Tamarit Castle Approach
by Joan Carroll
Title
Tamarit Castle Approach
Artist
Joan Carroll
Medium
Photograph - Photography And Digital Art
Description
I was just a little proud of myself to have found Castell de Tamarit. I had seen photos of it and lucky for me I was watching out the window during the short train ride from Tarragona Spain to the tiny seaside town of Altafulla. Because when I got off the train there was no indication where the castle might be! I walked from the train station to the beach and it still wasn't clear if I should go left or right along the beach. Being winter, there weren't too many people whom I could ask. Either way it was at least a mile walk to the headlands on either side and if I made the wrong guess, it would be 2 miles the other way. But during the train ride I thought I glimpsed, just briefly, a shape that looked like the top of the tower. And from the orientation of the pictures I had seen, I figured turning left was my best bet. About half way down the beach I was rewarded with my first view of the historic seaside fortress! The first written records of this structure date from the 11th century. The castle contains both defensive and residential elements, including a prison, watchtowers and a Romanesque church, which, with its three naves, barrel-vault ceiling and straight chavet, is one of the purest and earliest examples of Romanesque architecture in Tarragona. After 1681, the castle belonged to the Archbishop of Tarragona and the Marquises of Tamarit. In the 19th century, the fishermen's village that once surrounded the castle was decimated by malarial fevers spread from the nearby marshlands. At the turn of the 20th century it was bought and restored by a private American collector. Disappointingly, for tourists looking for a peek at the interior it seems to be only a wedding destination, a business meeting place, and a restaurant.
FEATURED PHOTO, Exploration Photography group, 2/11/17
FEATURED PHOTO, All Art Welcome group, 2/7/17
joan carroll, landmark, medieval, gothic, historic, sea, tourism, tower, travel, spanish, mediterranean, europe, water, coast, landscape
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Uploaded
February 7th, 2017
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