Built on an excellent vantage point, the medieval castle of Miravet is one of the best examples of the architecture of the Order of the Templars in Europe. This military and religious building is Arab in origin and was built in the defensive style of the castles Terra Santa, with majestic walls that rise up over the River Ebro.
After its conquest in 1153, it became the property of the Christians and Ramon Berenguer IV gave it to Pere de Rovira, master of the Knights Templar in Hispania and Provence, who reconstructed the castle transforming it into one of the main centres of Christian power on the Iberian Peninsula.
Its uniformity of construction shows that the Templars constructed the building in a relatively short time. Nevertheless, the remains of an Andalusian fortress are evident especially in the lower sections of the wall and in part of the buildings of the upper enclosure.
Beyond the Castle, Miravet is a walled citadel with constructions on different levels. Its forms are blunt and austere i, like a form of medieval hive, in that within the walls, the community had everything needed for day-to-day living.
The participation of the main artists, musicians and writers of the 19th century in the activities that the artist Santiago Rusiñol organised at his home-studio in Sitges from 1893 has been turned into a veritable temple of Modernisme.
It was so named Cau (hideout), because they wanted it to be a haven for lovers of poetry, and Ferrat (Iron), because he had a collection of wrought iron that he had collected on his travels around Catalonia. The building is now the Cau Ferrat Museum, one of the main museums of the region of Garraf.
It brings together the collections of ancient and modern art put together by the Catalan artist and writer. Painting, drawing, sculpture, wrought iron, ceramics, glass and furniture form a unique artistic collection, which includes some of the sculptural work of Rusiñol, as well as artists such as Casas, Picasso, El Greco, R. Pichot, Mas i Fondevila, Zuloaga, Regoyos i Degouwe de Nucques, Enric Clarasó, Manolo Hugué and Pau Gargallo, among others.
The Cau Ferrat Museum building was refurbished between 2010 and 2014 in order to strengthen the structure and restore the original historic elements.
The Archive of the Crown of Aragon (ACA) is the historical archive which contains the documents from the institutions of the ancient Crown of Aragon, as well from other historical Spanish collections. The former Royal Archive of Barcelona brings together more than seven centuries of history between its walls.
King Jaume II of Aragon created the Royal Archive of Barcelona in 1318 with the aim of unifying the collection from all the Crown territories. At the beginning, it was mainly to safeguard the written records relating to the Royal Heritage, as well as government and legal documents. During the Bourbon monarchy the building was modernised (1738), a new internal regulations were approved (1754) and with the change of name began the task of incorporating the files of institutions of the Ancient Regime into the collection of the Crown of Aragon.
Until 1993, it was housed in the Palau del Lloctinent, a building constructed between 1549 and 1557 as an extension of the Palau Reial Major in Barcelona. Subsequently, the majority of documents, as well as the task of research, conservation and custody, were moved to the current location on Carrer Almogàvers. The historical headquarters is maintained for the dissemination, through courses and exhibitions, and for ceremonial events.
From a manuscript of the tenth century, to the Proceedings of the Governing Council of the Republican Government, and including archives and personal collections of illustrious personages of the Catalan society in the 19th and 20th centuries such as Francesc Macià, Prat de la Riba, Eugeni D'Ors and Carles Riba. Since 1980, the National Archive of Catalonia (Arxiu Nacional de Catalunya, ANC) has been the institution in charge of gathering, preserving and disseminating the documentary heritage of the country.
As the general archive of the government, the ANC receives, restores and manages the documentation generated by the political and administrative actions of the Generalitat de Catalunya. As a national historical archive, it is dedicated to the restoration of documentation which is key to the knowledge of our past.
In addition to the archives from the administration, associations and foundations, and from the Church, particularly notable among its more than 900 holdings and documentary collections are the personal holdings and the manuscript, scroll and printed collections.
The history of the national archives of Catalonia began in 1936, during the Spanish Republic, and was restarted with the end of Franco's dictatorship. The current headquarters in Sant Cugat is a modern building featuring the latest technologies to ensure the best preservation of documents.
Beyond speculations about whether the building was a mausoleum or a villa during the Roman era, the roman complex of Centcelles (Constantí) is unique for its 4th century mosaics. Exceptional architectural testament of the late-Roman period in Catalonia, since the year 2000, it has been included in the set of monuments of the ancient Tarraco which were declared a Unesco World Heritage Site.
The oldest remains of Centcelles are from a small rural building from the 2nd -1st Century BC, which later became a magnificent villa with a baths complex. The most notable area is the closed circular room with a dome where the mosaics are found. These are considered to be the oldest Christian-themed dome mosaics of the Roman world and are exceptional for their good state of preservation. They represent several scenes, organised into three areas: a hunt on the lower section, biblical scenes from the Old and the New Testament in the central part and figures of the four seasons at the top.
From the study of these mosaics and mural paintings, one could think that the villa was a mausoleum. Even so, its interpretation is still uncertain. The first hypothesis of the researchers suggested that the mosaics made reference to the tomb of Constant, son of the Emperor Constantine the Great. More recent researches, however, think that Centcelles was the late Roman villa of a notable person in the ecclesiastical or civil hierarchy.
The historical and monumental importance of the old Tarraco is reflected in the current Museu de Tarraco (Museum of Tarraco, MNAT), a reference centre for learning about life in this period. Formed during the first half of the 19th century, the MNAT is the oldest Museum in Catalonia within its field and its extensive collection masterfully illustrates the process of Romanisation of the Iberian Peninsula.
