Stroll around the Artigas gardens of La Pobla de Lillet and invariably you will be reminded of
Park Güell in Barcelona. This is because they are the work of the same mind:
Antoni Gaudí.
In 1905, the modernista architect who, having stayed for a few days at the home of the textile industrial Joan Artigas i Alart, wanted to thank him for his hospitality by designing a naturalistic garden for an area (known as the Font de la Magnèsia) which was next to his factory, on the banks of the river Llobregat. Thus, it is as though it copied – on a small scale – the
fundamentals of Park Güell, where he was working at that time. In this case, however, it is not an urban garden. Gone, therefore, are the great open spaces and colourful ceramic tile shards or
trencadis. Everything is made largely with
rocky stone and mortar, taking advantage of the vegetation of the area. It is as though the park had pushed its way between nature.
Along the route the visitor will find a waterfall; an artificial cave with catenary arches from where the Font de la Magnèsia gushes forth; fountains; two stone bridges; a square; and, at the highest point, the Glorieta or gazebo, which acts as a lookout point.
Gaudí's universe is present in every detail of the complex. Jardinières, handrails, benches ... Everything imitates the forms of a
fanciful nature. Nor does it lack Christian references: thus there are the sculptures of the eagle, the lion and the bull, distributed around the complex, together with an angel that has now gone, which are the
symbols of the four evangelists and are arranged in the shape of a cross on the plan of the garden.
While the
Casa Batlló shows the excessive imagination of Gaudí and the
Casa Amatller is a brilliant reinterpretation of the Gothic style by Puig i Cadafalch, the third element of Barcelona’s
Mansana de la Discordia (Block of Discord), Casa Lleó i Morera, represents the elegance of details. Working on the building were the forty
best craftsmen of the period, following the orders of
Lluís Domènech i Montaner.
In 1902, Francesca Morera commissioned the modernist architect to remodel the property she had inherited on the Eixample. When the owner died, the work was continued by her son Albert Lleó i Morera, who gave his name to the building. In fact, allusions to the family surname are repeated in the images that decorate the building throughout.
Domènech i Montaner added a floor and a tempietto on the roof. This tower, in line with the main floor balcony, simulates a non-existent symmetry in the building. Especially notable in the richly decorated façade, are the
female figures by Eusebi Arnau. The most significant example are those on the first floor balconies where there are four women who carry allegorical instruments of modernity in their hands - photography, electricity, the phonograph and telephone.
Once inside the building, both the lobby and the entrance hall of the main floor are designed to impress the visitor. In the latter, the arches and doorways have spectacular carved reliefs. One of them is the story of the lullaby,
La dida de l’infant rei (the Nurse of the Infant King), a tribute to the son of the owners who died as a newborn.
Much of the work of Domènech i Montaner’s team of artisans is concentrated in the
two large living rooms. Notable are the stained glass windows: eight panels of mosaic and porcelain reliefs depict rural scenes with characters from the family. The furniture and dado panels that were in these rooms are preserved in the
MNAC (National Art Museum of Catalonia).
The Casa Lleó i Morera, like other bourgeois properties, was a "house for rent" (the family of the owners lived on the main floor and the remaining floors were rented out). Even so, the desire was that
the same exacting building standards and aesthetic quality should be maintained over all the floors.
Catalonia, overcoming the phylloxera crisis, was seeking new ways of organising the economic and social interests in the field of agriculture. Thus, the beginning of the 20th century saw the birth of agricultural
co-operativism and associationism and, alongside this, the construction of modern and functional wineries that responded to the fashionable aesthetic (the late-Modernisme and Noucentisme).
In 1919, the Sindicat de Cooperació Agrària de Gandesa (Gandesa Union of Agricultural Cooperation), commissioned the architect
Cèsar Martinell, who had already designed other "wine cathedrals" such as that at
Pinell de Brai, to design its cooperative winery and oil mill. Although the building incorporated all the latest techniques and the division of space usually found in the work of Martinell, this construction is
one of the most original of his agricultural works.
Its principal uniqueness is in
not adopting the basilical floor plan. It is formed by a main body divided into three parallel naves of different heights, and two further naves placed transversally.
Nor were wooden crossbeams chosen for the support, since this material had become expensive following the First World War. As an alternative, Martinell designed a roof using a four-pointed Catalan vault which allowed small triangular openings to be created, strongly resembling the undulating structure of the
Aymerich factory in Terrassa.
