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Tourism “Big Bang”

Image by SantiMB.Photos
Tossa de Mar, La Selva, Girona (Spain).

ENGLISH
I suppose that this one would be the aspect of Tossa when Ava Gardner fell in love with this town and Spain in 1951. The filming of “Pandora and the flying Dutchman” meant the beginning of the tourist boom of the Costa Brava, and then all Spain too.

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Tossa de Mar is a holiday resort located in Catalonia on the Costa Brava, about 95 kilometres north of Barcelona and 100 kilometres south of the French border. It is accessible through Girona airport, some distance north.

There is ample evidence of settlements dating back to the Neolithic period, and it is believed that the area has been continuously populated since that time. Between the 4th century BC and the 1st century BC appeared the first Iberian settlements, followed shortly after by the Romans in the 1st century.

In 966 Tossa is ceded by Count Miró of Barcelona to the Abbey of Ripoll. Some two centuries latter, in 1187 Tossa is granted its charter by the Abbot of Ripoll, coinciding with the building of a church atop Mount Guardí, the remnants of which can still be seen today.

Sometime in the 12th century the mediaeval town was walled off and a castle was built on the highest point of Mt. Guardí, this castle was to be subsequently replaced by a wind mill, and this in turn by a lighthouse which is still operational.

By the year 1500 the first houses were built extra-muros to accommodate population growth. This process was greatly accelerated during the 17th and 18th centuries, shaping an urban configuration which was to remain practically unchanged until the arrival of mass tourism in the 1950s.

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CASTELLANO
Yo supongo que éste sería el aspecto de Tossa cuando Ava Gardner se enamoró de este pueblo y de España en 1951. El rodaje de la película "Pandora y el Holandés Errante" significó el inicio del boom turístico de la Costa Brava, y del de toda España en consecuencia.

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Tossa de Mar, también llamado Tossa, es un municipio de 5.260 habitantes (INE 2005) perteneciente a la provincia de Gerona, Cataluña (España). Situada en la comarca de La Selva, su ubicación en la Costa Brava hace que sea un destino turístico importante.

En la bahía de Tossa, posee un recinto amurallado románico, la Vila Vella, en un pequeño promontorio en plena playa con siete torres circulares, se estima su origen en el siglo XII para evitar los ataques de piratas. En su interior los restos de una iglesia y el palacio del gobernador del siglo XIV. Cerca del recinto se encuentran los hallazgos arqueológicos de lo que fuera una villa romana del siglo IV, la villa romana de Els Ametllers. Posee un museo municipal dentro del propio recinto con colecciones arqueológicas, de pintura local y extranjera, escultura y vidrio.

En los años 50, Ava Gardner y James Mason llegaron a la pequeña localidad para rodar "Pandora y el holandés errante" y eso le dio cierta fama al pueblo, en cuyo filme se bautizó "Esperanza".

Marc Chagall la bautizó con el nombre de "Paraíso azul" en 1933.

Luxury Tiger Tourism!

Image by Koshyk
The question of allowing tourism in the core areas of Tiger Reserves have grabbed public attention after the Supreme Court of India raised the issue. While there is much to be said in favour of promoting Tiger Tourism, this kind of chasing tigers amount to harassment. A scene from Ranthambhore National Park.