The document welcomes participants to the Mediterranean Language Experience 2012 summer university program in Tarragona, Spain. It provides basic information about Spain, including its geography, history, culture, and traditions. Details are given about the host city of Tarragona, including its history as a former Roman capital and important archaeological sites. Information is also provided about lodging, the hosting university URV, and the diverse participant group from over 20 European countries.

2. MEDITERRANEAN LANGUAGE PARADISE
Summer university 2012
WELCOME!
It is a pleasure for me to write these words in order to welcome you to the
Mediterranean Language Experience 2012 from AEGEE Tarragona.
About just two years ago we started to do our first steps as AEGEE Tarragona. Those
were hard moments: lots of bureaucracy, without knowing really well to which direction
we were walking to… but after being working for several months, we succeeded
organizing our 1st Summer University.
Step by step it has gained more and more sense. Step by step we have formed an
awesome team and consequently our Summer University became in the 6th position in
the application ranking. We, AEGEE Tarragona, would like to thank you for giving us
the chance to carry out this project again.
All of you: the participants arrived from more than 20 European countries. You have
taken dozens of planes to get to Tarragona following the same dream: living the best
experience of your life. Awesome. Isn’t it?
We have designed for you a really complete and balanced program plenty of academic
content about the linguistic situation in Spain and social activities. We really hope it
match with your expectations.
Let’s, all together, make it LEGEN..…DARY!
Raül Arlàndez Reverté
SU Main Coordinator & AEGEE-Tarragona President
2

3. MEDITERRANEAN LANGUAGE PARADISE
Summer university 2012
INDEX
Welcome ........................................................................................................................... 2
Basic information of Spain ............................................................................................... 4
City information ............................................................................................................... 7
Lodging........................................................................................................................... 11
Universitat Rovira i Virgili ............................................................................................. 12
Participants ..................................................................................................................... 13
3

4. MEDITERRANEAN LANGUAGE PARADISE
Summer university 2012
BASIC INFORMATION OF SPAIN
Spain, officially the Kingdom of Spain, is a country and
member state of the European Union located in southwestern
Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Its mainland is bordered to
the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for a
small land boundary with the British Overseas Territory of
Spanish flag Gibraltar; to the north by France, Andorra, and the Bay of
Biscay; and to the northwest and west by the Atlantic Ocean and Portugal. Its territory
also includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands in the
Atlantic Ocean off the African coast, and two autonomous cities in North Africa, Ceuta
and Melilla, that border Morocco. Because of its location, the territory of Spain was
subject to many external influences since prehistoric times and through to its dawn as a
country. Spain emerged as a unified country in the 15th century, following the marriage
of the Catholic Monarchs and the completion of the reconquest, or Reconquista, of the
Iberian peninsula in 1492. Conversely, it has been an important source of influence to
other regions, chiefly during the Modern Era, when it became a global empire that has
left a legacy of over 500 million Spanish speakers today, making it the world's second
most spoken first language.
Spain has an outstanding multicultural heritage, and this can be seen in all areas of its
social life. There is a wide variety of different festive celebrations to be found all over
the country.
Spanish popular festivities and traditions
often have a clearly religious origin. This
can be seen in throughout all the
expressions of Spain's folklore, which
combine religious fervour with a variety
of pagan and festive commemorations.
The country's cultural diversity means the festive manifestations
of each region vary widely from north to south, and yet at the
same time these local customs exist alongside festivities which are celebrated all over
the national territory. The festive year in Spain starts with the traditional strokes of
4

5. MEDITERRANEAN LANGUAGE PARADISE
Summer university 2012
midnight in the Puerta del Sol square in Madrid, which attracts throngs of people from
the city itself and from all over Spain who welcome in the New Year with a grape
swallowed for each chime of the clock. One of the most important traditional
celebrations in Spain, however, is Easter week. This takes place at the end of March or
in April, and takes place amid vivid and extremely moving popular processions. The
greatest number of festive events takes place in the summer months, between June and
September, according to the geographic area, as they tend to
combine both religious and socio-economic aspects.
Throughout most of Spain's geography there are also a
range of different festivities in late summer (late August
and early September) ow ing to the historic tradition of
commemorating the harvest (and particularly the grape
harvest). What's more, each area in the country has its own specific festivities. Some of
the highlights are the Sanfermines bull-running festival in Pamplona, Sant Jordi and La
Mercé in Barcelona, the Fallas bonfire festival in Valencia, the festivity of the
Reconquest in Granada, the April Fair in Seville and San Isidro and the Verbena de La
Paloma in Madrid. But these are just a few examples of the thousands of festive
celebrations which are to be found the length and breadth of Spain all year round.
CATALONIA
Catalonia, in the northeastern Iberian peninsula, covers an
Catalan flag
area of 32 000 km2 and has 6 million inhabitants. History,
language and a distinct cultural, political and legal tradition
have shaped the personality of the country and the people.
Nowadays Catalonia is an autonomous community within
Spain with a government of its own known as the Generalitat.
Catalonia is a land of rich and varied scenery, with 580 km of Mediterranean coastline,
which offer perfect conditions for nautical sports, and mountain areas, as the Catalan
Pyrenees ideal for skiing, hiking, and adventure sports. A rich architectural heritage has
preserved in many fine cities steeped in character, with magnificent historic buildings,
among them Girona and Tarragona. Barcelona, Catalonia's capital, offering a lively
5

