Glory and disaster in the Pedró de Pals

Those of us from Pals, who are already a few years old, have had the enormous pleasure of being able to “play” at Mount Aspre, since 1978, called Josep Pla Lookout. A jewel for many years that filled us with pride, where we invited our friends from other lands. Very surprised, they told us that «This is a marvel, impossible to find anywhere else.«.

Josep Pla Lookout

We mentioned the descriptions of the great writer Josep Pla and our own lived stories. We explained to them that the landscape varied depending on the time of year. That the plain changed color, depending on whether the rice fields were plowed, full of water, newly planted or with rice in the ear.

We stood in the middle of the hill, next to the lledoneros. We showed them the villages of the Empordanet that could be seen. The castle of Begur, the Masos de Pals, l'Estartit, the Medes Islands, Torroella, Montgrí, the Castle of Santa Caterina, Ullà, Fontclara, Fontanilles, Sant Julià and Sant Feliu de Boada, Palau-Sator, Torrentí, Torrent...

I remember that on very clear days you could see as far as Cap de Creus and, of course, the Pyrenees. It was a guaranteed success to take our friends to visit El Pedró. Of course we mentioned to them the words of Pla:

Dr Jaume Pi i Figueras

If we add, to the viewpoint, the careful recovery of the Vila de Pals, promoted by the Dr Jaume Pi i Figueras, with the support of the mayor of the time and subsidies from the Girona Provincial Council, we villagers had a blast walking there with our friends from all over.

Soon, the awards arrived... In 1949 he was considered Bicycle Chain Inner (Cultural Asset of National Interest). In 1973, National Prize of Fine Arts.In 1980, National Prize for Fine Arts and Tourism. In 1986, the Generalitat granted him the Medal of Honour for Tourism of Catalonia.

In all these awards, mention is made of everything we have explained: the restoration of the town, the location, the charm and, above all, the Mirador, the icing on the cake that is Pals, praised, as we have said, by Pla and which bears his name.

Other villages in the Empordanet were restored… Peratallada and Monells among many, but there was one feature that made Pals the most prized village: the Josep Pla viewpoint, the Pedró.

But, there is no harm in lasting 100 years or there is little joy in the poor man's house.

The Rough Mountain

At a certain point, the Mount Aspre changes hands and what some of us feared begins. The urbanization of Mont Aspre begins. This is done without any management plan or planning to preserve it, without taking into account its cultural value, nor the general interest of the villagers and visitors. And here the disaster begins.

First, the Pi family acquired the land to the east, and some of us began to worry, thinking that conflicts were approaching.

Faced with our fears, the City Council calmed us down, saying that it would never happen, that the pine trees would not be allowed to act as a screen wall. They said that there was an agreement, never written, to preserve our intangible heritage and the panoramic views.

Unfulfilled Agreements

In fact, it seems that this was the case at the beginning, and the council was in charge of pruning the pines to preserve the views. But, the MEN-PEOPLE-GENTLEMEN who loved the town died. From that moment on, other mayors and other owners arrived, despite being from the same family. Then, the agreements, which I have no doubt existed, between honorable people, and with love for Pals, disappeared.

To the west, the land was acquired by a new owner, no longer with an agreement. To the north, there was the only owner who took care that his pine trees did not cause any trouble, until he realized that he was the only one of the 3 neighbors who carefully pruned the pines, year after year, for the good of Pals and its visitors.

Why was it allowed? Who knows, carelessness, cronyism, favors... Whatever it is, or whose fault it is, we who pay for it, we the villagers, are ashamed. Also, in return, those who visit us, because they feel cheated.

Testimonials

And why are we ashamed? Because those of us who go to the viewpoint, when listening to visitors, we have a lot of it:

«Is this the grand view? What a joke.?»

And those who had already visited it years ago say:

«Years ago we saw it and it was a spectacle; today, it's a real shame.«.

Don't believe it? Go and listen...

In a colloquium, following a plenary session, a councillor from Pals told me that, if I wanted to see it as it was before, I should go up to the Tower of the Hours, to which I replied: “I've already spoken to your mum, who uses a wheelchair, and we'll both go up.”.

Today, the Pedró, only serves to see airplanes and thanks to some management, a part of the Medes Islands, since some pines have been pruned. But the view from the Mirador is not only of the Medes, but of what we have mentioned… The different villages, the beautiful unrepeatable landscape and the rice fields and their colors. This is what we correspond to and want, any other solution is insufficient.

To achieve this goal, leadership and courage are necessary, something today's leaders lack. We villagers know those from Mont Aspre, El Pedró or the Josep Pla Lookout, and we already know who they are. But none of them seems to care about the village at all; indeed, I'm certain that if they could, they'd ban us from accessing it so they could have privacy.

We make a suggestion to our politicians, remove the stone where Mirador Josep Pla is located, remove all references to El Pedró. Please, have a little dignity and do not deceive villagers or visitors. Ask, to whomever is appropriate, to withdraw all the awards obtained.

Regulation

And when they find a way to do it, they will look the other way and be able to do it. Also with the powers that be who are putting spokes in the wheels in order to prevent or delay the execution of a new Pals General Planning Scheme, which ensures the conservation of Pals' heritage and landscape values, and thus cancels the current Plan which, let's remember, is from 1986 and already stinks.

Demand prudent management of urban planning in Pals

We need your support to preserve the heritage and landscape values of Pals.

If this information has been forwarded to you and you like it, subscribe here.

We thank Pere Bofill for writing this article.

Article creation date: 8/4/2021.