Circles of growth

It would be difficult to distinguish this newer street in Perpignan from hundreds of others in Mediterranean Europe, though the small cars parked tightly bumper to bumper are an obvious sign this is not North America. The street is a few blocks from the medieval town centre.

Although the area had been settled prior to Roman occupation, it was not documented as a town until AD 927.  At that time it was called villa Perpiniarum. It was among the first cities of Europe to be granted a Charter of Liberties, in 1197.

Perpignan became part of the Kingdom of Aragon that was carved out ~ 1000 AD to 1713.  Wikipedia's discussion of the Kings and Queens of Aragon has been updated at some point since this blog was first published in 2011. 

Although Perpignan is in France, this region is at the northeast reach of the Iberian peninsula. Iberia, and the nearby Mediterranean islands, has been occupied by churning powers and shifting cultures over thousands upon thousands of years. In the biased opinion of the author, it is one of the most fascinating areas of the world. Neanderthal settlements preceded those of Homo sapiens here, and recent finds of their cave art dating to approximately 65,000 years ago indicates cultural advancement that up to recently has been dismissed. Some 44,000 years ago they began to be confronted with migrating Homo sapiens who, over time, intermingled and replaced them. The scientific investigations as to what happened -- under the impacts of climate change, migrations of Homo sapiens from Africa across the Strait of Gibraltar, or other parts of Europe -- keep many people busy in productive and creative activity. There is always one more layer to discover.