On the exterior, there is no main façade, but rather each side is treated in the same way. It is presided over by
two water tanks, which rise as small and stylised towers. As a decorative element, we find glazed, green tiles which contrast with the Mediterranean white of the walls.
Joan Brossa (1919-1998) was a restless artist, one who was interested in various artistic disciplines. While it is true that he was a poet, he was not limited to the classical forms and worked with visual poems, object poems and urban poems. In addition, this hard-to-catalogue, avant-garde artist worked in a multitude of disciplines: music, theatre, film, and even magic. However, he remained virtually unknown until 1970, when he published Poesia rasa.
The opening salvo of his career came in 1948, when he participated in the founding of the legendary Dau al Set magazine, a publication that involved Surrealism being fully adopted into the artistic and literary terrain. The book Romanços del dragolí (1948) comes from this period, a work which embodied his irony and humour. He also began to write for the stage along Dadaist lines, as well as two screenplays and even a ballet.
In the 1950s, Brossa's poetry increasingly reflected the social issues, political reportage and Marxist theory. The results of this change in direction were the publications Em va fer Joan Brossa (1950), Catalunya i selva (1953) and the ten books of sapphic odes. His theatre was equally committed, with popular forms such as the 'quadre de costumes' (sketches of manners): Cortina de muralles and Or i sal are examples of these.
From the 1960s, the visual became increasingly important in the work of Brossa. The poet manipulated objects to represent the concept (visual poems). And thus, collaboration with visual artists became inevitable. He worked with Antoni Tàpies and Joan Miró. However, Brossa never stopped writing poetry. His Els entra-i-surts del poeta. Roda de llibres (1969-75), short and playful poems, are from this period.
It was after the death of Franco that the popularity of the artist grew unceasingly: awards and honours, a retrospective exhibition at the Joan Miró Foundation and wide international exposure. His work began to have a physical presence in Barcelona, with some visual poems made concrete, such as Barcino (1991-1994), in front of the Cathedral of Barcelona, and also with the opening of the Brossa Espai Escènic creation space.
The artist always tried to ensure that his lyricism remained grounded. Frankness, irony and even sarcasm were some of the tools he used to achieve this. After his death his legacy passed to the Joan Brossa Foundation, the custody of which was given over to MACBA (Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art).
Since 2004, the Masia de Can Serra in Sant Adrià de Besòs has housed the History of Immigration in Catalonia Museum (Museu d'història de la immigració de Catalunya - MhiC) which acts as a centre for research and dissemination of the memory of migration in Catalonia. In doing so, the Museum offers a permanent exhibition divided into three areas using modern, interactive and educational museum resources.
The Humans in Movement area shows the historical trends in human movement from prehistoric times until the 20th century. The visit continues inside an old railway carriage from the mid-20th century: the Sevillano. This space pays tribute to the generation of internal migrations to Catalonia in the 20th century. It also includes testimonies and memories of those who were passengers. The last area presents migrations of the 21st century, which take place in a globalised world in continuous transformation.
The MhiC also has a documentation and resource centre. Forming part of the collection are the oral memory questionnaires that those who have taken part in the migratory processes can fill out.
From the 1960s, the Diputació (Provincial Council) of Tarragona had been acquiring a significant artistic collection which was not open for public viewing. So, in 1976, they created the Museum of Modern Art, whose purpose was to promote the study and knowledge of the modern and contemporary art and, at the same time, to preserve and display these collections.
The original location chosen was Casa Martí, an 18th century stately home located in the upper part of Tarragona. In 2008, the museum renewed its permanent exhibition and opened a new, more modern and educational museum project.
The museum devotes some rooms to the Taller - Escola de Pintura i Escultura (Workshop - School of Painting and Sculpture) which the Republican Government built in Tarragona and the subsequent Escola Taller d’Art de la Diputació de Tarragona (Workshop and School of Art of the Provincial Council of Tarragona). Also exhibited are works by contemporary artists of the 1980s from the region, such as Bruno Gallart or James Solé.
One of the most important collections of the museum is the legacy left by the sculptor Julio Antonio. In the permanent exhibition, you can see various facets of his work, placing emphasis on the Monument als Herois de 1811 (Monument to the Heroes of 1811), located on the Rambla Nova in Tarragona. Other representatives of the transition from the 19th century to the 20th century, such as Joseph Tapiró, are also on display.
