History Old and New

Joan and I will be moving to Girona in a few months and some of you have been asking what it's like and so on so I found some great articles on Lonley Planet about Girona for you to read.

"A walk in Gerona's exceptionally well-preserved old town, or Barri Vell, is like a vivid retelling of long-past events by the city's streets and buildings.

While there's little trace of the ancient settlement called Gerunda, visitors can still follow the path of Via Augusta, the Roman highway that passed by that Iberian city - just by walking down Carrer de la Força in the old town.

From Gerona's impressive defensive towers and walls - lovingly restored following demolition in the name of 19th-century progress - it is easy to picture the relentless attacks and occupations that shaped the history of this city.

The Romans had a fortress here long before the city wall protected Gerona. Visigoths also held the ancient city until it was captured by Muslims in AD 714. Twice the Moors were driven out by Charlemagne - the second and last time in 797.

Charlemagne made Gerona a countship of Catalonia and, in the 9th century, the alarmingly named Wilfred the Hairy, Count of Barcelona, ruled Gerona as capital of one of his counties.

Wilfred's time is sometimes said to be the wellspring of Catalonia's distinctive, proud spirit and its desire for political and cultural autonomy. But Catalan's early independence was dealt a blow by a royal wedding in 1469 - Isabella of Castile to Ferdinand II of Aragon. The match all but made Spain into one powerful kingdom and, from that time, Catalonia's prized self-government slowly trickled away.

The cobbled streets around Carrer de la Força tell another story from this time. El Call, the Jewish quarter, made Gerona Catalonia's second most important medieval Jewish community after Barcelona. The people stayed until 1492, when all Jews were expelled from Spain. The neighbourhood was famous for its cabbalistic school - one of Europe's foremost.

The old town's historic buildings speak of Gerona's medieval prosperity and themselves sit on long-destroyed ancient structures. The cathedral sits on the site of another, once used by Moors as a mosque. Climb the current cathedral's 86 steps and pass through its majestic facade and you'll discover a history of building and rebuilding in successive Romanesque and Gothic styles. It's no surprise, after 25 attacks and seven successful invasions, that many of the old town's buildings are a pastiche of architectural periods. What does surprise is the old town's almost complete survival.

Gerona rocketed into the modern era, becoming industrialized along with the rest of Catalonia. The region's capital, Barcelona, is an Art-Nouveau wonderland; Gerona's own Rafael Masó did his best to modernise the city with a host of fantastically decorative buildings that are well-preserved today.

Politically, Catalonia was a hothouse. In the fiercely independent region that's claimed Gerona since the 8th century, socialists, anarchists and Catalan nationalists waged their struggles.

Two revered Catalan presidents of the 1930s, Lluís Companys and Francesc Macià, fought to make the region a nation. They fought with armed revolts as well as elections, and gained and lost autonomy of varying shades. Complete independence was elusive.

The Spanish Civil War (1936-39) crushed hopes of a seperate state. Catalonia opposed General Francisco Franco and the region was brutally punished when the dictator came to power. Franco quashed Catalonia's political autonomy and suppressed its culture; use of the Catalan language was forbidden in public life.

Catalonia suffered for forty years until Franco's death in 1975 freed the region to seek independence once more. Autonomous again, and with an elected parliament, Catalonia was on the path to nationhood.

Recent History

Today, the city feels like a busy and prosperous centre - although 'human sized' as its local government boasts. New parks and historical reconstructions grace Gerona, which is surrounded by a still-industrial region producing paper, chemicals, food and machinery.

Tourism has become significant for Gerona and visitors flock to the beautifully preserved old town. This tourist precinct's charming streets - easily explored on foot - are also lively with students from the local university, who make the town's nightlife."

-LonleyPlanet.com

Joan and I will be living in the Barri Vell and I will take photos and video of our "neighborhood" when we get a chance. Next week will make two weeks until we move in. We're not completely packed but we have a lot done. I will be sad to leave our place but I'm positive we will feel the same about the new place. Below are some photos of Girona that I've taken over the last few months.

Visit us soon!