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Casa Païral welcomes you to the heart of Collioure, the ideal starting point to discover the historical sites surrounding our hotel. Among them, the memory of the poet Antonio Machado holds a special place in the soul of our village. Machado's name echoes through our streets as one of the most moving testimonies of 20th-century history, making Collioure an essential stop for lovers of poetry and history.
Antonio Machado is one of Spain's greatest poets and a central figure in European literature. Born in Seville in 1875, he was the most famous member of the Generation of '98, a group of intellectuals who sought to redefine Spanish identity. More than just a man of letters, he was a profound humanist, a devoted French teacher, and a tireless defender of freedom.
His poetic work is characterized by an apparent simplicity that conceals immense depth. He sang of the arid landscapes of Castile, the spiritual quest for time, and the commitment to human dignity. Today, his texts such as "Fields of Castile" are studied worldwide. Machado believed in a poetry capable of reaching the heart of the people, preferring the truth of feeling over the artifices of rhetoric.
Antonio Machado's life was tragically disrupted by the Spanish Civil War. A convinced Republican, he used his writing to serve democratic values. However, in January 1939, faced with the irreversible advance of Francoist troops, he had no choice but to take the road to exile. This marked the beginning of the Retirada, when nearly 500,000 Spaniards crossed the French border in extreme conditions.
He was a physically broken man, exhausted by cold and grief, when he crossed the Pyrenees. Accompanied by his elderly mother and his brother José, he arrived at the Collioure train station in heavy rain on January 22, 1939. This forced journey would be his last. By stopping in our small Mediterranean port, Machado turned Collioure into a worldwide symbol of the struggle against oppression and the often tragic fate of political exiles.
Upon arrival, Antonio Machado found refuge at the Quintana Hotel, a modest boarding house located just steps from the Notre-Dame-des-Anges church. During his short stay, the poet's dignity and discretion left a mark on the local residents. Weakened by deprivation and the pain of exile, he passed away on February 22, 1939, barely a month after arriving in Collioure.
His mother, Ana Ruiz, passed away just three days after him, illustrating the family tragedy of this exodus. Since that day, Machado and Collioure have been forever linked. The poet rests in the village cemetery in a grave that has become a site of pilgrimage for thousands of visitors. There is a unique mailbox where admirers daily leave letters, handwritten poems, and flowers. This grave has become a living monument to brotherhood and to Catalan and Spanish cultural memory.
During your stay at Casa Païral, you can easily set out in the poet's footsteps. A visit to the Collioure cemetery is a must. It is a place of great sobriety, located near the center, where one feels all the emotion of the messages left by anonymous people from all over the world. It is one of the most visited sites in the village, testifying to the universal impact of his verses.
You can also pass by the former Quintana boarding house, where a commemorative plaque marks his stay. Strolling along the harbor at the foot of the Royal Castle, you will surely think of his last verse, scribbled on a piece of paper found in his coat pocket after his death: "Estos días azules y este sol de la infancia" (These blue days and this sun of childhood). This verse has become inseparable from the unique light that bathes our town.
The poet's memory is actively carried by the Antonio Machado Foundation, located in the heart of Collioure. This institution performs valuable work to promote Machado's work and the values of peace he defended. It manages historical archives and organizes international poetry prizes every year, ensuring the transmission of this legacy to new generations.
The highlight of this memory takes place every year around February 22nd. An official commemoration brings together many poets, writers, and citizens from Europe and Spain to celebrate the anniversary of his death. If you are staying at Casa Païral during this period, you can witness these moments of reflection and cultural sharing. To facilitate your movements, our establishment provides a private paid parking lot, allowing you to explore all these memorial sites on foot with total peace of mind.
