Heritage

The Ciutadella

A walk around the area of the Ciutadela is indispensable for all those  that visit Roses. Declared a special historical-artistic site in 1961, the Ciutadela combines the remains of different ages and occupiers. The military fortification, with its monumental Sea Gate, is an enclosure of 131,480 m2 in the Renaissance style that was built in 1543. Its interior constitutes an important archaeological site in which are found the remains of the Greek city of Rhode, founded in 776B.C. by the Rhodiums; the Hellenistic part that lived its moment of maximum prosperity. in the IV and III centuries B.C.; the roman villa, dated between the II century B.C. and the VI century A.D..; the XI century Romanic-Lombard monastery of Santa Maria, , and the finds of the XIX century.
Free guided visits leaving from Roses council Tourism Area are organised:

Ciutadella: Every sundays at 11 a.m.

Dolmens: on the first Saturday of each month at 10 a.m.

In January not visits are programmed.

For more information and reservations, go to the Tourist Office. Tel. 902 10 36 36.

Trinitat Castle

The Castell de la Trinitat crowns the Poncella point above the lighthouse of Roses. This military construction, which dates from 1544, was erected under the reign of Emperor Charles V.
It has the shape of a five-pointed star, with pronounced angular corners for defence against enemy projectiles. It is built on a very grand scale, with walls two metres thick. It had three terraces for batteries of cannons, howitzers and mortars, set at different heights, to defend the port and the coast. It had a garrison of up to two hundred men. Though now in a very ruined state, the whole remains as an extraordinary example of a coastal artillery fortress.

 

Megalithic Complex

Inhabited since remote times, Roses possesses one of the most complete and impressive megalithic itineraries of the Costa Brava. Three large dolmens conserve the memory of the area's first settlers: the Creu d'en Cobertella (3000-2700 BC), the Llit de la Generala (3200 BC) and the Cap de l'Home. The Creu d'en Cobertella, the largest dolmen in Catalonia, dates from the Neolithic and was declared a historic-artistic monument in 1964. It has a large gallery covered by a four-ton slab which measures 5.20 m long, 2.45 m wide and 2.14 high. The tour around the origins of the town also reveals the funeral chamber of the Casa Cremada and its two menhirs (4th-3rd millennia BC), and the cave-dolmen of the Rec de la Cuana, from 2500 BC.

 

Visigothic fortess

This is a fortress dating from the mid-seventh century, situated in the present Puig Rom estate. It has an oval floor plan, with two practically parallel walls. The entrance door was at the south, flanked by two square towers. The walls, of granite stone, were built using the double-wall technique. It had a purely strategic, defensive purpose. Inside, many pottery, bronze-work and iron pieces and implements have been found, particularly agricultural implements, but despite the solidity of the fortification, only a few vestiges remain today.

The town was declared Cultural Feature of National Interest by the government in 1963.

 

Bufalaranya Castle

This castle stands on a hill close to the road from Roses to Cadaqués. Built in the 10th C., the Castle of Bufalaranya has the singular characteristic of the opus spicatum design formed by its stone slabs, arranged in the shape of an ear of corn.

 

Santa María Church

The old church was built in 1796, and from it the apse, transept and cupola are preserved. The rest of the nave, the side chapels and the façade are neo-classical works from the year 1853 by the architect Martí Sureda i Deulovol.

 

Mallol House

This modernist building in the Plaça de Catalunya dates from 1906 and was designed by the architect Joan Marès. It is now the seat of the Town Council.
The façade is notable for its gallery and various windows with small pillars and floral decorations in relief. Inside, there remain the ornamental ceilings, sections of ironwork and some stained-glass windows, recently restored.

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