GERONA

city, capital of Gerona provincia, in the Catalonia comunidad autnoma (autonomous community), northeastern Spain. It lies on the Oar River in the foothills of the Los ngeles Mountains, a short distance inland from a Mediterranean coastal resort area known as Costa Brava. The city comprises three zones: the interior (which includes the old quarter), the modern section, and a residential area. Because of its position on the coastal route from Gaul to the Iberian Peninsula, Gerona was a fortified site of the Iberians (whose ruined walls dating from the 4th and 5th centuries BC remain) and of the Romans, who knew the city as Oppidum Gerunda. It passed to the Visigoths and was conquered in 714 by the Muslims, who called it Jerunda. Retaken in 785 by the Franks under Charlemagne, the city was lost again in 793 and recaptured by Louis of Aquitaine in 797. It was later incorporated into the kingdom of Aragon. Gerona took an active part in the 17th18th-century wars between Spain and France and was besieged several times by both sides. Historic landmarks include the Gothic cathedral (begun c. 1292), with one of the world's widest (74 feet ) aisle-less naves. Gerona is the site of a Provincial Archaeological Museum and of a university founded by Alfonso V in 1446. Industrially, the city is important. Milk pasteurization, filtering, freezing, and preserving are based at the municipal central dairy; there are flour mills, distilleries, and biscuit, confectionery, and soft drink factories. Textile production is considerable. The city also has a paper mill, publishing house, several chemical factories, and soapworks. Heavy machinery is also manufactured. Pop. (1986 est.) 92,590. provincia, in the Catalonia comunidad autnoma (autonomous community), Spain. Gerona is the northeasternmost provincia of the comunidad autnoma and of Spain. It is bounded on the north by France and the Pyrenees, on the east and southeast by the Mediterranean Sea, and on the west by Barcelona and Lrida provincias. Formed in 1883 from parts of Catalonia (Catalunya), it has an area of 2,273 square miles (5,886 square km). Historically, the region acted as the guardian of the passes through the eastern end of the Pyrenees. The provincia's colder northern sector has a well-developed forest industry (oak, pine, chestnut); its eastern and southern fertile coastal plain of El Ampurdn, drained by the Ter, Muga (French Mouge), and Fluvi rivers, produces cotton; fishing also is economically important. Textile manufactures (linen and cotton) are concentrated in Gerona, the capital of the provincia, and the cork industry flourishes at San Felu de Guixols. Tourism is of increasing importance along the coast, which is known as the Costa Brava. Cape Creus, a marked feature of the coastline, is the most easterly point of the Iberian Peninsula. Pop. (1986 est.) 474,882.