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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.

El 1912 a Tivissa, un punt estratègic del riu Ebre, on té vistes a la Cubeta de Móra (conca de moreres), es van trobar per casualitat un conjunt de polseres, arracades, anells, mànecs de miralls i 29 monedes d’època ibèrica. Més tard, va aparèixer una figura de bronze d’un parell de toros. Però va ser el 1927 quan va produir la seva troballa més important: això és el que es coneix com el Tresor de Tivissa , el millor exemple de fusteria ibèrica conservada a Catalunya.

A partir d’aquest punt, es va començar a excavar l’assentament ibèric de Castellet de Banyoles de Tivissa, que ha estat considerat un dels més importants de Catalunya. Ocupava una superfície de 4,4 hectàrees i la seva ubicació li permetia controlar les rutes comercials dels grecs i els fenicis al llarg de l’Ebre. No està clar quan es va fundar, però es creu que pot haver existit ja abans del segle VI aC. Va ser abandonada a finals del segle III aC, amb l'arribada dels romans. Més tard es va construir aquí un petit castell medieval.

Actualment, es poden observar les restes de dues torres pentagonals , l'únic exemple d'aquest tipus d'estructures al món ibèric. La seva posició suggereix que, en aquest cas, més que no tenir una funció defensiva, eren elements de prestigi. També s’han excavat una sèrie de cases que s’irradien cap a l’exterior, que haurien format grups de cases o barris.

Tot fa pensar que, dins de l’assentament, hi havia un santuari o lloc de culte . El Tresor de Tivissa, que actualment es pot veure al Museu d’Arqueologia de Catalunya , consta de 17 peces d’argent dels segles IV al III aC, que són en gran part vaixella de luxe dissenyada probablement per a ser utilitzada en celebracions rituals.

"Architecture is not like sculpture. It is a living thing. It is experienced in sections and is reconstructed in the head of each of us. It should be experienced on different days, hours, and moods." With this premise Albert Viaplana, together with Helio Piñón, revolutionised contemporary Barcelona and opened the doors to a new way of understanding public space. One of the major projects to demonstrate this is the Plaça dels Països Catalans of Barcelona (1981-1983), opposite the Estació de Sants.

Viaplana and Piñón designed a space from cement, without vegetation and with two large copper sheet roofs. They sought out a timeless and minimalist proposal, expressed in abstract, simple and anonymous lines, so that anyone could use it. This project, at the forefront of architectural deconstructivism, earned them the FAD Prize for architecture.

The Plaça dels Països Catalans became the model for the new public squares promoted in the 1980s by the City Council, known as "hard squares", which at the time caused public controversy for their coldness. But beyond the abstraction, the square is full of human and poetic details like the silhouette of a cat on the roof, of natural size, made with metal plate; an opening in the manner of a window; and some fountains.

Located in the heart of La Rambla, the Mercat de Sant Josep, known as La Boqueria, is one of the most popular areas in the old town of Barcelona. It even receives more visitors each day than the Sagrada Família. The current building dates from 1836, but its commercial function dates back to the 12th century.

On the area of the Pla de la Boqueria, an open-air street market was established where the farmers and traders from the surrounding villages would come together to sell their products. This was set up outside the city walls, in front of the Portal de la Boqueria (the Boqueria Gate), to save themselves the tax on bringing goods into the city.

The space where the market is held today is on the site of the former Convent of Sant Josep, founded by the Discalced Carmelites in 1586. It was demolished in 1835 and in its place was planned the construction of a monumental square that would have been the largest in Europe, of which the neoclassical portico is preserved. It was decided to move the market inside on a temporary basis, but eventually it was moved there permanently. It was expanded into the surrounding area, including the site of the Convent of Sant Joan de Jerusalem, from the 14th century, which had been knocked down.

In 1914, responding to the demands of vendors and shoppers, the market was enclosed with a metal and glass roof, using iron as the architectural element. Even so, La Boqueria is unlike the other public covered markets in Barcelona, such as the Born (1876) or the Mercat de Sant Antoni (1882), which were purpose-built from new. It is dominated by a hybrid architecture that explains the unique history of what was the first market to have existed in Barcelona.

Between the municipalities of Xerta and Tivenys, at one of the most spectacular places on the lower section of the River Ebro, is a major work of hydraulic engineering that transformed the economic activity of the area and has left a monumental testimony to an industrial heritage. This is a dam with a lock (a retaining wall that diverted the water) of about 310 metres long, built diagonally across the river.

It seems that the origin of a lock at this point can be traced to the Islamic period and that it must have been restored in the 12th century, after the conquest of Tortosa. Even so, it was not completed until 1411, under the direction of Mussà Alamí. It was in the 19th century when it was refurbished and the lock that diverted the water into the left and right channels of the Ebro which, as it still does today, served to irrigate the Delta and the gardens within the valley. Despite these works, the lock allows the boats that sail on the River Ebro to pass.

