The Urban Structure of the Jewish Quarter of Girona
Eduard CanaI i de Diego et al.
Historia Urbana de Girona, Vol.7 (2008)
Abstract
The first study on the urban history of Girona, entitled “Els jueus i la ciutat de Girona” (CANAL et al. 1995), was published in 1995. This highly specific topic had been proposed by the mayor at the time, Joaquim Nadal. It represented quite a challenge for us, since, although archaeological and documentary research had already begun several years
earlier, this was the first serious attempt to transfer the unwieldy mass of data we had gathered on the urban aspect onto paper in comprehensible form. Now, a decade later, our knowledge of the urban structure of the city in ancient and medieval times has been significantly enriched and methodology has become more accurate and efficient (fig. 1). The study we are now presenting complements
the previous one, contributing new information but also rectifying, qualifying and adjusting many aspects that lacked definition. In any case, this study does not intend to dramatise the history of the Jews in Girona. As the title indicates, the object of research is the Jewish Quafter, or “el Call”, the physical space where the Jews settled and which has been so called since the twelfth century, according to documentary sources. \Vhat was in this area? What conditions were necessary for a specific area to be considered part of the Jewish Quarter? Finding the answers was not an easy task, as the boundaries had to be ascertained, the network of streets rescued from oblivion and the lines of expansion and regression analysed and marked out.
The Urban Structure of the Jewish Quarter of Girona
Eduard CanaI i de Diego et al.
Historia Urbana de Girona, Vol.7 (2008)
Abstract
The first study on the urban history of Girona, entitled “Els jueus i la ciutat de Girona” (CANAL et al. 1995), was published in 1995. This highly specific topic had been proposed by the mayor at the time, Joaquim Nadal. It represented quite a challenge for us, since, although archaeological and documentary research had already begun several years
significantly enriched and methodology has become more accurate and efficient (fig. 1). The study we are now presenting complements
earlier, this was the first serious attempt to transfer the unwieldy mass of data we had gathered on the urban aspect onto paper in comprehensible form. Now, a decade later, our knowledge of the urban structure of the city in ancient and medieval times has been
the previous one, contributing new information but also rectifying, qualifying and adjusting many aspects that lacked definition. In any case, this study does not intend to dramatise the history of the Jews in Girona. As the title indicates, the object of research is the Jewish Quafter, or “el Call”, the physical space where the Jews settled and which has been so called since the twelfth century, according to documentary sources. \Vhat was in this area? What conditions were necessary for a specific area to be considered part of the Jewish Quarter? Finding the answers was not an easy task, as the boundaries had to be ascertained, the network of streets rescued from oblivion and the lines of expansion and regression analysed and marked out.
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