Fonteta lies at the foot of the Les Gavarres massif, practically at the entrance to its forests and to the right of the stream that gives the village its name. The compact village center, the fortified church of Santa Maria and the trails into the protected Les Gavarres area offer different ways to spend your time: architecture and history in the village, hiking destinations in the massif, and a regional cycling-tourism stage. If you are considering Fonteta as a travel destination, you can first choose between visiting the village, hiking and following a cycling route. Route 4 gives specific details about distance, elevation gain and duration.

Village center and architectural history

The compact village center is clustered around the parish church of Santa Maria, along narrow streets. Some streets still retain their old paving, giving Fonteta a rural, typically Empordanese character. The houses in the village center date from the 16th and 17th centuries. Their features include vaulted ground floors, wooden-beamed ceilings on the upper floors, and inscribed and dated lintels. This invites you to look beyond the narrow streetscape and notice details on the houses.

The present-day church of Santa Maria de Fonteta preserves a Romanesque nave from the 11th century and is fortified. Its bell tower dates from 1755. These details refer to different parts of the building: the nave and the tower each add their own historical dates to a walk around the village.

Older connections are also part of the village’s history. Fonteta is mentioned in 844 as a rural settlement that Charlemagne the Bald gave to the Bishop of Girona. The old Camí Ral passed through Fonteta and connected La Bisbal with the coast via the former hamlet of Fitor. It adds a historic link between these named places to the village’s architectural history.

The lime kilns are another testament to the region’s past: there were once more than twenty in the areas of Fonteta and Sant Climent de Peralta. Examples that have survived are still visible, but are in poor condition. Thus, alongside the church and houses, visible but deteriorated evidence of the area’s former lime production also forms part of its character.

Hiking and cycling in Les Gavarres

Trails into the forests and mountains of the protected Les Gavarres area start in Fonteta. Route 4: Fonteta leads into the massif and passes the Romanesque church of Fitor and the dolmens of Serra d’en Cals. This PR route is listed as 17.46 kilometers long, with an elevation gain of 362 meters and a stated duration of 4 hours and 45 minutes. It starts at the parking area opposite El recuit de Fonteta. Before setting out, check trail conditions and parking availability locally.

Another hiking connection is the PR-C trail from Fonteta to Fitor, which is part of the Baix Empordà trail network. The cycling-tourism stage 11 is different: it runs from La Bisbal d’Empordà through Fonteta, Vulpellac and Canapost to Peratallada. When choosing between these options, the main considerations are the activity and the time required: a duration is given for Route 4, while the PR-C connection to Fitor is described as a hiking trail and stage 11 as a cycling route.

Festivals, crafts and local products

Fonteta’s Festa Major includes a botifarra event, children’s activities and concerts on Saturday. Sunday’s program includes a mass, a traditional stick dance, a sardana performance and a concert. The events may vary from one edition to another; if the festival is important to your trip, check the dates for the specific edition.

Crafts and local product designations also give Fonteta a distinctive cultural identity. Artisan Josep Matés Porcel makes traditional and contemporary tableware from black clay in Fonteta, without glaze or varnish. If you are planning to visit the workshop, check in advance whether visits are possible. Recuit de Fonteta is a registered brand bearing the “Producte de l’Empordà” quality designation awarded by the Consell Comarcal del Baix Empordà.

For the broader travel overview: Forallac.