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The gabella was an old tax levied was on certain essential goods and, by extension, was also used to designate the warehouses where these products were kept. The Gabella is exactly what the 18th-century farmhouse, in the centre of Arbúcies, was called and where you will find the Museu Etnològic del Montseny (Ethnological Museum of Montseny, MEMGA) in the Gabella, a name that already marks an historical past linked to the people and the region. And thus MEMGA, opened in 1985, is dedicated to the preservation, dissemination, research and presentation of the cultural heritage of the Montseny massif.

The visit to the museum encompasses three separate areas. The ground floor is devoted to the first settlers and shows the evolution of the way of life in Montseny: the prehistorical, the world of the Iberians, Romanisation and the Middle Ages. The visitor takes a journey through history where representative objects (some original, some reproductions) are found. A room is dedicated to the Castle of Montsoriu (14th century) with a selection of materials recovered during the archaeological excavations. A large model of the fortress dominates the space.

The first floor focuses on the traditional self-sufficient society, which was based on the agriculture, livestock farming and forestry. It was structured around farms, which were the economic pillar of the 19th century Montseny up until the industrial revolution. Indeed, the top floor of the Museum is dedicated to the changes that the arrival of industry brought to the region. Notable among the collections of the Museum are the displays of artisanal crafts and the beginnings of industrialisation.

Strategically located at the top of the mountain of Montjuïc, the castle, which bears the same name, is an imposing defensive construction that follows the model of star-shaped fortifications. Its current appearance is due to the reformations carried out on the old installations by the military engineer, Juan Martín Cermeño, during the 18th century.

But, beyond its architecture, Montjuic Castle has been the scene of numerous bloody episodes and acts of repression throughout its 400 year history. Currently, the site is the property of the city and has become a symbol of Barcelona.

The origins of the castle date back to 1640, during the Catalan Revolt (the Guerra dels Segadors), when a small fort was built around an ancient watchtower. This was the beginning of the militarisation of the mountain, something which marked its history until the middle of the 20th century.

This small initial fortification was completely renovated and modernised by Juan Martín Cermeño. After the war of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714), ownership of the castle passed to the monarchy and a permanent garrison was established. Along with the Citadel, Montjuïc became the guardian of the city of Barcelona.

The renovation led to the demolition of the original fort and the construction of new buildings on an irregular trapezoidal plan adapted to the topography of the mountain, with four bastions at the ends and a covered perimeter path. Cermeño completed the "modernisation" of the facilities with the provision of toilets and water tanks and ordered the construction of the moat.

Throughout the 19th century, the castle once again had a military importance in the repression of insurrectionist movements in the city. Up to 3 times (1842-1843 and 1856) Barcelona was bombarded from the fortress, which was also used to imprison unionists, anarchists and revolutionaries, as well as during the Setmana Tràgica (Tragic Week) of 1909. With the Spanish Civil War the Republican government used the area for similar purposes. Later, the castle instead became a War Memorial to the victors, a military prison and the scene of councils of war (its most political significance was as the site of execution of the president, Lluís Companys).

It became a military museum in 1963. Finally, the Castle passed to municipal ownership in 2007, definitively closing the doors of the museum and taking back the space for the city.

In the 17th century, the Papiol family settled in Vilanova de Cubelles, what is now Vilanova i la Geltrú. Their power and their properties increased until they became one of the most influential families of the time. A good demonstration of this can be seen in the house: a 5-storied mansion right on the main street, something which few families could afford.

The house was built in 1790 for Francesc de Papiol i Padró and it took 11 years to finish. An austere neo-classical façade hides opulent lounges in which, right up until the 1950s, the local high society would gather. In 1961, it was opened to the public as the Museum of Romanticism, following in the footsteps of the Can Llopis in Sitges. It has kept the original structure, layout and decoration.

The piano nobile (main floor), the main residence of the family, reflects a refined nineteenth century taste in which the grisailles on the walls stand out. During the visit you can see the music room, the billiards room, and in particular the large ballroom, where the family received guests. The tour also takes in the private rooms of the master of the house and the bathrooms and dressing rooms. The house also has a small private chapel, in the neo-classical style, and a library of about 6,000 volumes dating from between the 16th and 19th centuries.

