the Costa Brava, in Catalonia. It is the site of the former bishopric of Rotdon, now a Latin Catholic titular see.

It is situated on the coast at the northern end of the Gulf of Roses, and is an important fishing port and tourist centre.

The origins of Roses, in Greek Rhode, are disputed. A popular theory holds it was founded in the 8th century BC by Greek colonists from Rhodes.

It seems more probable that it was founded in the 5th century BC by Greeks from Massalia (Marseilles), perhaps with an admixture of colonists from neighbouring Emporion, today's Empúries). Remains of the Greek settlement can still be seen.

More information: Roses

Remains from the Roman period go back to the 2nd century BC and continue well into Christian times with a paleochristian church and necropolis. After the collapse of Roman power the town seems to have been abandoned, but a fortified settlement from the Visigothic period has been excavated on the nearby Puig Rom.

The mediaeval town grew around the monastery of Santa Maria de Roses, mentioned since 944.

Its jurisdiction was shared by the abbots of Santa Maria de Roses and the counts of Empúries.

In 1402 the county of Empúries was incorporated into the Crown of Aragon and Roses acquired the right to organize its own municipal government and economy.

In the first decades of the 16th century, Roses suffered repeated attacks by privateers from North Africa. To counter the threat, Charles V ordered the construction of extensive fortifications in 1543. In spite of the precautions, a naval squadron led by the Turkish admiral Barbarossa attacked and plundered the town some months later. After substantial revisions, the fortifications were completed in 1553, under Charles's son Philip II. The entire medieval town was enclosed by a bastioned pentagonal wall.

Alberto visits Roses, Alt Empordà

The defensive system was supplemented by the Castell de la Trinitat, some 2.5 km to the east. The town received a permanent military garrison, which profoundly changed its character. To minimise friction between the citizenry and the soldiers, barracks were constructed, but did not prevent the gradual movement of part of the population to outside the walls, where the modern town of Roses now is.

In the following centuries, the fortifications were severely tested. In 1645, during the Catalan Revolt, French troops besieged Roses and captured it. The Treaty of the Pyrenees (1659) restored the town to his current situation.

In 1693, during the War of the Grand Alliance the French captured the town again. This time the French occupation lasted until the Peace of Ryswick in 1697.

In 1712, during the War of the Spanish Succession, Austrian troops tried to take the city, but were driven off.

In 1719, during the War of the Quadruple Alliance, the French again attacked, but failed to take Roses.

More information: Visit Roses

After a long period of relative calm, the Wars of the French Revolution ushered in a new round of hostilities. In 1793, the French revolutionary government declared war on Spain. At first, the Spanish armies won a foothold in France, but in 1794 the revolutionary armies invaded Catalonia.

The Siege of Roses lasted from 28 November 1794 until 3 February 1795, when the garrison was safely evacuated by a Spanish naval squadron, except for 300 soldiers. The town was surrendered to France, but the war between France and Spain ended at the Peace of Basle signed in July 1795. The city quickly returned to Spanish control.

In 1808, Emperor Napoleon I of France forced King Charles IV of Spain and his son Ferdinand to abdicate and installed his brother, Joseph Bonaparte on the throne. When the Spanish people revolted against this high-handed behavior, French armies again invaded the country in the Peninsular War.

The fourth and last Siege of Roses occurred in 1808. During the operation, the Scottish Royal Navy captain, Thomas Cochrane assisted the Spanish by putting his men into Castell de la Trinitat to help defend the town. The Scot stayed until the citadel and the town surrendered, before evacuating himself and his men. In 1814, when the defeated French withdrew from Spain, they blew up the town's fortifications along with the Castell de la Trinitat. At this time, the ancient town, called the Ciutadella, was completely ruined. Meanwhile, to the east the modern town slowly continued to grow.

More information: Catalunya

In 1879, Roses suffered a devastating economic crisis through phylloxera, a pest of the grapevines, that destroyed the town's wine growing industry. Some of the population moved to Barcelona or emigrated to the United States.

In the 20th century, notably in the period after World War II, Roses profited from the growth of tourism.

