Girona Capital City

Strategically placed on the principal communications artery that was the Via Augusta, Girona, capital city of the Province of the same name, in the heart of the Autonomous region of Catalonia, was built by the Romans on a hill that dominated a rich countryside watered by four rivers: the Ter, the Onyar, the Güell and the Galligants.

The defensive walls that still brood in silent watchfulness have probably lost count of the number of times they have been besieged by French armies.

Stories abound of miraculous events such as the time when Narciso, now sanctified, conjured up a cloud of flies as big as sparrows that sewed plague and death amongst the French attackers thus saving the city.

The Arabs, although they didn’t stay in the north for long, also left their mark and, during an incursion when their armies first ravaged the face of Spain, were responsible for waves of lightning attacks and massive destruction that marked the wars of conquest of the 8th and 9th centuries.

More information: http://www.girona-tourist-guide.com/

Places Worth a Visit

Girona’s central nucleus is a maze of narrow streets framed by tall limestone walls and steep, never ending steps that lead downwards into dark, arched recesses. The Jewish quarter, once home to prosperous traders who fanned the ambitions and considerable success of Catalan commerce, is a jumble of streets within which many surprises wait for the explorer keen to trace human development with her own eyes.

In the old town, its considered good luck to begin a tour by kissing the haunches of the ‘Lioness of Girona’, a copy of a Romanesque carving that is located on the banks of the River Onyar.

The skyline of Girona is dominated by the imposing Cathedral of Santa María. The immense rectangular building soars above the surrounding city and forms a central focus point that can be seen for many miles around. The Cathedral, built over the ruins of an earlier Visigothic church, was consecrated in 1038. Its interior, a testament to the undiluted skill of medieval religious interior decorator, is noted for its central nave that, at 23 metres, makes it the widest Gothic nave in Europe. Suffused daylight from the many stained glass 14th – 16th century windows imparts a soft, mysterious glow that frames its magnificent arches in a ghostly iridescence.

Girona’s magic is in exploring its quiet streets, the restoration and preservation of its ancient traditions only whets the appetite of discovering the rest of the province of Barcelona.

Festivals and Important Dates

In the second week of October is the Girona Film Festival. This gives people a great chance to watch good cinema whilst visiting a great city. Girona's main fiesta is the Fires De Sant Narcis that runs from the end of October until around the 4th November. It gets its name from the patron saint of the city, Saint Narcis, also known as 'Saint of Flies'.