Maria Gutiérrez García has won the third Instagram competition focusing on the dry stone heritage of Roses, in the Empordà region. Her winning photograph, selected from 104 entries, earned her a €300 prize.
The competition highlighted various dry stone constructions, including huts and walls, all built using traditional techniques. A jury chose 10 finalists from the eligible photographs before selecting Gutiérrez's image as the winner.
Gutiérrez explained that her photograph aims to show dry stone as "the living proof that humans and nature can coexist without destruction, like a perfect symbiosis that lasts over time." The image uses perspectives, clouds, and shadows to guide the viewer's eye to a dry stone hut that blends into its natural surroundings, appearing static and unchanged by time.
Other finalists in the competition included Adolfo Martin Maroto, Antoni Muñoz Ruiz, María José Nahim Arévalo, Toni Blanch Pérez, José Vicente Miranda Monroy, and Gemma Riu. Some finalists had more than one photograph selected.
The Winning Dry Stone Hut
The dry stone structure featured in Gutiérrez's photograph, identified by Wikipedra code 30740, is an elevated hut attached to an embankment. It has a square floor plan and faces south. The roof is made of wooden beams topped with stone slabs, and the entrance has a flat lintel.
This particular hut is currently in excellent condition due to restoration work carried out in April 2025. This project involved clearing debris from the interior and repairing the roof. The hut stands in an olive grove on the Empordà plain, within the municipality of Roses.
It represents traditional architecture linked to agricultural activities in the region. Its ETRS89 coordinates are X: 515512.22 and Y: 4679534.61.
The annual competition helps to raise awareness and appreciation for the historical dry stone constructions that are an important part of Catalonia's rural heritage.
