Roses

Description

The former Greek colony of Roses stretches between the sea and the mountains, right on the Costa Brava. This town in the province of Girona offers a multitude of beaches and coves among rocky cliffs, where visitors can practise a great variety of water sports as well as walking in the nearby Aiguamolls de l´Empordá and Cap de Creus Natural Parks. Meanwhile, the historic-artistic site of La Ciudadela is an example of a Renaissance defensive structure on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. At one end of the Gulf of Roses, between Cap Creus and the Montgrí massif, is the town of Roses. The peaceful waters of this natural harbour were already sought after in the times of the Greeks from Rhodes, who set up a commercial colony here. The remains of the Greek city of Rhode, founded in 776 BC., the old Greek district (3rd C. BC), the Roman town and the 11th-century Romanesque-Lombard monastery form part of the layout of the Ciudadela, declared a historic-artistic site. This construction of this military fortification was ordered by the Emperor Carlos V to repel attacks by pirates and corsairs. The Renaissance style of the building can be seen in its curtain walls and sea port. To this same historical period (16th C.) belongs Trinitat Castle, built on Poncella Point. Its layout preserves the five-pointed star shape used in this type of military construction at the time. Next to it stands Roses lighthouse, one of the many dotted along the broken outline of the Costa Brava.