Diana Español Anna Bordas Mateo Nuñez Oriol Cases Oriol Pibernat

1. rona A teenager's view Diana Español Anna Bordas Mateo Nuñez Oriol Cases Oriol Pibernat

2. Girona

3. GIRONA Situation: Spain is situated in the south of Europe. In the east of Spain there’s Catalonia, the autonomous community where Girona is located. It is about 100 km far from Barcelona (Olympic Games in 1992) Girona is an old and small city, so there are only about 80.000 people. This beautiful city is one of the richest in Spain. Girona has a very good situation because you can reach the mountains and the sea easily. On the one hand, all the big mountains, the Pyrenees, are covered by snow in winter, and it’s really nice and spectacular. You can do a lot of activities like skiing, snowboarding, etc. On the other hand, in summer, you can go to La Costa Brava where you can spend your holidays and enjoy your free time in the beach. You can also swim in the Mediterranean sea. Moreover it can be interesting to visit some medieval towns near Girona. Nowadays there are more or less 90.000 peoplein Girona

4. The Cathedral: The Cathedral is one of the most outstanding monument in Girona. It’s also one of the most important Cathedrals all over the world. At the beginning, it was designed to have three naves and so the structure gives a general internal image typically Gothic. From the outside stairs you can have a view of one of the most important works of Catalan gothic. The 99 steps lead us to inside the nave where you can find plenty of Romanesque art works, as well as the Cathedral treasures. The beauty of the Cathedral astonishes the visitor and it is the most characteristic part of our town. Without it Girona wouldn’t be the modern and old town that it is. At night we can appreciate how it stands majestically over the old city. The echo of its appealing bells give the exactly measure of its permanent presence surrounded by silence and serenity.

5. The Arab Baths: 12th century. Romanesque building inspired on the Roman thermal or public baths. The most interesting of the three rooms, each with a different temperature of the water in their swimming pools, is the frigidarium, or cold water room, with its rustic barrel arch and central come supported by slender columns. In spite of the presence of elements of Muslim origin, the construction corresponds to western Romanesque style.

6. The Sant Feliu Church: 13th-14th century. Built at the very foot of the original walled enclosure, its main wall had to be solidly fortified with high unadorned walls (14th century). The interior features a vigorous Romanesque structure (13th century) which was built over which the Gothic nave. The western facade, designed with two towers which only one was completed, was built in the 12th century in the baroque style. Paleo-Christian tombs (3rd-4th century A.D.), imported from Italy, and the Corpse of Christ, by the Mestre Aloi, a masterpiece of Catalonian Gothic sculpture, can be admired in the chancel.

7. The Monastery Of Sant Pere De Galligants: 11th-12th century. Benedictine monastery nowadays housing the Archeological Museum. The outstanding monumental merit of the temple and the remarkable iconographic interest of the cloister make the complex one of the most outstanding examples of Catalonian Romanesque architecture. The museum contains an important collection of prehistoric objects together with others from Greek and Roman periods, as well as a unique collection of Hebrew tombstones.

8. Devesa Park: From Sant Feliu church, crossing over the river, you reach the “Devesa park”. It is an ideal place to walk by with hundreds of trees. Most of them are over 55 metres high and they stand fairly close from each other. Green in summer and golden in autumn they give this park a special charm. One of the four rivers of the town rounds parallel to this large park. When walking through the park, the magnificence of the plane trees makes you feel smaller and smaller. In the middle of the park there is a garden with a great variety of plants, flowers and animals which make that area an ideal place to spend a quiet spring afternoon. In this place many fairs and celebrations take place every year.

9. The Houses Of The Onyar: These houses, situated at the very edge of the river and its bridges, are no doubt one of the most authentic and spectacular sights of Girona. These houses overlooking the river were constructed towards the end of the Middle Ages, and were attached to the walls which enclosed the ancient quarter and the borough of the Mercadal. The towers protecting both sides of the bridges also succumbed to modern times were converted into houses.

10. Independence Square: Plaça de la Independencia leads into Carrer Santa Clara, a major shopping street that runs parallel to the Onyar. The street running across leads to the Plaça Mercadal, with the neo-Gothic church of Santa Susanna, and Les Aigües House, with the Museum of the Cinema. There stands the corporeal poem, A for Cinema (1999), the work of artist and poet Joan Brossa.

11. Rambla: La Rambla is also a central meeting point in Girona. There are plenty of shops, bars and restaurants and many different celebrations take place there all through the year: traditional dances, commercial parades… The shopping area of the old part of Girona is located mainly in two streets: la Rambla and Santa Clara Street. They run parellel to each other at both sides of the river Onyar and are linked by three bridges. One of them is “peixateries velles” bridge (old fish monger’s bridge). This was the bridge which in the old times led to the fish market at the other side of la Rambla, This bridge was built by the well known Eiffel factory.

12. Wine Square: Beside the City Hall, we find the Carles House, great neo-classical house which was the official residence of kings on their various stays in Girona. Closing the square, and on the corner with Carrer de Ciutadans, we find the building of the Generalitat (16th c.), so called because it was the delegation headquarters of the independent Catalan Government. The building, with its sober lines and elegant proportions, currently houses shops and homes. Plaça del vi – a name which recalls the old wine market- is framed by great buildings and surrounded by the characteristic arches or porches, segmental arches which form a welcoming arcade in the city. This old meeting point of roads, site of inns and stopping place for carriages is still the official civic centre of Girona, presided over by the Casa de la Ciutat (the Town hall) .

13. The City Walls The city walls in Girona surround the old city and they were built to defend it from the attacks of the enemies. Most of them have been demolished and don’t exist anymore. The remaining part is today a promenade from which you can have a magnificent view of Girona. From this walk you can also admire the back part of the Cathedral where there is a gargoyle representing an old woman which everybody knows as “The witch “. The legend tells that us that a woman who was an expert in witchcraft used to throw stones to the Blessed Sacrament, when it was taken out in procession during Holy week, until a punishment converted her into stone. From the walls one can discover unknown aspects and and unexpected details, like the “patios” and private gardens of many houses, some of which are enormous.

14. Migdia Park: In the modern part of the city there is situated the “Parc de les Casernes”. Few years ago, Casernes were the Army Headquarters. Now, in the same place we can find an enjoyable leisure park. Today this park is surrounded by buildings of modern architecture and also is the other face of Girona. Finally, it’s a beautiful green area and a very popular one.