Over the last decades, important excavations have been carried out inside the walls of the Ciutadella concerning not only the Greek and Roman remains, but part of the medieval city and its walls. In the 1990s, extensive restoration work was carried out on the walls of the Ciutadella, and in 2004 a museum was opened inside it. A controversial restoration of the Castell de Trinitat was formally completed in 2010.

Download La presència grega al litoral oriental de la península Ibèrica: els establiments colonials i els ritmes del comerç amb les societats ibèriques (Catalan Version)

ἄριστον μὲν ὕδωρ / Greatest however [is] water.

Pindar

CADAQUÉS, FEDERICO GARCÍA LORCA & SALVADOR DALÍ

Salvador Dalí & Federico García Lorca

After visiting Mayte in Sant Feliu de Guíxols, The Grandma has continued her tour across Girona counties. Today, she has visited Figueres, the capital of Alt Empordà with Jordi Santanyí. Figueres is the city where Salvador Dalí located his own museum and they want to visit it. Later, they have visited Cadaqués, one of the most beautiful towns of the Costa Brava.

Salvador Dalí was a closer friend of Federico García Lorca one of the greatest poets of the Generation of '27, a poet who was killed by the Spanish fascists on a day like today in 1936. The Grandma wants to remember the friendship between Lorca and Dalí and she also wants to homage this exceptional poet whose body is still buried in somewhere of the Andalusian lands, in the same way that more than 120.000 people are still waiting to be found, to be dug, to be identified and to be recognized as a victims of the fascism. Their descendents and the UNO reclaim it constantly and it is a human right and a debt with the historic memory.

Jordi has explained lots of new information to The Grandma about the friendship between Lorca and Dalí and how this friendship influenced their writings and paintings.

Before arriving to Figueres, The Grandma has studied a new lesson of her Ms. Excel course.

Chapter 13. Images, diagrams and titles (I) (Spanish Version)

Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898-19 August 1936), known as Federico García Lorca was an Andalusian poet, playwright, and theatre director.

García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27, a group consisting of mostly poets who introduced the tenets of European movements -such as symbolism, futurism, and surrealism- into Spanish literature. He was executed by Nationalist forces at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War. His body has never been found.

García Lorca was born on 5 June 1898, in Fuente Vaqueros, a small town 17 km west of Granada, southern Spain. His father, Federico García Rodríguez, was a prosperous landowner with a farm in the fertile vega -valley- surrounding Granada and a comfortable villa in the heart of the city. García Rodríguez saw his fortunes rise with a boom in the sugar industry.

More information: Poetry Foundation

At the Residencia de Estudiantes in Madrid, García Lorca befriended Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí and many other creative artists who were, or would become, influential across Spain. He was taken under the wing of the poet Juan Ramón Jiménez, becoming close to playwright Eduardo Marquina and Gregorio Martínez Sierra, the Director of Madrid's Teatro Eslava.

From 1925 to 1928, he was passionately involved with Dalí. Although Dalí's friendship with Lorca had a strong element of mutual passion, Dalí rejected the erotic advances of the poet. With the success of Gypsy Ballads, came an estrangement from Dalí and the breakdown of a love affair with sculptor Emilio Aladrén Perojo. 

Federico García Lorca & Salvador Dalí in Cadaqués

These brought on an increasing depression, a situation exacerbated by his anguish over his homosexuality. He felt he was trapped between the persona of the successful author, which he was forced to maintain in public, and the tortured, authentic self, which he could acknowledge only in private.

He also had the sense that he was being pigeon-holed as a gypsy poet. He wrote: The gypsies are a theme. And nothing more. I could just as well be a poet of sewing needles or hydraulic landscapes. Besides, this gypsyism gives me the appearance of an uncultured, ignorant and primitive poet that you know very well I'm not. I don't want to be typecast.

Growing estrangement between García Lorca and his closest friends reached its climax when surrealists Dalí and Luis Buñuel collaborated on their 1929 film Un Chien Andalou. García Lorca interpreted it, perhaps erroneously, as a vicious attack upon himself. At this time Dalí also met his future wife Gala. Aware of these problems -though not perhaps of their causes-, García Lorca's family arranged for him to make a lengthy visit to the United States in 1929–30.

