Tortosa

The Color Master Plan and Facade Ordinance for the Historic District of Tortosa was commissioned by the City Council through the Municipal Urban Management Office (GUMSA). Its purpose was to complement both the Special Heritage Plan then under development and the recommendations issued by the Department of Culture of the Government of Catalonia for a site officially declared a Cultural Asset of National Interest (BCIN).

After winning the public tender, the drafting process spanned a full year. The project involved close collaboration with local historians and technical experts, as well as research visits to restoration schools and historical stone quarries. As has occurred in many other historic cities, our study uncovered rich decorative schemes and polychromies beneath superimposed wall coatings. Previously unknown to most of Tortosa’s residents, these discoveries provided invaluable new data for the broader understanding of a city with such an exceptionally wealthy architectural heritage.