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To pass through the gates of the Palau Moja is to discover how the high bourgeoisie lived in the 18th and 19th centuries in Barcelona. The house was the property of two of the most important men of the city, which became a meeting point for the high society of the age.
Josep de Copons, Marquis de Moja, and his wife, Maria Luisa Descatllar, commissioned its construction from the architect Josep Mas. In 1784 he opened the building, which combines Baroque elements with influences of French Neoclassicism. Notable from this first stage, is the Grand Salon, with paintings by Francesc Pla, known as "El Vigatà", and the façades. Interestingly the main door is located in Carrer Portaferrissa. At this time the Ramblas was still a watercourse that had just began to be developed.
In 1870, the Marquis of Comillas, father-in-law of Eusebi Güell, bought the Palace and adapted it to the taste of the period. One of the most visible renovations was the Staircase of Honour. Also dating from then are the blue, pink and green salons. Jacint Verdaguer lived there for 15 years as a family chaplain and almoner.
After the fire of 1971, the Palace was abandoned for eleven years. It is currently the headquarters of the Cultural Heritage Department of the Catalan Government’s Ministry of Culture.
The Born Cultural Centre in Barcelona is a benchmark facility for Europe: it is both a historical site, the core of the collective Catalan memory and a modern cultural centre.
As a historical site, the old market of Born (1876) was the first large building using iron architecture in the city, demonstrating its prominent role as a European metropolis during the 19th century.
With regard to the historical memory, in the subsoil of the market an exceptional archaeological site, both for its state of conservation and for its dimensions, is preserved. Contemplating the remains of 42 streets and 60 houses that were part of the Barri de la Ribera (the Ribera neighbourhood) you can explore the history of Barcelona and Catalonia, from the Roman era until the early eighteenth century.
The stones speak to us especially of the outcome of the War of Succession for the city, which resisted the siege by Felip V's troops up to the capitulation on 11th September 1714. As a result, the centre of the Born was destroyed in order to build the military stronghold of the Ciutadella.
After years of excavation work, restoration and exhibits, this location has been converted into a cultural centre. Opened in 2014, it acts as an interpretation centre for the War of the Spanish Succession, and at the same time offers a programme that includes literary, musical, and theatrical activities.
A Baroque church, a neo-classical convent-residence... and a cavern. These three elements make up the Cave of Sant Ignasi de Manresa, an architectural complex converted into a Centre of Spirituality, which is one of the iconic images of the capital of the Bages region.
Located on Puig de Sant Bartomeu, in one of the caverns formed by erosion from the waters of the Cardener river, this complex was built around the site where tradition says that St. Ignatius of Loyola lived for 11 months, meditating and writing part of his Spiritual Exercises, between 1522 and 1523.
In the cavern is the Relleu del Rapte de Sant Ignasi, (the Rapture of San Ignatius), a mid-17th century alabaster altarpiece, carved by the Manresan sculptor, Joan Grau, his Francesc and Josep Sunyer.
The Church, built in the 18th century with design of Josep Moretó of Vic, combines a discreet interior, in which the altar of the Blessed stands out, with a Baroque façade, both rich in elements and proportionate to its size.
Completing the complex is the convent-residence of the Jesuits, of neoclassical inspiration, and the lobby or hallway that connects the Church and the cavern, modernista in style and decorated with marble, mosaics, stucco, stained glass and metals.
During the modern era, the basis of the rural Catalan cuisine was laid down. Exceptionally refined and complete, the gastronomy of the Renaissance, Baroque and the Enlightenment was the gateway to the traditional Catalan cuisine.
From the 16th to the 18th century, it underwent a revolution with the arrival of new products from the Americas: tomatoes, peppers, beans, corn, cocoa, turkey and vanilla. In addition, it introduced changes in tastes, with the distinction between sweet and salty, and the popularity of new tastes such as cold drinks, salads, chocolate, rice and pasta. The lower classes and the convents were the most receptive to these new products, while the aristocrats and bourgeois were more conservative, preferring to stay with the medieval cuisine.
The most notable written evidence of Catalan cuisine in the modern era are Nuevo arte de cocina (Juan Altimiras), the Llibre dels secrets d'agricultura, casa rústica i pastoril (Fr Miquel Agustí), Instrucció breu i útil per los cuiners principiants (Francesc del Santíssim Sagrament), Avisos y instrucciones per lo principiant cuyner (Francesc Orri), El llibre de l'art de quynar (Fr Sever d'Olot) and the Llibre de cuina de Scala Dei (Monastery of Banyoles).
Cervera is home to one of the most beautiful baroque buildings in Catalonia. The imposing sobriety of the University building is the remaining trace of the institution that was built here.
It was the political circumstances that made the creation of this institution of higher education possible. King Felip V founded it in 1717 as compensation for damages suffered during the war of the Spanish succession, and became the intellectual centre of Catalonia.
The majestic architecture of the building follows a scheme borrowed from military architecture, with a rectangular floor plan and towers on the corners. The main façade is in the moderate Baroque style and was adapted to local character, while the second façade, the interior, represents the new neo-classical trends.
The most significant area of this majestic building is the paranymph or events hall, which also includes the chapel. On the altar there is a Baroque altarpiece made by the master Jaume Padró, a small apse with alabaster sculptures from Sarral surrounded by coloured marbles. The complex is presided over by the Immaculate Conception, patroness of the University and the representative of the Wisdom.
The greatest monument in Catalonia is also the largest bastioned fortress in Europe. The Castle of Sant Ferran occupies an area of 550,000 m² at the top of the hill of Figueres. As a good frontier Castle, the location is unbeatable: It has good views of the Serra de l’Albera, which creates the border with France, and the Gulf of Roses.
Undoubtedly it was constructed to meet the need to reinforce the border after the Peace of the Pyrenees of 1659 and owes its name to King Ferran VI (Ferdinand VI). The fortification, which was begun in 1766 but was only completed in 1892, consists of two enclosures.
The interior, of more than 325,000 m2, consists of six bastions connected by stretches of wall. The size of the building cannot go unnoticed: stables with capacity for 500 horses, warehouses to store food for 10,000 people for a year, the main square, new pavilions for the accommodation of the officials and their families, and four big cisterns with a total capacity of nine million litres of water.
The exterior enclosure, with a perimeter of 3,120 metres, made up of three hornworks, seven ravelins and two counterguards. It is separated from the outside by a large moat of 10 hectares, which can currently be visited, including the underground galleries.
Its monumental dimensions have always made military activity both difficult and very costly which has frequently meant that it has not been used to its full potential. Since 1997 regular guided tours of the Castle of Sant Ferran have been organised.