Located in a new building since 1960 in which a fragment of the wall has been preserved in situ underground. Among the most outstanding pieces recovered from ancient Tarraco, you can see part of a medallion (clipeus) with the representation of Jupiter-Ammon, the altar dedicated to the Numen of Augustuses (the divine power), a pedestal of a statue with an inscription dedicated to the genius of the Colonia of Tarraco, the statues of Bacchus, Hercules, Claudius and Minerva, the portrait of Nero Julius Caesar and the sarcophagi of the Lion and the Pedagogue.
Meriting their own chapter are the high-quality mosaics which are preserved in the Museum, such as the head of the Medusa -the best of those found in Tarraco- from the residential area of the city; one representing Euterpe, Muse of music, discovered in the Roman villa of Els Munts (Altafulla); the tombstone of Optimus, mosaic with inscription, found in the Early-Christian Necropolis in Tarragona; and the mosaic of the Fish which decorated a room of the Roman villa of Callípolis, in the municipality of Vila-seca.
Among the most extraordinary pieces at MNAT, is an articulated ivory doll found in the sarcophagus of a girl in the Necropolis of Tarraco and the bronze lamp decorated with a representation of a theatrical mask from the Roman villa of la Llosa.
In addition to the Archaeological Museum, MNAT manages the Necropolis of Tarraco, the Roman villa of Els Munts (Altafulla) and the Roman Complex of Centcelles (Constantí). It also includes the famous monuments of the Arch of Berà and the Tower of the Scipios – situated on the Via Augusta – as well as the Roman Theatre in the city. A complex of the highest order which has been a World Heritage Site since 2000 and which takes the visitor closer to a fundamental period in European history.
The old Mill in Vila de Capellades, one of the most important both in Catalonia and Spain, is now the Paper Mill Museum. Its mission is twofold: on the one hand, to promote the industrial and historical heritage of papermaking from the 13th century until the beginning of the 20th century; and on the other hand, to give continuity to the artisan activity of handmade paper.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, its easily accessible environment and an abundance of water made Capellades the capital of paper, with illustrious names like Soteras, Romeu, Guarro, Serra and Romaní. The high quality of its products was appreciated by customers in Spain as well in the overseas colonies.
Tools, machinery, labels, wooden stamps and the different varieties of paper exhibited in the museum are the witnesses to this industrial task. To these aims must be added conservation and new uses of the mill buildings, and the numerous documents about the technology and the art of the papermaking.
Integrated in the network of the Museu de la Ciència i de la Tècnica de Catalunya, during the last few years the Paper Mill Museum has also become a meeting point for professionals to explore the possibilities of paper as an artistic material.
With 42 painted figures and 260 other images carved into the rock, La Roca dels Moros del Cogul, in Les Garrigues, is one of the most outstanding and best-conserved rock-art sites in Catalonia. Amongst the most outstanding scenes depicted are a hunting scene and a phallic dance, an exceptional representation of a ritual event, which lends credence to the idea of the cave being a place for religious practices.
This area of Les Garrigues has been inhabited continuously by humans since the Paleolithic period and the cave was used for about 5000 years as a place of worship. The last hunter-gatherers (8th - 5th millennium BC) left behind paintings known as Levantine art. Later, from the 5th- 2nd millennium BC, Neolithic groups covered up the reliefs in the rock to draw representations of their own beliefs (diverse representations that fall within the classification of schematic art ). Researchers have also identified later inscriptions from the Iberian and Roman periods, though many are illegible.
Teamwork, effort and a spirit of self-improvement. These are the values that embody "Els castells" (human towers), a cultural practice with more than 200 years of history and declared in 2010 as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.
The oldest references to these human towers date back to the eighteenth century b>: the towers consisting of two or three people were the culmination of the "Ball de Valencians" (Valencians' Dance) unique to the festivals in the province of Tarragona. When these towers became independent from the rest of the festivities, "els castells" developed into an exhibition with its own character.
Its popularity has fluctuated over the years. After becoming established in the nineteenth century, with "castells" of up to nine levels, the practice declined in the early twentieth century, and resurfaced during the 1960s.
The golden era of "els castells" began in the 1990s and continues today. The creation of new groups with a young and multicultural profile, achieving spectacular new feats, and television broadcasting of "castells" exhibitions have contributed to its resurgence.
Today there are more than 100 groups in the Països Catalans (Catalan territory), with 12,000 participants and 12,000 "castells"being built every year.
During Corpus Christi, the capital of Berguedà transforms itself with the celebration of "Patum", a singular festival in Catalonia that has continued practically without interruption since the fifteenth century.
The origin of this tradition, which in 2005 was recognized by UNESCO as a masterpiece of Intangible World Heritage dates back to the "entreméses", paratheatrical performances that were part of the medieval processions of Corpus Christi.
The main days of the celebration are Thursday and Sunday. At noon, Patum is more reserved and solemn, while at night it is festive and participatory. The main protagonists and events of the festival are the drums, the Turks and Little Knights, the Maces, the Mules, the Eagle, the Old Dwarves, the Giants, the New Dwarves, the "Plens" (fire devils) and the "Tirabol" (final dance).
The climax of the Patum is the "Plens", fire devils which transform Berga's main square into a fiery hell. The main characters of the festival dance to the rhythm of drum music and the music of Joaquim Serra composed in the late nineteenth century.
