Castelldefels Castle

The Roman villa has been dated from the 1st century BC to the 6th century AD. The discovery of a 2nd-century funerary monument dedicated to Caius Trocina Synecdemus has led the excavator to attribute the ownership of the villa to him. The villa probably fell within the ager of Barcino, and was at the edge of a small port; it was probably used by Trocina Synecdemus to fund his public office of sevir augustalis (priest of the Imperial cult) in Barcino.[4]

The church of St. Mary within the curtain wall, with the base of a 14th-century tower in the foreground

The church of St. Mary was built on the hill in the 10th century by the monastery of Sant Cugat, which had been given instruction to develop the Castelldefels region by Sunyer, Count of Barcelona. The new church was first mentioned in a document dating to AD 967.[2] The first mention of a castle on the hill is an indirect reference to the church of St. Mary of Castrum Felix ("Fortunate Castle" in Latin). Archaeologists have not identified any remains of this early castle, suggesting that it may have been just a tower or perishable fortification, or that it stood on the highest part of the hill, located within the present-day castle courtyard, the bedrock of which was levelled during the 16th century.[6]

The church structure visible today is Romanesque in style and dates from the 11th century. The Romanesque church was probably consecrated in 1106. It has a single nave with three apses, a transept, and supports a small belltower.[7]

By the 14th-15th centuries, regional instability led to the increased need for defences, and the church was fortified. Records from the period indicate that the hilltop had been occupied by a fortified house with a strong curtain wall.[2] The earliest known remains of the castle date to the 14th century; a truncated circular tower to the south of the church is of this date. Also in the 14th century, the church was partially fortified, particularly the southern apse, and battlements were added.[7]

By the middle of the 16th century the Ottoman Empire was increasingly powerful and controlled much of the Mediterranean Sea; their alliance with Barbary pirates presented increased danger to the coastal population of Catalonia. In response, King Philip II of Spain ordered the construction of an extensive series of fortifications along the Mediterranean coast. At this time, the existing fortified house was demolished and the first phase of the castle was constructed from red sandstone.[2] At this time the castle's basal platform and retaining walls were built. The great southwest tower was erected in 1590.[7]

In 1893, the castle church still served as the parish church, and the rectory was inhabited. On 26 August, a 25-year-old Aragonese baker by the name of Joaquín Figueras broke into the rectory and stabbed 60-year-old parish priest Jacint Orta Berenguer 14 times. He also attacked his ex-girlfriend, 21-year-old Rita Bosch Orta, who was the priest's niece, stabbing her 27 times and shooting her twice. He is reported to have raped her as she lay dying.[8]

Figueras was arrested in Barcelona on 3 September and confessed to the murders, although he denied robbing and raping Rita Bosch Orta. He was tried in Barcelona in June 1894. He was quickly found guilty and was sentenced to death. He was garroted beneath the castle walls at 9am on 19 June 1895 before an estimated crowd of eight thousand people.[9] His corpse was displayed until 5pm; he was then buried next to his victims in the castle cemetery.[10]

Interior of the keep

By the second half of the 19th century, the castle had fallen into ruin and, at the end of the century, its ownership passed into the hands of Manuel Girona, a powerful Barcelonan banker and politician.[11] He contracted Catalan architect Enric Sagnier to restore the castle walls and towers, and add Gothic-style windows and doors.[2] Decorative crenellations were added to the great southwest tower, and to most of the castle walls.[7] The work was completed in 1897.[12]

Girona died in 1903, and his son, Manuel Girona Vidal, restored the church for use as a family chapel. He also built the current parish church in Castelldefels, and the image of St. Mary was moved there from the castle in 1911.[12]

The castle was used as a base of operations by the Republican International Brigades from April 1938 to January 1939, being moved there from Albacete under pressure from an offensive by General Franco.[13] The castle was first used as a Republican military training centre. On 12 April 1938, Italian commissary general Luigi Gallo announced that the castle would be used as a prison.[14] It was then prepared as a prison camp by the Croatian commander Milan Ćopić, in order to hold brigade soldiers accused of indiscipline. The prison guards were quartered in the chapel of the Virgen de la Salud ("Virgin of Health"). As soon as the base was put into use, 265 prisoners were moved to the castle. Ćopić immediately ordered that 60 of them be shot in order to reduce the number of prisoners held; during the months that followed, torture and executions were carried out in the castle by the Republican forces.[13]

In 1988, ownership of the castle passed to Castelldefels municipal council.[3] In 1989, the council launched a project to restore the church and its associated buildings, including the sacristy and rectory. At the same time an investigation of the castle complex was also undertaken.[15]