Altafulla is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the ''comarca'' of the

Tarragonès Tarragonès () is a comarca (county) in Catalonia, Spain. It is one of the three comarques formed in the 1936 comarcal division of Camp de Tarragona. It lies on the Mediterranean coast, between the comarques of Baix Penedès to the northeast and ...

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

, Spain. The town of Altafulla has a beautifully intact old quarter crowned by the Castle of Altafulla, and an old fishing quarter dating back to the 18th century along the beach, called "Baixamar" or "Les Botigues de Mar". An additional medieval castle on a small promontory overlooking the sea, the Castle of the Marquises of Tamarit (not open to the public) is often thought as part of Altafulla, but it's actually located in the neighbor municipality of Tarragona. Beyond the castle 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). Altafulla is also home to the remains of the Roman Villa of Els Munts, which is included in a larger

UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

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), though due to damming upriver, it carries very little water at this last section, forming a tiny

salt marsh A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is dominated ...

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.L'Hort de la Sínia
, information (in Catalan). Altafulla has one of the highest median

household income Household income is a measure of the combined incomes of all people sharing a particular household or place of residence. It includes every form of income, e.g., salaries and wages, retirement income, near cash government transfers like food stamp ...

in the province of

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; Phoenician: ''Tarqon''; la, Tarraco) is a port city located in northeast Spain on the Costa Daurada by the Mediterranean Sea. Founded before the fifth century BC, it is the capital of the Province of Tarragona, and part of Tar ...

Twin towns

Roviano Roviano is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, Metropolitan City of Rome in the Italy, Italian region Latium, located about northeast of Rome. Roviano borders the following municipalities: Anticoli Corrado, Arsol ...

, Italy

References

* Panareda Clopés, Josep Maria; Rios Calvet, Jaume; Rabella Vives, Josep Maria (1989). ''Guia de Catalunya'', Barcelona: Caixa de Catalunya. (Catalan). (Spanish).

External links

Altafulla – On the route of the castles in Camp de Tarragona region – part I., in Catalonia, Spain
(in English)
Altafulla – The town of thousand magic gates on Costa Daurada, in Catalonia, Spain
(in English)
Altafulla Tourism Page
(in English, Catalan, Spanish, etc.)
Altafulla
on the website "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)
Government data pages
*Héctor Casilla (2004) {{Authority control Municipalities in Tarragonès Populated places in Tarragonès