6. MEDITERRANEAN LANGUAGE PARADISE
Summer university 2012
cultural life and good shopping, is one of the most important ports on the
Mediterranean.
Catalonia's own language is Catalan, a Romance language that has co-official status
alongside Castilian (Spanish). Catalonia's artistic heritage is a permanent reminder of
the creativity of the people. Examples are Empúries, the Roman monuments in
Tarragona, the civil and religious works of Gothic art, the great painters of the 19th
century, such as Marià Fortuny, and the world-famous Catalan artists of the 20th century
as Miró and Dalí.
Catalonia festivals offer spectacular demonstrations of traditional folklore:
"Dances" – Dancing
Town squares burst into life with displays of vibrant Catalan dancing: the Ball dels
Gegants (the Dance of the Giants) with twelve foot models, the Ball de Gitanes (Gypsy
Dance), the Sardanes and Ball de Bastons (Stick Dance).
"Castellers" - Human Castles
Originating from the region of Tarragona, south of Barcelona, is the famous Human
Castle tradition. Hundreds of people balance on each other’s shoulders to create great
trembling towers up to nine storeys high, accompanied by the traditional Catalan
musicians “Grallers.”
"Correfocs" - Devils & Fire Throwing
The Correfoc (Fire Run) or Devil’s Dance (Ball de Diables) is one of the most stunning
elements of Catalan festivals. Devil figures, stemming from Pagan legends, run through
dusk darkened streets brandishing sparking forks amidst flames and fireworks.
"Cercaviles" - Folkloric Processions
Fantastical dragons, 12 foot giants, enormous headed warfs, magical fire dancers and
lively musicians form vibrant processions that wind their streets.
All these factors, together with a plentiful accommodation and excellent services and
facilities, make Catalonia one of Europe's leading tourist regions. Welcome to
Catalonia!
6

7. MEDITERRANEAN LANGUAGE PARADISE
Summer university 2012
CITY INFORMATION
Tarragona is a city located in the south of Catalonia on the north-east of Spain, by the
Mediterranean. It is the capital of the Spanish province of the same name and the capital
of the Catalan comarca Tarragonès. In the medieval and modern times it was the capital
of the Vegueria of Tarragona. As of the 2009 census, the city had a population of
155,323, and the population of the entire metropolitan area was estimated to be 675,921.
History
One Catalonian legend holds it was named for Tarraho, eldest son of Tubal in c. 2407
BC; another (derived from Strabo and Megasthenes) attributes the name to 'Tearcon the
Ethiopian', a 7th century BC pharaoh who supposedly campaigned in Spain.
7

8. MEDITERRANEAN LANGUAGE PARADISE
Summer university 2012
In Roman times, the city was named Tarraco and was capital of the province of
Hispania Tarraconensis (after being capital of Hispania Citerior in the Republican era).
The Roman colony had the full name of
Colonia Iulia Urbs Triumphalis Tarraco.
The city may have begun as an Iberic
town called Kesse or Kosse, named for
the Iberic tribe of the region, the
Cosetans, though the identification of
Tarragona with Kesse is not certain.
William Smith suggests that the city was probably founded by the Phoenicians, who
called it 'Tarchon, which, according to Samuel Bochart, means a citadel. This name was
probably derived from its situation on a high rock, between 700 and 800 feet above the
sea; whence we find it characterised as arce potens Tarraco. It was seated on the river
Sulcis or Tulcis (modern Francolí), on a bay of the Mare Internum (Mediterranean),
between the Pyrenees and the river Iberus (modern Ebro).
Tarraco lies on the main road along the south-eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It
was fortified and much enlarged by the brothers Publius and Gnaeus Scipio, who
converted it into a fortress and arsenal
against the Carthagenians. Subsequently it
became the capital of the province and
conventus juridicus.
Augustus wintered at Tarraco after his
Cantabrian campaign, and bestowed many
marks of honour on the city, among which
were its honorary titles of Colonia Victrix
Togata and Colonia Julia Victrix Tarraconensis. The city also minted coins. According
to Mela it was the richest town on that coast, and Strabo represents its population as
equal to that of Carthago Nova (modern Cartagena). Its fertile plain and sunny shores
are celebrated by Martial and other poets; and its neighbourhood is described as
producing good wine and flax.
8

