Tortosa
The city of the Renaissance
We love mysteries, and the Iberian past of Tortosa is no small one. While we know for certain that the Iberians decided to settle where the city stands today, some historians dare to suggest that it was here that they built the important and enigmatic city of Hiberia. This city would have been so key to the peninsula that it would have taken its name from it, just as the Ebro River would, which at the time was called Iber. But the Iberian is not the only civilization that has marked the history of Tortosa and turned it into the amazing city it is today. During the late Middle Ages, Christians, Muslims, and Jews lived together here in relative harmony, giving it the nickname The city of three cultures. Although it was in the 16th century, with the Renaissance, that the city experienced its period of greatest splendor and became the most important artistic and cultural center of Catalonia at the time.
It is then that one of the city’s most special monumental complexes is built: The Royal Colleges, which were created with the aim of educating the Moors in Christianity. The complex is made up of three buildings that preserve their beautiful doorways: The College of San Jaime and San Matías, with its square courtyard of Italian influence unique in Catalonia and adorned with a frieze sculpted with the faces and shields of the kings and queens of the Crown of Aragon; the College of San Jorge and San Domingo, the city’s old university; and the church of San Domingo, where you can currently visit the permanent exhibition on the history of the city and the Renaissance Festival.
But let’s go back in time to remember that it was the Arabs who built another of Tortosa’s symbols: the Castle of La Zuda, built in the 10th century. This monumental construction, which watches imposingly from the central hill of the old city, offers spectacular views, a landscape that has changed a lot since Jaume I lived there and that can be enjoyed by those who stay at the Parador Nacional integrated into the castle. Not far away, we will find the Cathedral of Santa María, one of the most notable examples of Catalan Gothic and the third jewel in the town’s crown. But Tortosa reserves many other attractive proposals, such as the Espacio Cota 0, a museum of archaeological sites where you can explore 1,500 years of history; the Episcopal Palace, a true jewel of civil Gothic; or the old municipal slaughterhouse, a beautiful modernist building converted into a museum and where the tourist office is also located today. But that’s not all, in Tortosa we find authentic outdoor treasures, such as the Jewish quarter, the museum of sculptures that are the Prince’s Gardens, or the Paseo de las Culturas, an artistic installation that reviews the life and work of 15 of its most illustrious citizens.
A city straddling two Natural Parks
Although if we talk about illustrious neighbors, we cannot forget to mention the one whose role has been key in the development of the city and its link with the sea. This is the Ebro River, the true responsible for the open, merchant and integrating character of Tortosa, an element inseparable from the personality of the municipality and the perfect space in which to enjoy a magnificent sunset with a boat trip discovering the city from the water. And, without a doubt, the river and its surroundings are the main natural space of the city, strategically located between two Natural Parks of great uniqueness and beauty. These are the Ebro Delta Natural Park, with its immense rice fields and declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO; and the Els Ports Natural Park. Both are connected to Tortosa by the layout of the Vía Verde, ideal for enjoying on foot, on horseback or by bicycle. In addition, cycling tourism lovers will find here the perfect destination to enjoy their passion, thanks to the 56 routes that have their starting point in the town and that offer options for cyclists of all levels.
Probably the best historical recreation in southern Europe
But Tortosa also offers something practically impossible: the possibility of taking a trip to the past, yes, without a time machine. How does it achieve it? Well, thanks to its Renaissance Festivals, an event declared a Festival of National Tourist Interest, and that every month of July moves the population back to its medieval past. To do so, more than 3,000 Tortosinos take to the streets dressed in period costumes, musicians and artists from all corners of the world occupy squares and other corners with their shows, artisan stalls and taverns spring up, and centuries-old recipes are recovered that flood the corners of the municipality with their exquisite smell. In short, an explosion of color, music and gastronomy that will delight those who visit it.
Of course, the city’s festive calendar marks other important events. We will highlight two. The first, El Setge de Tortosa, a historical recreation staged in the city’s heritage that, between parades, horses, battles, gunpowder and the recreation of the civil and military life of the time, recalls one of the most important war episodes that it has experienced: that of July 8, 1708 in the midst of the War of Succession conflict. The second, the Fiestas de la Cinta, the city’s main festival dedicated to the Virgen de la Cinta and which fills the city with five days of activity around the first Sunday in September.
Festivals and festivities
Festivals of National Tourist Interest and an intense cultural calendar