More information: The Culture Trip

Cadaqués is a town in the Alt Empordà comarca, in the province of Girona, Catalonia. It is on a bay in the middle of the Cap de Creus peninsula, near Cap de Creus cape, on the Costa Brava of the Mediterranean. It is two-and-a-quarter-hour drive from Barcelona, and thus it is accessible not only to tourists but also to people who want a second home for weekends and summers.

In 2002, Cadaqués had an official population of 2,612, but up to ten times as many people can live in the town during the peak of the summer tourism season.

Cadaqués has a special place in art history. Commanding charcoals, by local artist Eliseu Meifrèn, of the 19th century Cadaqués beleaguered by a winter tramontane, can be seen at the Cadaqués museum. Fren was the first modern artist to live in Cadaqués and gave the town many of his works and a marble top table on which he sketched many of its turn-of-the-century fishermen.

Salvador Dalí often visited Cadaqués in his childhood, and later kept a home in Port Lligat, a small village on a bay next to the town. A summer holiday here in 1916, spent with the family of Ramon Pichot is seen as especially important to Dalí's artistic career.

Other notable artists, including Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, Marcel Duchamp, Richard Hamilton, Albert Ràfols-Casamada, Antoni Pitxot, Henri-François Rey, Melina Mercouri and Maurice Boitel also spent time here. Cadaqués is mentioned in the story Tramontana by Gabriel García Márquez.

The interesting submarine life of this sleepy fishing village was studied for several years by phycologist Françoise Ardré, long before Cadaqués was discovered and transformed into a tourism destination. 

More informació: Visit Cadaqués

Cadaqués, en el fiel del agua y la colina,

eleva escalinatas y oculta caracolas.

Las flautas de madera pacifican el aire.

Un viejo dios silvestre da frutas a los niños.

Cadaqués, at the fulcrum of water and hill,

lifts flights of stairs and hides seashells.

Wooden flutes pacify the air.

An ancient woodland god gives the children fruit.

Federico García Lorca

VISITING MAYTE IN SANT FELIU DE GUÍXOLS, L'EMPORDÀ

Mayte in Sant Feliu de Guíxols, Baix Empordà

Today, The Grandma has gone to Sant Feliu de Guíxols, a beautiful coastal town near Girona. She has visited Mayte, a friend of her.

Mayte is an excellent photographer and she and The Grandma have visited the most enchanted places of this unforgettable town and they have taken incredible photos that they want to share with the rest of their friends.

Sant Feliu de Guíxols is a municipality in the comarca of the Baix Empordà in Catalonia. It is situated on the Costa Brava and is an important port and tourist centre. The district abuts to the north, the upmarket s'Agaró resort built round the Sant Pol Beach. In addition to tourism and the port the cork industry is a traditionally local industry.

The town contains a large monastery which now houses the town museum and is a protected historico-artistic monument.

Located on the Mediterranean, Sant Feliu de Guíxols has idylic weather almost all year long. The coastline of Sant Feliu de Guíxols spreads over ten kilometres. It also includes many little bays with coves surrounded by pines with rocky or fine sand beaches. The beaches are cleaned daily and a modern water treatment system prevents wastewater from entering the sea. The town is engulfed by small mountains, with forests of pine, oak, and cork trees.

More information: Sant Feliu de Guíxols

The name Sant Feliu goes back to the martyred saint, Felix of Girona (d. August 31, 304), who came from Carthage in North Africa. Guíxols is a word derived from the former word iecsalis from a tenth-century document that mentions the monastery and seems to mean rope-maker.

The Original Nucleus of the Town A township started to grow up on the basis of the various activities surrounding the Monestir de Sant Feliu de Guíxols. The settlement grew, and soon dwellings started to spring up on the other side of the watercourse, which would become the nucleus of the medieval town, centered on the market.

