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Built in 1847 on the Rambla of Barcelona, the Gran Teatre del Liceu was converted from its beginnings into a symbol of the emerging bourgeoisie of Barcelona and Catalonia.
The origin of the Liceu must be situated in the "Liceo Filarmónico Dramático Barcelona de SM la Reina Isabel II" (Barcelona Dramatic and Philharmonic Lyceum of HM Queen Isabel II), an organisation created to fill the need for a music conservatory in the city. The success of the initiative resulted in the construction of a new theatre, which was financed through commercial efforts: the boxes and seats were owned.
In its more than 150 years of history, it has seen three tragic events: the fire of 1861, the anarchist bomb of 1893, and the devastating fire of 1994. The last reconstruction, which lasted five years, has modernised the building, retaining as much as possible of its original essence. Notable is the Hall of Mirrors and its decoration of gilded and polychrome plaster mouldings.
With 2,292 seats, it is currently one of the largest opera houses in the world, and each year puts on more than forty opera performances, as well as dance, recitals, concerts and children's shows.
On the east bank of Lake Banyoles, between Paratge dels Desmais and Caseta de Fusta and following the landscaped walkways, some unique constructions stand out: the fisheries.
The construction of these fishing platforms began in the 19th century and continued until 1931, when the Council banned the building of any more. Originally simple, they became more sophisticated as time went on. Their form is functional, becoming large, wider structures with the capacity for more boats, a symbol of social and economic prestige.
As a result of the expansion of the Catalan bourgeoisie and the practice of water sports, the fisheries were the object of reforms throughout the 20th century, both to increase their storage capacity, and so people could stay there.
Currently they can only be viewed from the outside as they are privately-owned.
Opulent menus, inspired by the French cuisine and disdain for the traditional and home-made. In the 19th century the Catalan bourgeoisie and the great restaurants opted for a luxurious and sumptuous gastronomy, though it never became mainstream.
Instead, the popular and high-quality Catalan cuisine continued to live on in the fondes de sisos (the Inns of the Sixes - the cost in reales to stay the night), bringing homemade meals at affordable prices to everybody. These establishments popularised dishes such as sausage or pork loin with beans, pan-baked cod or baked macaroni gratin. The creativity and sense of humour stand out in the names of dishes such as la barretina - the Catalan hat - (vegetables with herring) or samarreta amb allioli - vest with aioli - (baked tripe). The Inns of Sixes also gave rise to customs such as the Thursday paella, a commercial event that sought to attract more customers on a particular day of the week that was usually slack.
The first references to the pa amb tomàquet (bread with tomato) are also from the 19th century. According to the gourmand Nèstor Luján, the Catalan dish par excellence appeared in the rural world in an age with an abundance of tomatoes, taking advantage of them to soften the dry bread.
In the 18th and 19th centuries a new social class, the bourgeoisie, pursued a more personal, emotional, original and, above all, rebellious art and claimed identification with a homeland and common roots.
In Catalonia, Romanticism had clear political connotations: the Catalan literati claimed the right to restore the language, literature, and popular culture.
The first romantic poem in Catalan language was Oda a la Pàtria, by Bonaventura Carles Aribau (1833), but it didn’t become ingrained until the coming of Lo Gaiter del Llobregat, by Joaquim Rubió i Ors. In the novel, the first romantic works in Catalan were by authors such as Antonio de Bofarull and Martí Genís i Aguilar. With regard to the theatre, the exponents were playwrights such as Víctor Balaguer, Edward Vidal and Frederic Soler, known as "Pitarra".
The Renaixença shares with Romanticism the will to revive the national consciousness after a period of decline, and in fact the two movements coexisted together throughout the 19th century.
In Catalonia two factions that coexisted were: the conservative (Bofarull), and the reclamatory (Balaguer). They shared the desire to restore the Jocs Florals (floral games) as an instrument to promote Catalan socially and to stimulate literary production. The definitive push of this literary event arrived in 1877, when Jacint Verdaguer and Àngel Guimerà were awarded prizes.
Integrated into the Regional Network of the Museu de la Ciència i de la Tècnica de Catalunya, the Ecomuseu-Farinera at Castelló d'Empúries has, from 2004, explained the story of the men and women of the region dedicated to the cultivation of the wheat grain and the various uses of the flour.
The building of la Farinera offers a tour of the Catalan industrial flour heritage. The machines, tools and structures exhibited are testimony of an activity that has developed since medieval times: first in the old flour mill, and from the end of the 19th century to 2001, at the modern flour mill factory.
The visit to the Ecomuseum is completed with a route that follows, up to the Pont de la Mercè, part of the five kilometres of the Rec del Molí (mill irrigation channel). This hydraulic infrastructure drove water from the weir at Vilanova de la Muga to the flour mill, skirting around and supplying the orchards and fields. Upon arrival at the flour mill, the water turned a Francis turbine from 1905, which was responsible for generating the energy necessary for the operation of the factory.
Walking through the Colònia Vidal Museum at Puig-reig allows to us know what life and work was like in a Catalan textile colony of the early 20th century. Spaces such as the school, the factory or the homes give testimony to the Industrial Revolution in Catalonia.
