Tortosa sits astride the mighty Rio Ebro, Spain’s second longest river. It’s almost the last stop before the river splits into the Ebro delta and flows out into the Mediterranean.
Tortosa is a great place for a short stop-over, especially if you’re heading along the coastal autopista from Barcelona. It’s compact; you can see all the sights easily in a day. Or you can make it a base for touring the Ebro delta (it’s beautiful!) and stay a little longer.
A lot of history!
It’s a place with a violent past. Over the centuries, it became one of the most fought-over places in Spain. So there’s plenty of history to go at.
The rocky heights overlooking the river were a perfect place for a castle, dominating the Lower Ebro. And it was the ideal crossing point for a bridge too.
Because of that strategic position, it’s endured more wars than you could shake a stick at. The Roman legions were here – inevitably – and knew the place as Dertosa (people from Tortosa are still sometimes called Dertosenses). The Muslims armies arrived around 714 AD and stayed for the next 400 years; they called the place Turtusha.
Then there were several medieval French invasions, wars with Castile (the 1500s) la Guerra dels Segadors (the Reapers’ War) in the 1600s, the War of the Spanish Succession (the 1700s), Napoleon’s invasion and the Carlist Wars (the 1800s), and last, but certainly not least, the Spanish Civil War. They’ve all left their mark on the place.
So what’s to see?
The river (obviously). You can’t miss it! And rising high above is the Castillo de la Zuda/Castell de la Suda. Originally Roman, but then it was expanded into a major fortress by the Moors. The Christians monarchs who pushed down from the north made it stronger still.
Drive or walk up for wonderful panoramas over the town and the Ebro. The views are great all day long, but especially spectacular in the evening as the sun sinks behind the limestone peaks of Ports de Tortosa across the valley.
If you like the view, you can stay the night (we did). The castle is a parador, one of a chain of upmarket hotels in converted castles/monasteries/convents run by the Spanish state.
Down in the town
Stroll down the path from the castle to the town, and the route takes you past the Colegios Reales, magnificent mini-palaces built originally to educate the Moriscos. These were the sons of Muslim families that had converted (at least in name) to Christianity after the Moors were pushed out.
The Catholic church suspected that they might secretly be keeping the old Islamic customs – so this was effectively a Renaissance era re-education centre. That particular policy went out of the window rather comprehensively in 1609, when the Moriscos were expelled from Spain altogether.
The cathedral
A short stroll down to river level gets you to the cathedral of Santa Maria, which stands on the site of (in turn) the Roman forum, the Visigothic cathedral and the Muslim mosque.
It has a bit of a split personality, architecturally speaking. The façade facing the river is baroque, and it looks as if it’s missing a tower or two. Behind the façade, the rest of the building is in a much chunkier and less elegant Gothic style.
Inside the cathedral is the Capilla de Santa Maria de la Cinta. She’s the patron saint of Tortosa and depicted carrying a ribbon. That dates from a miracle back in the 12th century, when she appeared in a vision to a priest in Tortosa and left him the ribbon from her waist – as she had apparently done with St Thomas. At least, I think that’s the story. Theology is not my strong point!
Tortosa is not short of historic buildings and they’re all handily placed within a few minutes of each other. The Bishops’ Palace right next to the cathedral is well worth a look, as is the Palau Despuig, now the Conservatory of Music.
Camino de Santiago
The Camino de Santiago is normally associated with the north of Spain. But one Camino starts here in Tortosa. For clues, head to the Portal del Romeu, once one of the main gates to the medieval city, though it’s now right in the town centre.
Images of St James and St Christopher – the patron saint of travellers – are on the interior of the arch.
Pilgrims would land at the port of Tortosa. They’d then head north to Zaragoza and across the top of Spain to the shrine of St James at Santiago de Compostela.
As you wander through the narrow streets of the old town, you might notice a curious blend of crumbling, boarded-up houses alongside some real gems, like the modernist Casa Grego. It’s an odd mixture of shabby and chic.
Jardins del Princep
Take a different route down from the castle, via Carrer del Castell and you’ll find the Jardins del Princep, tucked away beneath the city’s defensive walls.
Back in the 19th century, this was a spa and upmarket park where the middle classes of Tortosa came here for a stroll, to see and be seen. Now it’s a sculpture park set against the old city walls.
Fascinating fact!
Back in the 12th century, sometime after Tortosa had fallen to the Christians, the Moors tried to recapture the town while the main Catalan army was fighting elsewhere. But the attack was foiled – by Tortosa’s women.
They dressed as men, so the story goes, and marched around the town banging pots and pans. They made such a racket, the Moors thought the place was occupied by an army. It worked! The Moors retreated.
In return, El Conde de Berenguer ordered that wives in Tortosa should have equal status with their husbands, and single women the same status as their brother or father. Gender equality in the 12th century!
The Civil War
Head down to the riverside and you can’t miss the war memorial to a much later conflict. It’s right in the middle of the Ebro and actually built on one of the piers of a bridge destroyed during the Civil War.
The Battle of the Ebro was the decisive battle of the entire Guerra Civil. It was certainly one of the bloodiest – and Tortosa was right on the front line, as chronicled by Ernest Hemingway, then a war correspondent.
in April 1938, he wrote; ““Above us in the high cloudless sky, fleet after fleet of bombers roared over Tortosa. When they dropped the sudden thunder of their loads, the little city on the Ebro disappeared under a mounting yellow cloud of dust.” These days, you can visit one of the old air raid shelters where people from Tortosa hid from the onslaught.
The war memorial was put up under the Franco regime in 1962. Nobody was going to argue with the old dictator back then. But once he was gone, there was plenty of argument over what should happen to it.
To many, it was a triumphalist symbol of a Fascist victory and should be removed, as Franco-era symbols have been across the rest of Spain. For others, it’s a memorial to all who died (and there may have been 60,000 plus on both sides in and around Tortosa).
The arguments continue – and in the meantime, the memorial stays where it is. Though you can’t help feeling that if it wasn’t positioned inconveniently in the middle of a fast-flowing river, it would have gone years ago!
Head for the market
Walk along the river bank downstream towards El Mercado – the town market – of Tortosa, a handsome modernist-style building. My recommendation – take time to browse the stalls for local specialities and grab a late breakfast or a tapa or two.
From the market, stroll further down river through the pleasant Parc Municipal to the red bridge, once the main rail route through Tortosa, but now a bike-and-pedestrian route and the best place to look upriver.
Moored nearby is Lo Sirgador, a vintage boat which runs cruises on the Ebro in high season – though sadly not while we were there.
We stayed here:
El Parador de Tortosa in El Castillo de la Zuda
We ate here:
- Taula de Canvis on Rambla Felip Pedrell next to the river.
- TdeTapa: upmarket tapas place with Asian influences
More places to see
Check out these locations – they’re on your route if you’re driving down the autopista to the Costas.
- Driving through the Ebro delta – marshland and birdlife
- Peñíscola – a Templar castle that starred in the movie El Cid
© Guy Pelham