Monestir de Sant Feliu de Guíxols is a Benedictine monastery. It was first referenced around the year 961, and was declared a Bé d'Interès Cultural landmark in 1931.

The Romanesque building is an excellent example of the town's medieval architecture and has been remodeled several times.

The Grandma visits Sant Feliu de Guíxols Monastery

It includes the Porta Ferrada, the symbol of the town, as well as two towers. It houses a history museum. On the basis of available records, the foundation of the Benedictine monastery can be traced back to the first half of the 10th century. 

The bay of Guíxols was chosen due to its good natural harbour and the proximity to the coast of the nearby range of hills, which would make it easier to flee and would give a certain degree of protection in cases of attack from the sea. The decision was no doubt also influenced by the martyrdom of Saint Felix of Africa and the opportunity to take advantage of existing buildings dating from the Roman period.

The monastery's role was to control the agricultural exploitation and production of the surrounding region, and also to provide protection to its inhabitants in return. It was thus a fortified coastal monastery exercising its feudal dominion over the territory. At its foundation, the monastery was dedicated to Saint Felix and the name of Sant Feliu, in its Catalan form, was thereafter forever associated with that of Guíxols, thus giving the present-day name of the town, used from the 10th century onwards.

More information: Visit Guíxols

Plaça del Mercat. The market place serves as the heart of public and economic life in the town. A fruit and vegetable market takes place every morning on the Plaça. On Sundays, the weekly market takes place along the Passeig -great avenue- and on the Plaça, a popular meeting place for residents.

Passeig dels Guíxols. The boulevard of Sant Feliu de Guíxols is unique, and is a wide sandy walkway lined with trees; ideal for a relaxing stroll.

Passeig del Mar. Opened in 1833, the seafront promenade was built between the medieval town and the sea. Little by little, the humble homes of fishermen from the medieval era were replaced by stately homes. Today, the area's architecture is mostly modern; because of real estate, many of the mansions are gone and condominiums have replaced them. Nonetheless, it makes for a lovely walk along the town's beach.

Casino la Constància, constructed in 1888 by the architect General Guitart. It is also known as casino dels nois.

Pedralta, which used to be the largest rocking stone in Europe.

The Grandma visits Mayte in Sant Feliu de Guíxols

Old railway station, designed by architects Rafael Coderch and Gabriel March and built between 1889 and 1892, which served the line from Sant Feliu de Guíxols to Girona. It was used until 1969, and now serves as a public school. It is seen as a reminder of the town's progressive era.

Historic residences. From the mid- to late-19th century, Catalonia began to prosper economically and developed a bourgeoisie class. Sant Feliu de Guíxols has many examples of the elegant, bourgeoisie homes of this time period. Some examples are the casa Gaziel (1880), the casa Pecher (1894), the casa Maynegre (1898), the casa Girbau (1910), the casa Maruny (1909), the casa Ribot (1904), the casa de la Campana (1911), and the casa Patxot (1917).

The town hall, somewhat Gothic in style, yet simple, was originally built in 1547. It has survived battles and real estate. However, today it has a tower added on from 1847.

More information: The Intrepid Guide

Hermitage of Sant Elm. This small hermitage was founded in 1203. The chapel was built in 1452, and dedicated to Saint Elm; however, it was destroyed by the French in 1696. It was rebuilt in 1723, only to be damaged in 1943, during the Spanish Civil War; the present chapel was restored in 1993. It sits on a cliff above the sea.

Sant Feliu de Guíxols is located in an area known for its parties, festivals and especially its carnivals. It has one of the best carnivals in the Costa Brava, as do the towns Platja d'Aro and Palamós.

The Porta Ferrada International Festival, instituted in 1958, is celebrated in the town's port area, and has become internationally popular with time. It involves theatre, music, and dance, and is usually celebrated in the summer.

The Festa Major is a traditional, Catalan festival, celebrated on 1 August. It is dedicated to the town's patron saint, Sant Feliu, and includes a large fireworks display that takes place on the beach.

More information: Festival Porta Ferrada

That the sea is one of the most beautiful and magnificent

sights in Nature, all admit.

John Joly