Castell-Platja d'Aro
Encyclopedia
Castell-Platja d'Aro is a municapality in the middle of the Costa Brava
in Catalonia
, Spain
. It is formed from two parts: Castell d'Aro is the ancient village 3 km inland build around a medieval castle and fortified church on the road from Platja d'Aro to Santa Cristina d'Aro
. Platja d'Aro was originally a small fishing village on the road from Palamós
to Sant Feliu de Guíxols
located on a large 2 km beach. It is now a major resort popular predominantly with Catalans or villa owning Northern Europeans.
The outskirts include a number of urbanisations including Mas Nou which offers spectacular views over the coast and a championship golf course.
Along the coast connecting the main beach with numerous small beaches is the Camí de Ronda.
. 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.
of Vallbanera and the dolmen
Cova dels Moros ("Cove of the Moors").
s. It also exported clay for the manufacture of ceramics that were later exported by sea from the natural harbor of Cove Rovira.
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.
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.
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 pool
s 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 honeymoon
ers 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
.
In 1996 a new high profile tourist campaign was started, tourists and visitors were encouraged to search the beach for shells and sea snails to obtain prizes and to participate in a prize draw for a car. In 1997 a Museum of the Wrist Watch was opened with 350 wristwatches from history.
Costa Brava
The Costa Brava is a coastal region of northeastern Catalonia, Spain, in the comarques of Alt Empordà, Baix Empordà and Selva, in the province of Girona. Costa is the Catalan and Spanish word for 'coast', and Brava means 'rugged' or 'wild'...
in Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. It is formed from two parts: Castell d'Aro is the ancient village 3 km inland build around a medieval castle and fortified church on the road from Platja d'Aro to Santa Cristina d'Aro
Santa Cristina d'Aro
Santa Cristina d'Aro is a small town in the Aro valley at the junction of the road from Girona/Barcelona to Sant Feliu de Guíxols and Palamós. It is home to a number of workers in the nearby holiday resorts. The Costa Brava golf course is on the outskirts of the town.The municipality includes...
. Platja d'Aro was originally a small fishing village on the road from Palamós
Palamós
Palamós is a town and municipality in the Mediterranean Costa Brava, located in the comarca of Baix Empordà, in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain....
to Sant Feliu de Guíxols
Sant Feliu de Guíxols
Sant Feliu de Guíxols is a municipality in the comarca of the Baix Empordà inCatalonia, Spain. 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...
located on a large 2 km beach. It is now a major resort popular predominantly with Catalans or villa owning Northern Europeans.
The outskirts include a number of urbanisations including Mas Nou which offers spectacular views over the coast and a championship golf course.
Along the coast connecting the main beach with numerous small beaches is the Camí de Ronda.
Location
Castell d'Aro is located in the heart of the Costa Brava, 80 km north of BarcelonaBarcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
. It borders with Calonge
Calonge
Calonge is a municipality in the comarca of the Baix Empordà in Catalonia, Spain.The town comprises two parts, a medieval hill village and modern seaside resort. The main urban centre and original village is about 4 km inland from the Bay of Sant Antoni...
to the north, Santa Cristina d'Aro
Santa Cristina d'Aro
Santa Cristina d'Aro is a small town in the Aro valley at the junction of the road from Girona/Barcelona to Sant Feliu de Guíxols and Palamós. It is home to a number of workers in the nearby holiday resorts. The Costa Brava golf course is on the outskirts of the town.The municipality includes...
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
Gavarres
Les Gavarres or Massís de les Gavarres is a mountain massif in Catalonia, Spain. It is part of the Catalan Coastal Range. The highest point is Puig d'Arques, 532 m. Other important summits are Mare de Déu dels Àngels and Santa Pellaia ....
. Platja d'Aro was originally a small fishing village on the highway between Palamós
Palamós
Palamós is a town and municipality in the Mediterranean Costa Brava, located in the comarca of Baix Empordà, in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain....
and Sant Feliu de Guíxols
Sant Feliu de Guíxols
Sant Feliu de Guíxols is a municipality in the comarca of the Baix Empordà inCatalonia, Spain. 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...
with a 2 km long beach. It is now a major tourist resort with hotels and other commercial premises.
Prehistory
The first evidence of human habitation are a number of tombs dating from the neolthic 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 menhirMenhir
A menhir is a large upright standing stone. Menhirs may be found singly as monoliths, or as part of a group of similar stones. Their size can vary considerably; but their shape is generally uneven and squared, often tapering towards the top...
of Vallbanera and the dolmen
Dolmen
A dolmen—also known as a portal tomb, portal grave, dolmain , cromlech , anta , Hünengrab/Hünenbett , Adamra , Ispun , Hunebed , dös , goindol or quoit—is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of...
Cova dels Moros ("Cove of the Moors").
Roman times
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 vineyardVineyard
A vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice...
s. It also exported clay for the manufacture of ceramics that were later exported by sea from the natural harbor of Cove Rovira.
Middle Ages
From the 9th century the countryside started to recover from Sarracen raides and repopulation of the Vall d’Aro begins. The first arrivals were farmers. In 781 CharlemagneCharlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
offered the Bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of Girona
Girona
Girona is a city in the northeast of Catalonia, Spain at the confluence of the rivers Ter, Onyar, Galligants and Güell, with an official population of 96,236 in January 2009. It is the capital of the province of the same name and of the comarca of the Gironès...
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.
King Lothair I
Lothair I
Lothair I or Lothar I was the Emperor of the Romans , co-ruling with his father until 840, and the King of Bavaria , Italy and Middle Francia...
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.
Modern
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 de 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
Garden city movement
The garden city movement is a method of urban planning that was initiated in 1898 by Sir Ebenezer Howard in the United Kingdom. Garden cities were intended to be planned, self-contained communities surrounded by "greenbelts" , containing proportionate areas of residences, industry and...
. At the same time swimming pool
Swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
s 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 honeymoon
Honeymoon
-History:One early reference to a honeymoon is in Deuteronomy 24:5 “When a man is newly wed, he need not go out on a military expedition, nor shall any public duty be imposed on him...
ers 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
Generalitat de Catalunya
The Generalitat of Catalonia is the institution under which the autonomous community of Catalonia is politically organised. It consists of the Parliament, the President of the Generalitat of Catalonia and the Government of Catalonia....
, together with S'Agaró
S'Agaró
S'Agaró is an upmarket resort on the Costa Brava between Sant Feliu de Guíxols and Castell-Platja d'Aro in Spain.In the early 1920s Josep Ensesa Gubert, the son of a successful Girona industrialist, persuaded his father to buy the land between the bay at Sant Pol and the long beach at Sa Conca...
.
In 1996 a new high profile tourist campaign was started, tourists and visitors were encouraged to search the beach for shells and sea snails to obtain prizes and to participate in a prize draw for a car. In 1997 a Museum of the Wrist Watch was opened with 350 wristwatches from history.