Isla de Toralla
Island in Vigo, Galicia, Spain
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Isla de Toralla (Galician: Illa de Toralla) is a small island off the south coast of the Ría de Vigo in Galicia, Spain. It lies about 400 metres from Vao beach and is connected to the mainland by a bridge built in the 1960s.[1] The island has a surface area of 10.6 hectares and had 159 residents in 2023.[2]
Isla de Toralla | |
|---|---|
Island | |
Toralla seen from the mainland | |
 Interactive map of Isla de Toralla | |
| Coordinates: 42°12′10″N 8°47′50″W | |
| Location | Ría de Vigo, Galicia, Spain |
| Area | |
| • Total | 0.106 km2 (0.041 sq mi) |
History
Archaeological remains on the island include an Iron Age castro on a promontory in the south-west, occupied from at least the 5th century BC until the turn of the era.[3] A Roman cemetery on the island served a nearby Roman villa located between the beaches of Vao and Canido on the mainland.[1]
During the Middle Ages the island belonged to the Diocese of Tui. It passed through several private owners from the 19th century. In 1910 Martín de Echegaray, who had made his fortune in Argentina, purchased it. His heirs sold it in 1965 to José Manuel Kowalski Fernández and Mercedes Peyrona Díez de Güemes. That year, Kowalski and the Vázquez Lorenzo brothers formed Toralla S.A., which built the bridge and developed the island as a private residential estate.[1]
Development
The development consists of about 30 single-family houses and a 21-storey, 70-metre residential tower containing 136 apartments, built in the 1970s.[1] The island's roads are privately maintained, and vehicle access is restricted to residents.[2] Pedestrian access to the island's beaches was permitted after the bridge concession was revised in 1990.[4]
Marine research
The University of Vigo's Toralla Marine Science Station (ECIMAT), inaugurated in 2006, occupies the southern tip of the island. It is a partner facility of the European Marine Biological Resource Centre and provides laboratories and mesocosm infrastructure for coastal and marine research in the Ría de Vigo upwelling system.[5][6]
