Domènech i Montaner, without leaving Reus
The capital of the Baix Camp district is an open-air showcase for the Modernista style which Domènech i Montaner empoyed for the buildings he designed at the beginning of the 20th century.
2023 marks the centenary of the death of the Modernista architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner. A stroll through Reus is like a celebration of his work because some of his most outstanding works, contemporaneous with those of other renowned Modernista architects such as Antoni Gaudí, are to be found here.
The Casa Navàs is in the Plaça del Mercadal which, lined with café terraces, is an ideal place to verify the fame of Reus' vermouth. The Casa Navàs is the only Modernista building in Europe to have kept its original interior, remarkable on account of its more than 200 square metres of stained glass windows, its work in stone and its embroidered tapestries, amongst other jewels. The Domènech i Montaner route continues on to the Casa Rull, built in 1900, just as Modernisme was expanding its influence. It stands on a corner making it easier to admire its doorways, Gothic-inspired windows and the crenellations that crown the facade. Just a few metres away is the Casa Gasull, which was commissioned ten years later by the olive oil merchant, Pere Gasull. It differs from the Casa Rull insofar as it shows the influence of Noucentisme on Domènech i Montaner's architecture. He was also responsible for the interior design of the impressive library in the Casa Pau Font de Rubinat and for the refurbished facade of the Casa Llopis Borràs in Carrer Raval de Sant Pere in Reus.
The Pavelló dels Distingits ('Pavilion of the Distinguished') of the Institut Pere Mata, on the outskirts of Reus, is another of Domènech i Montaner's celebrated works. Its astonishing ornamentation makes it the building with the highest artistic value amongst the institution's architectural ensemble. For a journey back to the time it was built, Còdol Educació has programmed theatrical visits that also include the Modernista architecture and decoration of this building that was so exemplary for the treatment of 20th-century patients with mental illnesses. The route concludes at the municipal cemetery, which is also on the outskirts of Reus, for which Domènech i Montaner was commissioned for the design of the Margenat chapel, which has quadrangular floor plan and a ribbed vault. While the paving has highly varied decoration, the chapel walls are divided into two parts by a frieze depicting flowers and angels in relief.