The mansion is further divided into two areas: the servants area (which includes a kitchen, a bread oven and pantry) and farm labourer’s area (barn, cellar and stable). At the rear of the residence there is a romantic garden that houses carriages and bicycles from the time.

The Llopis family were dedicated to the cultivation of vineyards. In fact, the winery produced the Malvasia Llopis, a sweet wine characteristic of the town of Sitges. The last member of the family, the diplomat Manuel Llopis i Casades, bequeathed the family home to the Government of Catalonia, together with the furniture and other objects, for the purpose of setting up a museum dedicated to Romanticism. And thus the Can Llopis Romantic Museum opened its doors in 1949.

The building is a house built at the end of the 18th century in the sober and elegant neoclassical style. The interior reflects how a bourgeois family lived in the 19th century, evolving from the aristocratic tastes at the beginning of the century to the splendour of the romanticism. This evolution also can be seen in details such as the lighting, which combines candle chandeliers with gas lighting.

The Museum has a series of dioramas which illustrate daily life and the popular traditions of the 19th century. It also houses the collection of dolls and toys of the artist Lola Anglada, made up of more than 400 pieces from the 18th and 19th centuries. Before leaving, visitors can’t miss seeing the carriage with seating for up to 14 people and the collection of velocipedes.

What was the process of industrialisation like around the Ter River, one of the axes of the Industrial Revolution in Catalonia? How did the landscape and human activity coexist? The Museu del Ter, or Museum of the Ter, which forms part of the Territorial System of the mNACTEC (Science and Technology Museum of Catalonia), was created in Manlleu in 2004 specifically to promote the industrial and natural heritage of the central basin of the river Ter.

The Museum of the Ter is based at Can Sanglas, a former cotton spinning factory, located in the last section of the industrial canal of Manlleu. It dates from 1841 and is one of the oldest examples of the factories that were set up on the banks of the canal to take advantage of the hydraulic power.

Thanks to the first of the permanent exhibitions, The River Factory, Can Sanglas looks back at its period of industrial activity. This exhibition highlights the historical aspects of the industrialisation process of the central section of the Ter: from manufacturing jobs to mechanisation. Several experimental machines help to understand how the process of transforming cotton thread has evolved historically.

During the tour we find ourselves in the two power rooms that Can Sanglas had in order to take advantage of the hydraulic energy: the Francis turbine, which allows one to see how electricity is generated; and the Fontaine turbine, one of the first hydraulic motors installed on the Ter.  You can even see how the mechanical system operated the spinning machines!
This first section of the route connects with the second of the permanent exhibitions, The Industrial Society, which explains all the social changes caused by industrialisation.

Finally, the exhibition The Mediterranean Rivers takes a journey through the landscapes, hydrology, ecology, the natural heritage, the socio-environmental aspects and the sustainable management of Mediterranean fluvial courses. And the Ter Museum also houses the Centre d’Estudis dels Rius Mediterranis (Centre for the Study of Mediterranean Rivers, CERM) dedicated to environmental education and awareness-raising.

The Museu del Suro (Cork Museum), situated in Palafrugell, interprets and promotes the heritage that surrounds the world of cork in Catalonia, both before and after the industrial revolution.

Beyond its importance from an industrial point of view (the manufacture of cork and corks was consolidated during the 19th century and had a major impact on the Alt Empordà and Baix Empordà regions), the museum highlights aspects such as the shaping of a landscape, a way of life and an identity around this product. The centre explains the process of both artisanal and industrial cork production, from the ecological environment, the bark of the cork,  transportation, manufacture of bottle corks and their marketing.

The former Can Mario factory, symbol of the power of the Catalan cork sector, is currently the headquarters of the Museum. With ashlar walls with brick decoration, enamelled ceramics and wrought iron, this modernista style building is home to the permanent and temporary exhibition spaces, the workshops and an auditorium with the capacity for a hundred people.

The town of Gerri, in the Pallars region, cannot be understood without reference to what had been its economic driving force since the Middle Ages, salt. The salt basins, historically the most important there has ever been in Catalonia, give a characteristic appearance to the town, which is completed with the Reial Alfolí (Royal Salt Storehouse) or House of Salt and the monastery of Santa Maria, one of the jewels of the Romanesque to be preserved in the Pyrenees.

