1.5 Euro Castle of Peralada

Reverse

On the outside part of the the reverse (common to all the coins), allegory of the structure of the castles.

Script: Latin

Lettering:
CASTILLOS DEL MUNDO
1,5 EURO
M

Translation: Castles of the World

Edge

Plain

Comment

Peralada Castle: The location of the present-day Peralada Castle is different from that of the original castle, originally in the northern part of the town of Perelada, near the main church. This earlier castle, whose lord was Dalmau de Rocabertí, Viscount of Perelada, was destroyed in the 13th century during the invasion of Empordà by the French under Philip III, the Bold, in the account given by the famous chronicler of the time, Ramon Muntaner, a native of this municipality in the province of Girona.
Not only was the castle destroyed, set on fire by its lord as he fled to prevent such an important bastion from being conquered by the French, but also a large part of the town. The new, much larger castle was rebuilt in a different location in the 14th century, outside the town’s walls on the banks of the River Llobregat d’Empordà, now surrounded by a beautiful six-hectare garden.
The foundations of this fortified palace are more characteristic of a stately residence than of a castle intended for military defence, as exemplified by its Gothic cloister, which is more in keeping with an aristocratic residence, and its Renaissance façade, designed by the architect Grant, is more in the style of a French château. The fortified palace of Peralada was of little military importance in later centuries.
The Perelada line of the Rocabertí family died out at the turn of the 20th century, and the castle’s decline was halted when it was purchased in 1923 by the politician, businessman and patron of the arts Miquel Mateu i Pla (later mayor of Barcelona), who enriched the building even more. He added new treasures to its collections of art and historical artefacts (paintings– by José Ribera, Jacomart, Luca Giordano and Guido Reni – ceramics, sculpture, an extraordinary library of more than 25,000 volumes, tapestries and a magnificent glass collection), an extensive garden with rose gardens and a lake. All these artistic treasures can be admired in the Perelada Castle Museum, housed in an adjoining building, next to the Convent of El Carme.
The Mateu family are still the owners of the castle, so it is not possible to visit it in its entirety, as part of it operates as a winery and another part as a casino, which opened in 1979. The magnificent gardens surrounding this beautiful and stately building, located in the municipality of the same name in the district of Alt Empordà, in Catalonia, remain open in the summer months for Castell de Peralada International Music Festival, which has been held there since 1987.

Interesting fact

Price

Date	Mintage	VG	F	VF	XF	AU	UNC
2023 M	5000	-	-	-	-	-	-

Values in the table are based on evaluations by sales realized on Internet platforms. They serve as an indication only for 1.5 Euro (Castle of Peralada) 2023 coin.