Description
Facing the river, near the site where the old Pont de Barques floating bridge once stood (to collect the taxes on goods transported down the river Ebro), we can see the former headquarters of the Diputació del General (Provincial Council), an impressive, noble building that is large in scale. The Diputació building in Tortosa was the first delegation of the Generalitat (Catalan Government) built outside of Barcelona. Moreover, it is one of the most emblematic and perfectly aligned buildings that form the historic image of Tortosa’s riverfront.
This place used to be the crossing point of the River Ebro that led to the Mediterranean Arch, as well as being the easterly access point via roads from Valencia, the Port and Zaragoza into the city. It was also one of anchor points of the historic Pont de Barques floating bridge. It was built at the end of the 16th Century with stone from Flix, like so many other important buildings in Tortosa.
This was where the bacteriologist Dr. Jaume Ferran i Clua from Corbera had his laboratories in the 19th Century. An unorthodox and restless man, he was one of the leading scientific figures and applied researchers that lived in the city at the dawn of the 20th Century.