Situated right next to the Llobregat river in order to use its water as a source of energy, the Colònia Vidal formed part of one of the main concentrations of textile colonies in Europe. Notable within the architectural complex are buildings such as the owner’s tower, the manager’s tower, the factory, the Church, the Casino Theatre and the house of the women/school.
The Museum opened in 1995, and is part of the Regional Network of the Museu de la Ciència i de la Tècnica de Catalunya. A route is suggested for visitors that will show them the facilities of the workers' colony such as the homes, the school, the library, the fishmonger, the washroom or the showers. The visit also includes a permanent exhibition which tells the story of the daily life of men and women who worked at the factory.
Right next to the Llobregat river, almost in touching distance of the town of Esparreguera, is one of the main witnesses to the industrial history of Catalonia: la Colònia Sedó. The large 1,400 CV turbine is one of the biggest attractions of the site, a cast iron machine which was the largest and most powerful in Spain and one of the most spectacular in Europe. Nowadays, water no longer drives it, but it has been converted into the Museum which houses the history of the colony.
In the former engine room you can see the model of the colony, where its story is told through a montage of light and sound, and a three-dimensional audiovisual is projected inside the turbine’s water pipe. The visit is rounded off with an explanation of the energy system that powered the industrial complex of Miquel Puig. The walk around the colony allows you to understand the social life and the production process of a 'small town' where the looms lived alongside the workers.
The Colònia Sedó industrial complex was founded in 1846, taking advantage of the waterfall of the old mill of Can Broquetes. Currently you can still see the halls dedicated to spinning the cotton, the canal and the lock of the waterfall, the roofs with their Catalan vault and the offices. Two of the defining features of the complex are the helical brick chimney of the old steam engine and the semicircular aqueduct that carried water from the river to the turbine.
In the midst of the woods of Castellar de N’Hug (Berguedà), the industrialist Eusebi Güell built the Asland factory, the first in Spain to produce portland cement, faster and more resilient than the conglomerates that had been used until then. This is an impressive modernista, building which, in its time, was a symbol of modernity and which today continues to amaze the visitors who come there.
The factory, owned by the Companyia General d’Asfalts i Pòrtland Asland, came into operation in 1904. The building was designed by the architect Rafael Guastavino, who built it in tiers to take advantage of the power of the waterfalls of the river Llobregat.
Due to the low temperatures in the area, the construction had to protect the whole space occupied by the machinery. To do this, an innovative architectural solution was chosen: the Catalan vault, flat brick vaults that were supported on a metal structure. The vault is what gives the façade of the factory its uniqueness.
Later, Rafael Guastavino exported this traditional technique to the United States, where he patented the Guastavino system. This system of self-supporting vaults with tiles and layers of mortar made a fortune and left its mark on architectural icons such as Grand Central Station, Carnegie Hall and the American Museum of Natural history, among others.
The industrial complex of Castellar de N'Hug operated until 1975, but in 2002 it reopened, becoming the Museu del Ciment, (Cement Museum), a space that allowed the history of the construction in our country to be reviewed. The museum, consisting of an interpretation centre and an external route that takes in the ruins of the factory, is affiliated to the Museu de la Ciència i la Tècnica de Catalunya (Museum of Science and Industry of Catalonia). With the visit, the importance of the complex at a time of strong growth of the industrial society is put into context.
La Devesa in Girona is the largest urban park in the Principality. With more than 2,500 one hundred year old trees, the main lung of the city is a site dedicated to recreation where nature is manifested in all its splendour.
Long rows of plane trees fill the 40 hectares of the Park. Their distribution creates genuine avenues and botanic walks at the confluence of the rivers Güell, Ter and Onyar, to the west of the historic centre of the city. The trees of this green oasis are hybrids of American and Eastern species, most planted in 1850. The short distance between them has made them grow upright, reaching heights that are around 55-60 metres.
The site, in which all kinds of constructions have been built over the years, is arranged around several avenues. The entrance, from 1898, preserves one of the two twin lodges that welcomed visitors and in the Camp de Mart (the field of Mars) are the sports facilities built in 1942. Also within the Park of la Devesa are located shooting ranges and a model airplane field, the Felix Farró municipal football pitch, the facilities of the Girona Equestrian Society, the Fira de Girona area, the Girona Auditorium and the Congress Centre.
Located in the foothills of the Serra de Collserola, the Laberint d’Horta (Horta Labyrinth) is a historic park of Barcelona and one of the oldest gardens that remain in the city. Designed in 1791 by Joan Antoni Desvalls, it is made up of 750 metres of trimmed cypress trees and is inspired by the myth of Theseus: whoever makes their way to the centre finds love as a reward.
Desvalls, Marquess of Llupià, Poal and Alfarràs, was a nobleman who loved science, nature and art, passions that came together in the construction of the maze. Following the ideas of neo-classicism and in collaboration with Italian architect Domenico Bagutti, he created a garden with a labyrinth of cypress trees, sculptures and reliefs depicting characters from Greco-Roman mythology who symbolise the different levels of love.
Currently, the park covers an area of 9 hectares and is divided into two parts: the neo-classical garden and the romantic garden. They are noted for their botanical variety and abundance of ornamentation, as well as the architectural elements of the romantic gardens (temples, water channels and sculptures, as well as the Palace of the Desvalls family). Despite not being the refuge of Minotaur, the labyrinth tests the sense of direction of those who enter.
