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Olot, Capital of the Catalonian Garrotxa region is equidistant from
Girona, Figueres and Ripoll. It's location has resulted in it developing
into an active, sparkling, commercial and industrial town, but it still
retains an very interesting Old Town.
It is known as the 'City of Volcanoes' and is surrounded by 38 cones.
Old Olot was mostly destroyed by an earthquake in 1474 but during the
18th century the town's textile industry spawned the world-famous Olot
School of Art. The School's most prominent figures were Josep Berga i
Box (1837 - 1914) and Joaquin Vayreda i Vila (1843 - 1894) and they went
on to found the Christian Art Workshops - Art Cristia - which still
produce church stationery today
South West of Olot's Placa Major, the skyline is dominated by the 18th
century Esglesia de Sant Esteve, built on the site of a tenth century
church. This was renovated after the earthquake and has a plain exterior
but an impressive baroque Verge del Roser wooden altar-piece.

The most important museum in Olot is the Museu Comarcial de la
Garrotxa, which is filled with many great landscapes and sculptures by
Casas, Clara and Blay.
The Garrotxa Volcanic Nature Reserve covers nearly 30,000 acres. The
largest volcano, The Croscat, rises beside the magical beech wood of
Fageda d'en Jorda that the poet Maragall described as a 'liberating
prison'. The woods in Autumn has a carpet of leaves, moss and red earth
complementing the yellows, greens and reds of the unfallen leaves which
are illuminated by the sun's rays. Thus the reference to feeling
liberated from the world. There is an excellent selection of walks in
the area - visit the Olot Tourist Office for details of the signposted
trails.
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