Lloret, house by house: identity and memory of a hundred years of town

LloretFar from being an institutional history or a classic chronology, the book proposes a different perspective: recounting one hundred years of life through the lens of the place itself. The town center, its evolution, demographic changes, the microtoponymy house by house, and the memories associated with each location become the guiding thread of a work that aims to document how the town has changed—and how it has remained—over the course of a century. According to the two main authors, the project began with the idea of ​​creating a commemorative book for the centenary, but the sheer volume of material collected—interviews, oral recordings, historical photographs, and various documents—quickly made it clear that a single publication would be insufficient. Therefore, "from the outset, it was conceived as a two-volume work, the first of which focuses primarily on the urban space and its transformation."

One of the book's main focuses is demographic analysis. Lloret's population has grown from 1,172 inhabitants in 1924 to 1,619 in 2024, but this growth has not been linear. The 20th century saw a sharp population decline, followed by a notable increase in the last quarter of the century and accelerated growth during the 21st century. This data helps to understand the changes in the town's structure and the opening of new streets. The book also documents the evolution of the town center using maps, charts, and photographs, from the earliest recorded evidence to the present day. A key moment is 1933, with the opening of the Eixample district, marking the beginning of a new phase of urban development. One of the work's most unique contributions is its urban microtoponymy: the identification of houses, street by street, with their popular names, uses, and activities throughout the 20th century. Hair salons, wineries, shops, cafes, bakeries, tobacconists, inns, and associations are all part of this cartography of everyday life, which will be expanded in the second volume.

This work is complemented by Biel Bonnín's collection of 78 facade drawings, created between 1989 and 2014, which allow for a visual comparison of the changes in the town's architecture, as well as an extensive photographic compilation. In total, "nearly 700 photographs from 29 private collections have been digitized, thanks to the collaboration of many families and people from the town," explain Bibiloni and Ramis.

The book also incorporates current images from 2025, taken by Xisca Bonet and Biel Modino, which engage in dialogue with the historical photographs and reveal continuities and transformations. In many cases, these images allow for the identification of specific people, uses, and moments—a meticulous task that the authors highlight as one of the most complex aspects of the project.

Beyond the data and images,Little cry, house by houseIt is a reclamation of the site as an element of identity, a space for interaction, and a repository of memory. The streets are not merely backdrops, but lived-in spaces where, for a hundred years, social, economic, and community life has flourished. As the authors emphasize, the book aims to be a response to the concept of "non-place" and to highlight the places that define us as a community.

The project is the result of a collective effort that, in addition to Pau Bibiloni and Andreu Ramis Puiggros, has included the participation of Antoni Ginard, Joan Vanrell, Biel Bonnín, Maria Joana Mateu—responsible for digitizing the material—and many others who have contributed documents. These voices, gathered in more than sixty interviews, will be especially prominent in the second volume, which focuses on the activities, trades, and social life of the village.

With this first book, Lloret leaves a written and visual record of a century of transformations, but above all, he establishes a shared memory that connects generations—a work that not only looks at the past but also helps us understand the present and envision the future of the town.