THE ORIGIN OF COSTA BRAVA NAME

In the early 20th century, Catalan intellectual circles were eager to baptise the western part of Catalonia’s coast with a unique name, in line with the style that had been adopted in France with the Côte d'Azur name for the coastal area near Nice.

A few writers from this period made several attempts to come up with a name that would be widely accepted: “Costa Serena”, “Costa del Coral”, “Costa de Levante”, “Costa Ampurdanesa”, etc., however none of them achieved their goal.

On the 12th of September 1908 in the Barcelona newspaper called “La Veu de Catalunya” (“The Voice of Catalonia”), the famous author and politician Ferran Agulló published an article in which he glowingly praised this coastal region:

Oh! Our wild coast, unparalleled in the world! It is wild (“brava”), cheerful, fantastic and sweet, carved by stormy waves like a high relief sculpture and embroidered with kisses of bonanza with the exquisite patience of a nun for whom hours, days and years have no timely value

The innovative description of “wild” for the Girona coast was generally well received however this name would have surely shared the same fate as the previously failed naming attempts if it were not for an event that took place a few months later.

The Centre Excursionista de Catalunya (Catalonia Hiking Centre), which was a very popular and esteemed institution, scheduled a boat trip from Barcelona to diverse coastal towns in the area with a “recreational, scientific and educational purpose”. In the publicity and prior announcements to register the participants, it was featured as “A trip to the Catalan Costa Brava”.

The excursion lasted 3 days: from the 19th to the 21st of June 1909 in visits to towns where hundreds of travellers were greeted by the local authorities and celebrated welcome festivities. These events were timely published throughout all Catalonia with headlines such as “A toast to Costa Brava”, “Excursion to the Catalan Costa Brava” or “Excursion to Ampurias and the Catalan Costa Brava”.

This trip was undoubtedly what definitively stimulated the spread of the Costa Brava name for the 215 km coast line that extends from Blanes up to the French border.

The quick and successful acceptance of this popular name was also due to the steep relief of its cliffs, with their resilient vegetation and even the human character, which frequently had to face powerful sea storms which are faithfully reflected in the word “brava” which is equivalent to brave, strong and heroic.
Today, Costa Brava has not only become the name that defines the Girona coast, but it is also a tourist trademark that is internationally recognised, acclaimed and cherished.