However, the most renowned work in the Museum of Modern Art in Tarragona bears the signature of Joan Miró. This is the Tapís de Tarragona (Tapestry of Tarragona), a large-scale project that the painter made together with Josep Royo. In 1970, Miró gave this tapestry to the Hospital de la Cruz Roja in Tarragona, then directed by Rafael Orozco, in thanks for the care this doctor gave to his daughter. When the institution was closed down, the work was given over to the Museum where it occupies a place of honour.
The writer Josep Pla is one of the most important prose writers in Catalan literature of the 20th century. Despite his travels, he did not forget his native Palafrugell. For this reason, in 1973 he donated his library to a newly created organisation, the Josep Pla Library Private Foundation, linked to the municipality. Since 1995, this literary heritage is to be found in the house of the writer’s birth, the current headquarters of the Fundació Josep Pla (Josep Pla Foundation).
At 49, Carrer Nou de Palafrugell, where the journalist spent his early childhood, you can immerse yourself in the life and work of the author of El Carrer Estret. In addition to being the custodian of his personal library, the Foundation has a bibliographical collection specialising in Josep Pla which is continually updated. This is complemented by the material of the Documentation Centre, which includes the author's manuscripts and personal documentation, articles from the newspaper library, a collection of images and videos and an art collection.
Since 2000, a permanent exhibition about Josep Pla (1897-1981) has been on display at the house of his birth, a survey of the personal and professional journey of the writer framed within the historical context of the 20th century. It ends with a room that illustrates the process of creating El Quadern Gris, Pla’s masterpiece, from his first notes in the original manuscript to the first edition of the text.
A la cruïlla entre el Baix Aragó i la desembocadura del riu Ebre, trobem un jaciment arqueològic ibèric molt inusual. Aquí, al punt més alt del recinte, s’ha conservat una gran torre , testimoni del seu període més gran (l’assentament ja existia cap al 600 aC, tot i que fou al segle V aC que es va fortificar). Però això no és tot. El coll del Moro és un dels pocs pobles ibèrics de Catalunya en què s’ha descobert una necròpolis visitable.
Situat en un punt estratègic d’Ilercavònia, l’assentament controlava el flux del comerç comercial entre la costa i l’interior. De manera significativa, s'ha localitzat un taller dissenyat per al processament del lliçó i la fabricació de tèxtils .
La necròpolis, amb tres zones sepulcrals , dades aproximadament entre els anys 800 i 450 aC sembla que conviurà amb la ciutat a la seva primera fase. El lloc estarà ocupat fins al segle I dC.
This Iberian village at the mouth of the river Ebro, located on a hill in the Serra del Montsià, had some very distinguished inhabitants: the elite of the Ilercavones tribe who, from here, controlled the surplus from other settlements in the area and the trade in luxury products with other villages of the Mediterranean.
Moleta del Remei is considered to have been a large village from the first iron age and then became a long-lasting and important Iberian settlement. In fact, it is the only continuously occupied village in the south of Ilercavonia (from the 7th century BC to the 2nd century BC).
The archaeological site has a fortified enclosure with monumental defensive systems, and walls with towers and bastions that had no military purpose. Rather, these were elements of prestige that indicated the status of the inhabitants of the village. Inside, ring roads have been identified and almost all the houses have been built against the wall. Three buildings have been found which might have had a worship function, where child burials have been found.
From the 5th century BC, what had been a small Iberian settlement at the top of a hill in front of the pools of the beach of Calafell, became one of the most notable villages of the Cessetani tribe. At this time, a strong wall was built and a large urban area mapped out. Part of the uniqueness of this site, however, is in the Museum. A large part of the Citadel of Calafell has been rebuilt using experimental archaeological criteria. The result is a scientific and educational experience which shows how the Iberians really lived.
Of the 3 hectares that the town occupied, almost all the whole area inside the wall has been excavated. It has been identified that some of the houses belonged to a warrior elite and that the home of the chief was at the highest point. Enclosures for domestic worship, a water well, ovens to bake bread, and towers that were used for storage have also been located.
The archaeological data extracted from the excavations allowed the village to be rebuilt in 1992, following museum models of the Nordic countries. It was decided that the site should represent the last phase of occupation, in the 3rd century BC, just before the Romanisation of the Iberian Peninsula. Thus, you can walk down the streets and go into the houses, which are even furnished with replicas of the objects found at the site. This work on the museum has meant that, since 2007, the Citadel of Calafell has been a member of the EXARC (European Exchange on Archaeological Research and Communication) network.