9. MEDITERRANEAN LANGUAGE PARADISE
Summer university 2012
Ancient remains
The Roman ruins of Tarraco have been designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Part of the bases of large Cyclopean walls near the Cuartel de Pilatos are thought to pre-
date the Romans. The building just mentioned, a prison in the 19th century, is said to
have been the palace of Augustus. The 2nd century amphitheatre, near the sea-shore,
was extensively used as a quarry after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, and but
few vestiges of it now remain. A circus, c. 450 m long, was built over in the area now
called Plaça de la Font, though portions of it are still to be traced. Throughout the town
Latin, and even apparently Phoenician, inscriptions on the stones of the houses mark the
material used for buildings in the town.
Two ancient monuments, at some little distance from the town,
have, however, fared rather better. The first of these is the
Aqüeducte de les Ferreres, which spans a valley about 4 km
north of the city. It is 217m in length, and the lofti est arches,
of which there are two tiers, are 26 m high. There is a
monument about 6 km along the coast road east of the city,
commonly called the Tower of the Scipios; but there is no
authority for assuming that they were buried here.
Other Roman buildings include:
• the walls, with two gates: Portal del Roser and the Portal de Sant Antoni.
• the capitol, or citadel
• the Forum
• the palace of Augustus, called the house of Pilate
• the circus or amphitheatre
• the so-called tower, or sepulchre, of the Scipios
• arch of Sura, or of Bara
• the Aurelian Way.
9

10. MEDITERRANEAN LANGUAGE PARADISE
Summer university 2012
The city is also home to the National Archaeological Museum of Tarragona.
Religious buildings
• the Cathedral, dating to the 12th-13th centuries, combining Romanesque and
Gothic architectural elements.
• the convent of the Poor Clares, near the walls
• The convent of Santa Teresa
• The church of the Capuchins, the parish church of the port
• The former convent of San Francisco
• The Jesuit college was turned into barracks, their church, however, has been
restored to them
• The convent of the Dominicans, now the town hall
• The archiepiscopal palace, situated on the site of the ancient capitol, one tower
of which still remains. It was rebuilt in the 19th century.
• Near the sea, in the Roman amphitheatre, are the remains of a church called
Santa María del Milagro.
10

11. MEDITERRANEAN LANGUAGE PARADISE
Summer university 2012
LODGING
. RESIDÈNCIA CASA NOSTRA
Adress: Carrer d'Higini Anglès, 1 (43001 Tarragona)
Telephone: (0034) 977245462
From Plaça Imperial Tarraco or Tarragona Bus Station. (2 minutes)
From the Train Station (10-15 minutes)
PLACES NEAR RESIDENCE
11

12. MEDITERRANEAN LANGUAGE PARADISE
Summer university 2012
The URV was created in 1991 by the Parliament of Catalonia from the already existing
university faculties and schools. In this way the Tarragona University of the 16th
century was restored. From the very first day its aim has been very clear: to place
knowledge at the service of society so as to contribute to the social and economic
development of its environment, which has gradually transformed over time.
Social and cultural changes have opened the doors to a new framework in which our
students and future workers are obliged to interact in Europe. At the URV we train
professionals under the precepts of European harmonization, a key factor for opening
the doors to a world of work without frontiers. And we do so by providing 52
programmes of study in a wide variety of knowledge areas for over 12,000 students.
The data show that the URV is not only one of the leading universities in Catalonia but
also one of the leading universities in the European area for the quality of its teaching,
its commitment to continuous training and the excellence of its research, development
and innovation
The URV has twelve centres of its own and two associates which between them teach
about fifty courses, at both first and second cycle level. They also offer postgraduate
diplomas, doctorates and masters’ degrees. All this is made possible by the work done
by the technical and university faculties and schools. It is they who organise the courses
and academic, administrative and management processes which ensure that our students
receive top-quality training, without forgetting the work done by more than twenty
departments. These make up the different courses – depending on the area of knowledge
to which they belong – and are responsible for organising the activities of the teaching
and research community.
12

13. MEDITERRANEAN LANGUAGE PARADISE
Summer university 2012
13