Romanesque weekend: L'Empordà | Cultural Heritage. Goverment of Catalonia.

Getaways



1. Porta Ferrada (Autor: Bob Masters)
2. Santa Maria de Roses (Flickr) 
3. Santa Maria de Vilabretran  (Autor: Bob Masters)
4. Sant Pere de Rodes

Route map

Romanesque weekend: L'Empordà

Art and north winds
The prose off Josep Pla, the surrealism of Salvador Dalí and the genius of Narcís Monturiol come from L'Empordà. We invite you to rediscover the Romanesque key of the land of these great figures. We will travel from south to north, accompanied by another distinctive trait of this area: the north wind!

HERITAGE TO PICK AND CHOOSE

The Costa Brava has much more than just sun and sand: the monastery of Sant Feliu de Guíxols is one of the best examples of this Romanesque heritage. Standing in front, the Porta Ferrada is the facade of an ancient pre-Romanesque building that has given name to the oldest music, theatre and dance festival in Catalonia.

In Santa Cristina d’Aro the Romanesque style of the churches of Bell-lloc d’Aro and Sant Martí de Romanyà makes a great combination with the original offer of the Casa Màgica (House of Magic), a museum dedicated to conjuring and magic. Once in La Bisbal, you can admire the civil Romanesque style of the castle and the Terracotta Museu (Terracotta Museum).

Much more in the Romanesque style awaits you, though before continuing we recommend you to visit the Iberian settlement of Ullastret. In Palau-Sator you get back on track with the Romanesque paintings of the church of Sant Pau of Fontclara.

ON THE TRAIL OF GENIUSES

You continue northward to find the ancient Greek colony of Rhode, Roses in Catalan: in the Citadel we find the Lombard style central apse of the monastery of Santa Maria.

Right by Figueres the schubertíades have taken root. They are musical events inspired by the Austrian composer Franz Schubert. Vilabretran welcomes them every summer, though any moment is perfect for exploring the Romanesque monastery of Santa Maria. Not very far from Rabós you also find spirituality: the monastery of Sant Quirze de Colera shows a sober and robust Romanesque style amongst a land of dolmens and menhirs.

Finally, we must return to the coast. The monastery of Sant Pere de Rodes was looted by pirates, visited by pilgrims and made beautiful by one of the most mysterious sculptors of the Romanesque era, the Master of Cabestany. For this and much more it is an indispensable example of the Romanesque style. Don't miss out on the fantastic capitals


Have we managed to inspire you? If you have any other interesting suggestions please send them to us on Facebook or publish your photos on Instagram with the hashtag #patrimonicultural.