Altafulla

Altafulla
Municipality

Coat of arms
Altafulla

Location in Catalonia

Coordinates: 41°8′36″N 1°22′37″E / 41.14333°N 1.37694°E / 41.14333; 1.37694
Country  Spain
Community  Catalonia
Province Tarragona
Comarca Tarragonès
Government
  Mayor Fèlix Alonso Cantorné (2015)[1]
Area[2]
  Total 7.0 km2 (2.7 sq mi)
Elevation 52 m (171 ft)
Population (2015)[1]
  Total 5,052
  Density 720/km2 (1,900/sq mi)
Demonym(s) Altafullenc
Website www.altafulla.cat

Altafulla is a municipality in the comarca of the Tarragonès in Catalonia, Spain. The town of Altafulla has a beautifully intact old quarter crowned by the Castle of Altafulla, an additional medieval castle on a small promontory overlooking the sea (Castle of the Marquises of Tamarit, not open to the public) and an old fishing quarter dating back to the 18th century along the beach, called "Baixamar" or "Les Botigues del Mar".[3] Beyond the Castle of Tamarit is one of the last remaining forests stretching along the sea in Catalonia, part of which is a small nature preserve (under the Tamarit-Punta de la Móra Special Environmental and Landscape Protection Plan). It is also home to the remains of the Roman Villa of Els Munts, which is part of a larger UNESCO World Heritage Site.[4] The Gaià River "empties" into the sea here, its last stretch being a small nature preserve and haven for songbirds (Reserva Natural de Fauna Salvatge de la Desembocadura del Gaià - Gaià River Estuary Wildlife Preserve),[5] though due to damming upriver, it carries very little water at this last section, forming a tiny salt marsh separated from the sea by a bar of sand. This wildlife preserve is run by L'Hort de la Sínia, an ecological agriculture, learning and activities center.[6]

Altafulla has one of the highest median household income in the province of Tarragona.

Twin Towns

References

  1. 1 2 "Ajuntament d'Altafulla". Generalitat of Catalonia. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  2. "El municipi en xifres: Altafulla". Statistical Institute of Catalonia. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
  3. "Les Botigues del Mar" on "Pobles de Catalunya. Guia del patrimoni històric i artístic dels municipis catalans" (Towns of Catalonia: Guide to the Historic and Artistic Heritage of Catalan Municipalities), (in Catalan).
  4. The Roman Villa of Els Munts is included under the Archaeological Ensemble of Tarraco - See the World Heritage List (called "Dels Munts Villa" - sic - in the report)
  5. "Desembocadura del Gaia" - Gaià Estuary, site on preservation of the Gaià River (in Catalan).
  6. L'Hort de la Sínia, information (in Catalan).

External links


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 7/14/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.