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3.3. The Route
of Exile and Rediscovery
Life in the Muslim
communities of Catalonia suffered a sudden worsening at the end of the 15th century,
and especially, after 1526. On this date, the edict of forced conversion to Christianity
was promulgated and a policy of assimilation was started of which the Royal Colleges
of Tortosa are a good example; this was an institution dedicated to educating the
children of Muslim parents in the official religion. The failure of these initiatives
became evident in 1610, when the Catalan "Moriscos" (those forcibly converted)
and a large majority of the Valencians embarked in the ports of Els Alfacs and Vinarós
for Tunisia and other ports of the Maghrebian coast.
After the expulsion
of the Muslims converted to Christianity (Moriscos) a period of profound separation
with Islam began. The activity of the Ottoman fleet and their allies the Berber pirates
had an important effect on the coastal towns and villages, where, as a defensive
measure, towns were fortified, the most exposed were abandoned and a network of observation
towers was built.
This is the place and time in which a good part of the legends and traditions related
to the Muslim that have persevered in our country were formed. The "Moor",
the archetypal representation of "the other", was treated as a strange
being, a dangerous but a the same time captivating individual, surrounded in an aura
of exotic mystery.
This would be the tonic that would dominate relations with Islam until the beginning
of the 19th century. From this moment onwards, when Turkish power was no longer a
real menace, the door would be opened to an aesthetic rediscovery. The aesthetic
eclecticism of the last half of the 19th century opened up to the Islamic influence,
an element that is also present in some of the works of early modernism or Art Nouveau.
| The monuments to visit
are the following: |
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3.1. Tortosa
a. Royal Colleges
 
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3.2. Amposta
a. Castle
b. Museum of El Montsià
Complementary
option: Castles of Ulldecona and Sant Carles de la Ràpita
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3.3. Cambrils
a. Museum
b. Defensive tower
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3.4. Reus
a. Salvador Vilaseca District Museum
Complementary option: Tarragona (Diocesan Museum)
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3.5. Altafulla
a. Castle of Tamarit
b. Towers of La Mora, Mas de Pastoret and Mas de la Creu
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3.6. Sitges
a. Maricel Palace
b. L'Arboç: La Giralda mansion
Complementary option: Víctor Balaguer Museum in Vilanova i la Geltrú
and Calafell Castle
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3.7. Barcelona
a. Casa Vicenç
b. Palau Güell
c. Museum of Modern Art
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