CULTURAL ATTRACTIONS CASTLES

This castle, now home to the Castles of the Baix Gaià Interpretation Centre, was originally a fortified settlement from the 7th to the 5th centuries BC. In the 11th century it became a Muslim fortress taking advantage of the proximity of the River Gaià, the natural frontier between the Catalan counties and the kingdom of Al-Andalus. In the 16th century the castle was considerably enlarged and took on the configuration we see today: a triangular ground plan with walls and a moat, two towers on the main façade and the interior distributed around a central courtyard. The Castles of the Baix Gaià Route is an itinerary taking in eight castles: those of El Catllar, El Nou, Montoliu, Vespella, Montornès, Altafulla, Ferran and Tamarit.