The storehouse and the salt basins are the two basic structures used from the middle ages to extract and treat salt in Gerri. On one side of the Noguera Pallaresa river, between the river and the town, the salt basins are irregularly shaped structures, with walls made of differently sized stone and covered with mud. The water that comes from a salt water spring close to the village is fed along here. Once it reaches these basins, one only has to wait for the heat to evaporate the water (a process also known as "Ofita mining") and collect the salt deposited on flat surfaces of stone framed with wooden planks.

The alfolí, or storehouse, was where this precious substance was stored, a rectangular building with three levels that currently houses the exhibits explaining the whole of the industrial process. Located in Plaça Major in Gerri, this is the largest civil building in terms of floor space in the whole of the Pallars region.

Though salt production continued well into the 20th century, currently the alfolí and the salt basins allow the visitor to find out about the process of production, processing, storage and marketing of the white gold, salt.

The Farga Palau (Palace Forge) in Ripoll, first documented in 1626 and in operation until 1978, is a valuable testimony to one of our country’s historical industries: the Catalan forge. Located on the banks of the river Freser, you can see the restored structure which had remained in operation over the course of four centuries.

The forge occupies the ground floor where the water trompes (water-powered compressors), the trip hammers (unique in being made with metal bearings, an elm handle and steel mallet), the coal bunker, the kiln, where the ore is reduced, and the forge itself. The industrial part is completed outside with the water wheel, the channel and the pool. All of these are the essential elements of the Catalan forge or «Catalan process»; a type of forging that enabled the manufacturing of a high-quality product.

Ripoll was the metallurgical centre of Catalonia, thanks to the manufacture of the two most prestigious products of the Catalan forge: portable firearms and keys.

With the introduction of new industrial techniques, many iron forges became obsolete and, in order to survive, devoted themselves to working copper. This was the case with the Farga Palau, the only one in Catalonia which produced copper coins up until the second half of the 20th century. The forge closed definitively in 1978 and in 1997 it was incorporated into the Territorial System of the Science and Technology Museum of Catalonia (mNACTEC) as a separate section.

The natural annex of La Rambla, the Plaça Reial is one of the most emblematic squares in Barcelona. Built in the mid-19th century in order to spruce up the Gothic quarter, this is a clear, clean and open space constructed amid the high density of buildings in the old town of the city.

Francesc Daniel Molina led the architectural design project, inspired by the French neo-classical squares of the 17th century. The construction began in 1848 in a space formerly occupied by a Capuchin convent. The square is surrounded by a complex of identical buildings that are raised on semi-circular arches: above the arches, two main floors are framed by a giant order of Corinthian pilasters; the 4th and top floors are recessed, forming an attic floor, and are crowned by a cornice with balustrades.

The portals and façades are decorated with Hellenic terracotta, busts of navigators, coats of arms supported by Indian children and busts of explorers of the Americas, following the neoclassical style in an age in which Spain had already lost all its continental colonies. Behind the arches are shops, situated in a space that is protected thanks to the porches with Catalan vaults.

The centre of the square is dominated by the fountain of the Three Graces, a cast iron ensemble manufactured in the workshops of Durenne in Paris, surrounded by two street lamps with 6 arms, an early work of Antoni Gaudí. In the centre of the square and dotted about irregularly, there are the emblematic palm trees of different heights. And it is these that give the Plaça Reial its characteristic appearance.

Designed originally for the bourgeoisie of the time, the Plaça Reial has been, throughout its history, one of the epicentres of the Bohemian lowlife of Barcelona.

Some experts swear that it was called Aquis Voconis. Others say that it was called Aquae Calidae. Regardless, the fact is that the current Caldes de Malavella became an important thermal bath resort with the Romanisation in the 1st century AD. Located close to the Via Augusta, many travellers stopped here to relax and benefit from the healing properties of the hot water (which emerges at 60 ° C). The town grew up around it.

The remains of the ancient Roman baths have been preserved as a testimony to this time, the excavation of which began in 1897-1902. The complex is composed of a central pool surrounded by rooms given over to curative treatments. There are three spaces at the back, which may have been bath tubs, where oils were applied.

The site is very well preserved. The mechanisms that operated the water can be seen almost intact! During the excavations, objects have been found such as a dog made of bronze and coins from various periods, which can be seen in the Museu d’Arqueologia de Catalunya-Girona (Girona branch of the Archaeology Museum of Catalonia).