Monday, November 2, 2015

Tossa de Mar - Spain

Here it is another card sent by Celina. Both the card and the stamp are showing the Vila Vella Ramparts. 

Located on the Girona coast, at half way between the city of Barcelona and the French border, Tossa de Mar is an ancient fishermen's village with an important historical background, that has been transformed during the last 50 years into an emblematic tourist destination of the Costa Brava area.

Foto: Angel Gago
The emblematic walled Vila Vella or Old Town of Tossa is the sole remaining fortified medieval town on the Catalan coast and was listed as an artistic-historic monument in 1931. The original structure dates from the 13th-century.
The original perimeter walls and battlements are largely conserved, with four large towers and three machicolated cylindrical towers. The best-known towers are Joanàs Tower overlooking the bay; Clock Tower at the entrance to the parade ground, thus named because it was the only public clock in the town; and Codolar Tower (or Keep), overlooking Codolar beach. The rectangular castle with a watchtower at the top of the Vila Vella was replaced by the present-day lighthouse. 
The Vila Vella itself is a charming place with narrow cobbled streets. In the 15th and 16th-century age of splendour, the town boasted eighty houses. A superb voussoired entrance gate gives access to the Vila Vella via the former parade ground. In the 16th century, however, the town started to expand beyond the walls, with the first extra-mural houses built in Sa Roqueta district along the highroad. - in: http://www.infotossa.com/eng/visitar/visitarmedievalini.php?idseccion=11

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