In addition to the dam with the lock, the heritage complex consists of several annexed buildings: the breakwaters, the old flour factory – of which only the walls remain standing - and the mill. This preserves a stone carved with the date of its construction, 1575, and items (the mill race and run-off channels and the toothed wheels) have been kept that belong to this time period. It has been refurbished many times until the end of the 19th century when it was used as an electrical generation plant. Even so, it is considered one of the few industrial buildings from the Renaissance period in Catalonia.

In the late Middle Ages, one of the most important baronial families of the Girona region settled on one of the hills of the Serra de Finestres, within what is now the La Garrotxa Volcanic Zone Natural Park. Little by little, the population started to grow around it and it became the village of Santa Pau. Today, the village still retains the essence of what was a centre of economic and commercial power.

The appearance of the old city, built mostly in the first half of the 14th century, is typically medieval, surrounded by walls and with narrow and irregular streets. The focal point of the town is the Plaça Major or Firal dels Bous, a triangular arcaded square where the markets and fairs took place. And, since 1297, the town has had the privilege of a protected area for holding markets. In front there is the Castle, which was built on the highest point of the village. Construction started in the 13th century, although it was later given the current appearance of a large stately home.

The square is dominated by the Gothic Church of Santa Maria. This is the current parish church, after the Romanesque Church of Santa Maria dels Arcs, on the outskirts, was badly damaged by the earthquakes in 1427 and 1428.

The rest of the medieval town is structured around Carrer del Pont and Carrer Major. It is from Portal del Mar (Gateway of the Sea) that the best views of the surrounding valleys are to be had and, on a clear day, one can even see the Gulf of Roses.

Little has changed in the urban morphology of Peratallada since medieval times. And not only has it not expanded beyond the city walls, but it has managed to preserve its architectural and urban origins as can be appreciated when walking through its narrow and winding streets. Not for nothing is it one of the most important town centres of Catalonia in terms of medieval architecture.

The fortified town is concentrated on top of a huge natural sandstone rock, artificially carved to give height (hence the name “pedra tallada” or "carved stone"). At the top, we find the Castle (11th century, but with signs that there might have been an earlier structure), with its Keep Tower and Palace.

A wall that formed the first enclosed area extends around the Castle, which was surrounded by two further walls. Of this defensive system, some of the walls, the valleys dug into the rock, towers such as the Torre de les Hores (Clocktower) and the Portal de la Verge (Gateway of the Virgin) still survive. The town was therefore divided into three sections between the walls, which accentuate the network of passageways and alleys.

About 200 metres to the north, outside the walls, is the parish church of Sant Esteve, dating from the late Romanesque period.

The name Pals (derived from the Latin palus, "marshy terrain") perfectly describes the geographic framework of marshes and swamps that existed on this stretch of coast. Therefore, it is not without reason that the town originated at the top of a hill, above the plain. Today, the historic centre of Pals, known as the Pedró Quarter, allows one to make a tour of the medieval past of the village.

Projecting above the roofs of the old town is the Torre de les Hores (Clock Tower), the only remaining evidence of the old castle of Pals. It was the Keep Tower, circular and in the Romanesque style, built on a podium of natural rock. Its name comes from the small Gothic bell tower of three pilasters that was added in the 15th century.

The Church of Sant Pere is a building with a single nave, built in the Gothic style, with some later additions such as the Baroque portal. This replaces an earlier Romanesque building (12th century) of which the remains of the western façade have been preserved, incorporated into the current front façade. In building the nave, they probably made use of the stone from the Castle, which was in ruins.

The walls of Pals are one of the best preserved in the Empordà region. The course of the wall remains virtually intact, and only a few sections have been transformed or destroyed, particularly on the eastern and southern sides, which is where the town has been extended. The interior of the old town is a complex of narrow and steep streets, which are centred around the Carrer Major, which has covered sections. What gives unity to the whole complex is the yellowish colour of the walls which derives from the sandstone with which they are built.

Manresa is inevitably associated with the stunning image of the Collegiate Basilica of Santa Maria at the top of the Puigcardener hill. Popularly known as La Seu, it is considered one of the main Catalan Gothic buildings.

Its elevated location was, successively, the site of an Iberian settlement, a Roman fortress and a Romanesque church. The construction of the current building began in 1322 under the direction of the same architect as that of Santa Maria del Mar, Berenguer de Montagut, and was completed at the end of the 15th century with the Gothic as the predominant style. However, after later alterations, we also find Baroque Renaissance elements or even neo-Gothic, as in the façade of the Baptistery.

The most notable elements of La Seu are the impressive rose window of the western façade, the bell tower and the crypt with a large marble tabernacle and eight Baroque medallions. Laterally, it has two protruding towers: one, the Chapel of the Holy Sacrament; and the other the Baptistery, with an octagonal plan.

Inside, its pictorial collection stands out, notable among which is the altarpiece of the Holy Spirit by Pere Serra, one of the most important works of Catalan painting of the 14th century.

Over the main façade of the building is the Historical Museum of La Seu, opened in 1934, which exhibits a large display of works of sacred art.