Ciutadella de Roses

[1] Construction of the present citadel was ordered by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor in 1543 at the same time as Castell de la Trinitat to protect it from pirate attacks and from the French.

The citadel's origins go back to the 4th century BC when Greeks from Massalia created a trading centre in the Gulf of Roses which they needed to defend from the Iberians.

After a short period of occupation by the Arabs, Roses came under the county of Empúries ruled by the Franks until the abolition of the feudal system in the 9th century.

[2] As Roses gained importance as both a trading centre and a strategic site, it increasingly needed to be defended from attacks by Muslim pirates and by the French who were fighting the Crown of Aragon.

As a result of an epidemic in 1588, the monks left their quarters in the Monastery of Roses which in 1592 was attached by papal order to Santa Maria de Amer.