TRAVEL GUIDES DIRECTORY: GIRONA SPAIN L'ESCALA

PLACES OF INTEREST

Empuries

These are the ruins of an ancient Greek and Roman city near L'Escala, on the Emporda coast. Historians suggest that the original Greek settlement was built in the sixth century BC and served as the nucleus of a thriving sea-fearing trade route along the Mediterranean. The city thrived and became known as Emporion, which means market in Greek. Later, in 195 BC, the Romans built an enclave near Emporion that would later grow into a Roman city. At the beginning of the 1 st century BC, the Greek and Roman cities united and became known as Municipium Emporiae. However, with the rise of larger and more important cities such as Barcino (Barcelona) and Gerunda (Girona), the glory of Emporiae slowly faded. After the Moorish invasion and the Christian intervention, Emporiae was inhabited by fishermen who founded the town of L'Escala in the 16 th century.