ABSTRACT
In spite of the importance of the Mediterranean in the formation and shaping of the plural identities that define Spain, modern and contemporary Spanish travel writers have not engaged actively with the Mediterranean. As a native of a Mediterranean coastal town himself, the creative fiction and the travel writing of Rafael Chirbes have engaged closely the landscape and people of the Mediterranean, a physical and geographical space that seems to constantly feed and stimulate his imagination as a writer. Writing about all the matters allows Chirbes to achieve a deeper understanding of the places he visits but also to redefine his sense of self, his own sense of individual and public identity. Mediterraneos brings together, Chirbes's fascination with the Mediterranean as the repository of his personal and public identity and, his critical comments on the destruction of some of the values that the region has historically treasured.
