Girona (75,269 inh.). Roman municipality, square, fort and, given its strategic location, compulsory area of passage. Crossed by four rivers, and until modern times, completely walled in, the city reached its greatest vigour in the late Middle Ages, when its premises were extended considerably with the incorporation of the suburbs of Sant Pere, Sant Feliu and el Mercadal, and with its extension to the North by Pedret and to the S along the routes of Barcelona and the coast. Market centre and village with a strong cultural tradition, it boasts one of the best monumental ensembles in Catalonia: the monastery of Sant Pere de Galligants, the church of Sant Nicolau, the Arab Baths, the cloister and tower of Carlemany and the cathedral, which are excellent examples of Romanesque style. The cathedral is famous for the dimensions of its large Gothic nave, the widest in all of medieval architecture. By the cathedral, a varied collection of artistic objects from different eras and styles is displayed in the Episcopal Palace (Museu d`Art de Girona)