The port that collected a tax on the sea

We invite you to look closer at Tamarit, a castle situated on a promontory on the Mediterranean coast between the beach of Tamarit and Cala Jovera. During the 11th century, it was the southernmost castlany of the comtat de Barcelona. As one of the ten main ports of Catalonia, ships departed from it for the Conquest of Mallorca. Its economic influence was significant, as it was one of the few ports on the Catalan coast with the right to collect the lleuda tax.

The history of the site involves several ownership transfers among the Claramunt family. The fortress was positioned between the southern sea and the city of Tarragona. In 1363, the rei Pere III de Catalunya-Aragó ordered the walling of Tamarit due to the war with the rei de Castella.

The importance of the port eventually faded as mercantile traffic moved to Tarragona during the 15th and 16th centuries. By the 19th century, the stagnation of rainwater and the Gaià river generated malaria, and the village of Tamarit began to be abandoned. However, a new chapter emerged in 1916 when an American magnate named Charles Deering acquired the property.

Working alongside the painter Ramon Casas, Deering contributed to unifying the different Romanesque and Renaissance buildings through interventions starting in 1916. The property is currently owned by the real estate company Betren, which rents it for private events such as concerts or weddings, inviting us to explore the harmony between its medieval walls and 20th-century architecture.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons