Why go
The old town makes more sense when you understand its connection to the Abbey of Ripoll. The hilltop once held the abbot’s castle, while later houses spread beyond the walls. Following those layers explains the changing shape of Tossa, rather than reducing its history to a single fortress.
The full story
Tossa’s settlement history reaches back to prehistoric times, with Iberian and Roman occupation following later. Its medieval identity became closely linked to the Abbey of Ripoll after Count Miró of Barcelona ceded Tossa to the abbey in 966. The abbot granted a town charter in 1187. The walled settlement took shape around Mount Guardí. Church remains survive on the hill, and the highest point once held a castle associated with the abbot’s authority. A windmill later occupied that position before the lighthouse succeeded it. The sequence gives the summit several meanings: a place of defence and rule, then work, then navigation. Around 1500, houses began appearing outside the walls as the population grew. Expansion accelerated during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, establishing much of the town’s later street pattern. Mass tourism arrived in the 1950s. Walking between the enclosed Vila Vella and the surrounding town therefore crosses a visible boundary between the medieval settlement and its later growth.