Dios os bendiga​

 The story of Can Lliure
 

This is what we know, or think we know, so far.

Can Lliure was built in stages. At the heart is a small hollow quarried into

the rock, with a shelf carved into its east wall.  This seems likely to have

been a shepherd’s refuge, but we have met a local historian who believes it

is a pre-Christian Jewish altar. He takes the Da Vinci Code seriously, so

we will reserve judgement. The two rooms around this cave also seem older

than the rest.

The bulk of the house, built around and on top of these two rooms is dated

1722 by an inscription over the front door.  The ground floor would have

been given over to agricultural storage, and there is in one corner a floor to

ceiling stone cylinder, about a meter diameter, which stored olive oil. The

middle floor was kitchen and communal spaces and the top floor presumably for sleeping.


Some structures in the grounds support a long history. There is a hidden man made cave dug into rock about 100 yards from the house. The vendor told us it was a “Jew hole”, where Jews hid from theInquisition. If true that would date back to the early sixteenth century. Certainly there was large Jewish community around here.


A few yards from that is another opening dug into the hillside,
big enough to climb into, and which yields a steady trickle of water. 
We can’t tell how far back it goes- it doesn't invite exploration- but the
architect refers to it as a water mine.

Can Lliure enjoys a commanding view over the Girona plain, and during

the peninsular wars the French forces laying siege to the city

headquartered themselves here.

An occasional stream defines one side of the land. This was controlled by a dam (now silted up) at the top end, and by some impressive drystone walling, up to 15ft high, along some of its length.

The land, which is very hilly, was at some point carefully terraced and

planted with olives and mixed vegetables. There was some livestock.

The farm probably supplied the monastery of Sant Daniel. All of the

terracing and walls are now completely overgrown. The many olive trees

have not been cared for in decades and no longer fruit. The stream,

and most of the terraces are inaccessible.  The building has no plumbing,

and no electricity: I think it must be at least sixty years since anyone lived

here.