Requesens Castle
During the 12th century, conflicts arose due to the alliance between the Rocabertí, viscounts of Perelada, and the Counts of Roussillon, making Requesens Castle a significant factor in these disputes.
To pacify the region, the new lord of Roussillon, King Alfonso II, renounced his rights to Requesens in favour of the Count of Ampurias, thereby securing full control.
It is assumed, though not proven, that the Requesens family of merchants and citizens, later ennobled as Counts of Palamós, documented in Tarragona from 1272 and who played significant roles in Catalonia's history during the 15th and 16th centuries, descended from these castle lords.
During the crusade against the Crown of Aragon, the castle and its prominent lord, the Count of Ampurias, faced an invasion, as recorded by Bernat Desclot in his Chronicle.
However, this will was successfully invoked by Viscount Dalmau VIII of Rocabertí to obtain from the new Trastámara kings some assets in the territory of the former County of Ampurias, including Requesens Castle (1418), by donation from Alfonso the Magnanimous.
Between 1893 and 1899, the castle was entirely rebuilt by its owners, the last Counts of Perelada residing in the area, Tomás de Rocabertí-Boixadors Dameto and Verí, and his sister Juana-Adelaida.
The reconstruction was directed by master builder Alexandre Comalat, who restored the impressive remains of the medieval building with the same layout and granite stone from the mountain, making it difficult to distinguish the original parts from the rebuilt sections.
The noble or upper enclosure includes various rooms (with flooring decorated with the heraldic rock of the Rocabertí, partially preserved), the great hall (currently closed), with a stone fireplace and windows with theatrical shutters, and a round watchtower (also inaccessible), which is the highest point of the monument.
Although the castle remains uninhabited, and its 19th-century interior is completely dismantled and has recently suffered vandalism that has forced the closure of some upper grounds for safety reasons, visits are permitted.
Count Tomás de Rocabertí's photographs from 1886 are among the earliest taken in Alto Ampurdán and, along with those preserved by Comalat, are the sole records of the building's state before reconstruction.
A legend recounts that during a furious siege of the castle, when the defenders were attempting to force a surrender through starvation, they offered their adversaries a lavish feast with fresh fish from an underground river flowing beneath the Pyrenees into Cap de Creus.
It is also said that a large underground corridor connects the castle with the northern slope of the Albera mountain range, with the entrance still visible in the lower parts of the fortress, although it may be obstructed.
