Cunit is a coastal town on the Golden Coast (''Costa Daurada'' in

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

) in the

Baix Penedès Baix Penedès () is a comarca in Catalonia, Spain. The area has been settled since the times of the Iberians, with ancient ruins remaining in Banyeres at ''Can Canyís'', in the capital El Vendrell at the village of ''Guàrdies'' and in Calafel ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

part of the

province of Tarragona Tarragona (, ) is a province of eastern Spain, in the southern part of the autonomous community of Catalonia. It is bordered by the provinces of Castellón, Teruel, Zaragoza, Lérida and Barcelona and by the Mediterranean Sea. The province's p ...

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. It is on the northeast coast of Spain on the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

Location and site

It is located in the district of

and the

but is included in the third crown of the Urban Region of Barcelona. Bordered by Segur de Calafell (location of the municipality of

Calafell Calafell () is a village in the province of Tarragona and autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain. Tourism The town is located at the heart of the Baix Penedès region; the gateway to the Costa Daurada, its economy depends heavily on tourism. The ...

), in the same area, as well as

Cubelles Cubelles is a municipality in Catalonia, in the province of Barcelona, Spain. It is situated in the comarca of Garraf. Culture A 2005 film by the Spanish director Paco Plaza, "''Cuento de navidad ''Cuento de Navidad'' (English: ''A Christma ...

in the district of

Garraf Garraf (), better known as El Garraf (), is a comarca (county) in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia, northern Spain. It is named after the Garraf Massif. The GR 92 long distance footpath, which roughly follows the length of the Mediterranea ...

and

Castellet i la Gornal Castellet i la Gornal is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Alt Penedès in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated in the valley of the Foix river at the point where it crosses the Coastal Range. The river is dammed to form the Foix reservoir. ...

in the region of

Alt Penedès Alt Penedès () is a comarca (county) in Catalonia, northern Spain. The capital is Vilafranca del Penedès Vilafranca del Penedès, or simply Vilafranca (), is the capital of the ''comarca'' of the Alt Penedès in Catalonia, Spain. The Spanis ...

, both from the

province of Barcelona Barcelona (, ) is a province of eastern Spain, in the center of the autonomous community of Catalonia. The province is bordered by the provinces of Tarragona, Lleida, and Girona, and by the Mediterranean Sea. Its area is .Rodalies de Catalunya Rodalies de Catalunya (, ; "Commuter Rail of Catalonia") is the main commuter and regional rail system in the Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia. It is administered by the Government of Catalonia and operated by the national rail operato ...

regional railway network.

History, culture and art

Cunit origins date back to prehistoric times, with archaeological remains found dating back to 3700 BC.

First settlers

The first settlers are documented in a total of six well-documented sources. This is a large and dispersed settlement. It is similar to neighbouring coastal settlements of the Baix Penedès which used to trade a great deal with punicobusitans traders. A relationship that no doubt had its own weight in the transformation of the habits and customs of the early settlers.

Land

Departament de Cultura i Educació de la Generalitat de Catalunya

Architectural heritage and Edificio Los Diamantes

Historical and artistic heritage of Cunit
300px, left, Plaça Catalunya, known as Plaça del Casal

Demographics

The 1590, although the town had been almost depopulated by the incursions of the

Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia Pe ...

pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

and Turkey (1581), the Mas of Vilaseca remained populated. There are also references to a fishing settlement on the beach, documented in 1638 in 1670, residents from time immemorial were licensed to fish on Sundays and religious holidays, on payment of a

stipend A stipend is a regular fixed sum of money paid for services or to defray expenses, such as for scholarship, internship, or apprenticeship. It is often distinct from an income or a salary because it does not necessarily represent payment for work pe ...

of one tenth of the catch to the local parish. From 1960, Cunit began to become a summer vacation centre for the

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

Metropolitan Area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...

. At the same time, it started to become a major residential area of the Golden Coast

Climate

Mediterranean climate provides mild winters and hot summers.

Environment

Beaches

One of the main attractions of the town are the 2 and a half kilometers of sandy beaches in the form of golden beaches, protected by seven longitudinal breakwaters and four in the form of islands. These breakwaters had to be built in the early 1980s due to construction of the reservoir of Foix and the ports of

(to the north) and Segur de Calafell (to the south) which caused a disruption of the morphodynamic equilibrium, the effect being a visible loss of the beaches. Since 1997 it has been receiving the award of blue flag given by the

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

Foundation for Environmental Education The Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) is a non-governmental, non-profit organisation promoting sustainable development through environmental education. FEE is active through five programmes; Blue Flag, Eco-Schools, Young Reporters fo ...

Coast management

The concentration of large environmental infrastructure on the territory and the coast, as the future Cubelles marina, the existence of a combined cycle thermal plant, the location of a desalination plant has opened a debate that includes a beach protection enhancement project developed for the Spanish Coastal Authority following guidelines for littoral enhancement set by the Ministry of the Environment's coastal zone management plan. This long stretch of beach constitutes probably the most important asset of the Municipality of Cunit which relies on tourism as the main income source. The coastal front development combined with beach erosion in the 1980s resulted in beach protection with detached breakwaters creating a series of pocket beaches. Despite to the strong armouring of the coast, erosion problems are still evident and critical at some points of the coast, as well as flooding. On the other hand, the existing structures represent also a hazardous condition for swimmers. As a result, a critical analysis of the existing structures has been overtaken, which together with detailed analysis of the coastal processes, have allowed to provide a new solution, replacing the hard structures with soft protection. Currently awaiting to receive the report on the management of beaches commissioned the University of Cantabria to adopt a solution to the coastal areas of Cunit.

Seabed

World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wor ...

proposes to town for inclusion in the official lists of

Site of Community Importance A Site of Community Importance (SCI) is defined in the European Commission Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) as a site which, in the biogeographical region or regions to which it belongs, contributes significantly to the maintenance or restoration at ...

for the maritime grasslands described as

Posidonia oceanica ''Posidonia oceanica'', commonly known as Neptune grass or Mediterranean tapeweed, is a seagrass species that is endemic to the Mediterranean Sea. It forms large underwater meadows that are an important part of the ecosystem. The fruit is free f ...

References

External links

Government data pages
{{Authority control Municipalities in Baix Penedès Populated places in Baix Penedès