Between Cambrils and Montbrió del Camp is one of the best examples of romantic gardening in the Mediterranean. The Samà Parc is a mix of botanical garden, zoo and native forest, which today is still seducing its visitors thanks to the beauty and harmony of the whole and its delicate exoticism.
The developer of the park was Salvador Samà i Torrents, Marquis of Marianao, belonging to a Latin-American family who had settled in Cuba and who wanted to bring the atmosphere of the old colony to Baix Camp. The project was carried out by Josep Fontserè i Mestre, creator of the great cascade of the Parc de la Ciutadella in Barcelona.
In 1881 he began planting in the Park with long rows of plane trees, mandarin trees, limes, horse chestnuts, water lilies, palms and yuccas, among other plant species. Later, the Park hosted animals from the Marquis’ private zoo which were exhibited in several enclosures and cages. Equally important in the composition of the Park are the architectural elements: the palace, the lake and the waterfall, the Pavelló dels Lloros (pavilion of the parrots) and the Torre de l’Angle (the angular tower) are the most notable.
The Drassanes Reials, the Royal Shipyards of Barcelona, were the great factory for the galleys that the Crown of Aragon needed at the height of its Mediterranean expansion. Located by the sea and at the foot of Montjuïc, for many years it was thought that they were the largest and most complete medieval shipyards in the world to have been preserved. But the excavations in 2012 showed that, at the end of the 16th century, on top of the old medieval building,a new shipyard had been constructed that corresponds to the current building.
The King Jaume I instigated the creation of the shipyards, even though it was Pere III who, in collaboration with the city and the Government of Catalonia, gave the final impetus at the end of the 14th century. The first building of this infrastructure was a large walled construction with a tower at each corner; later it was covered and expanded. The large gothic hall of eight naves that we see today dates from the 16th century, although it maintains the original gothic style. It is a wide and well-illuminated space thanks to the large windows and is covered with a wooden roof.
Currently the building is home to the Museu Marítim de Barcelona (Barcelona Maritime Museum). The collection was started in 1929 and has been enriched over the years. Highlights include the models of ships, nautical instruments, votive offerings, maritime paintings, figureheads and cartography. Also very popular are the replicas of the Royal Galley of Joan d’Àustria and the schooner of Santa Eulàlia.
During the 14th and 15th centuries, Tortosa was a commercial enclave of the highest order. This splendour can be seen in buildings such as the Cathedral, the noble palaces, the Episcopal Palace, the walled enclosure or the llotja (the exchange). In the 16th century Tortosa was one of the most important cities in Catalonia politically, economically and demographically. It is from this period that the Royal Colleges date, the most important Renaissance complex in Catalonia.
The monumental complex consists of three buildings. The most important thing is the College of Sant Jaume i Sant Maties, from 1564, which started out to educate young Muslim converts. It is a large two-story building organised around a central courtyard – the only Renaissance courtyard in Catalonia - noted for its rich sculptural ornamentation with a strong Italian influence.
The other building is the College of Sant Jordi i Sant Domènec, from 1578. It was originally a Dominican convent, but Francoist shelling (1937-1939) left only the simple Renaissance portal of two buildings standing.
Completing the complex is the Church of Sant Domènec, from 1585. It is a church with a single nave, in Gothic style, with side chapels. Currently the central nave is dominated by the storage-archive from the now disappeared town hall. Since 2008, it has hosted the Renaissance Interpretation Centre.
The Gardens of Santa Clotilde, located on a truly beautiful cliff top with views over the sea, are considered to be the model of the noucentista garden. They were made by the architect Nicolau Rubió i Tudurí, a close follower of Jean Claude Nicolas Forestier, who designed, among other things, the gardens of Montjuïc and the Parc de la Ciutadella.
In an attempt to restore the classical forms, the gardens were designed in the manner of the old gardens of the Italian Renaissance. They are structured on the basis of a terraced incline, where the diversity of species of Mediterranean plants alternate with small ponds and groups of sculptures.
Near the main entrance to the gardens is the casa original that is noted for the semicircular arches on the ground floor, a large terrace and a three-storey turret. To the south face of the tower there is a painted tile panel dedicated to Santa Clotilde dating back to 1930.
The gardens have been arranged around the main set of steps, known as the Escala de les Sirenes, (the steps of the Sirens), which runs from the terrace of the house. As one descends, there is the smell of resins, laurels and aromatic plants with the sea in the background.
Casa Masó is the birthplace of the architect Rafael Masó , a symbol of the development of "Noucentisme" in Girona. Perfectly integrated into the urban environment, the building consists of a ground floor, three apartments and the roof.
The current house is the union of four craftsman-type houses purchased by the Masó family. The façade in Carrer Ballesteries combines the Secessionist style with Barroque-inspired elments. At the rear, glass and ceramic collonades frame the Onyar river.
Rafael Masó made two major alterations to the house. The first, in 1911, when his father commissioned him to adapt the house to the needs of a large and socially ascending family. The second renovation was in 1918, when his brother inherited the house. In addition to unifying the façades, he designed the staircase, the stained glass windows and much of the furniture inside.
For the renovations, the architect turned to the "Modernista" (Catalan Art Nouveau) style prevailing at the time, although he continued to introduce more elements of the nascent "Noucentisme" movement.
Since 2006, this affluent house has been the home of the Rafael Masó Foundation and is currently the only house along the Onyar open to the public.
The musicians Lluís Millet and Amadeu Vives, founders of the Catalan Choral Society in 1891, commissioned Lluis Domenech i Montaner to construct a building as the headquarters of the organisation. However, they didn't want just any building, rather a unique building that would reflect the sentiment of the Catalan bourgeoisie of the late nineteenth century. On 23rd April, 1905, construction was started and the Barcelona high-society did not miss its opening on 9th February, 1908.
A particularly outstanding feature of the façade is the sculptural cluster representing Catalan popular music. Once inside, the visitor encounters main foyer, a baroque area full of colour, before they are presented with the real jewel of the building: the concert hall. Domenech i Montaner used a steel structure that supports the weight of construction in order to obtain a large, open and clean space. In addition, the ceiling is adorned with a large skylight in the shape of an inverted dome that represents a sun surrounded by female faces. The stage is the other big attraction of the hall, flanked by the most important sculptures of the building.
Domenech i Montaner designed a palace where architecture is combined with sculpture, joinery, marquetry, glasswork, mosaic and ceramics. This is what we know as a true work of art.
Who says that a hospital has to be white and devoid of all decoration? Thanks to the legacy of the banker Pau Gil, in 1902 the modernist architect, Lluís Domènech i Montaner, planned a hospital full of beauty, rich in ornamentation, colour and vegetation.
It is a monumental complex consisting of 27 red brick pavilions located on the border between the districts of Eixample and Guinardó. It is a true hospital city where, surrounded by gardens, medical and general treatments are provided, and where apartments and a church are located. Everything is connected via a 2 km underground passage systemthat allows patients to move about without going outside.
The project by Domènech i Montaner, that would be finished by his son in 1930, is a completely innovative architectural and urban conceptin terms of the typical 20th century hospital. The hospital separated services to avoid contagion and favoured natural light and open spaces to freshen the air and provide a more pleasing environment for the patients .
After more than 80 years of healthcare activity, the hospital was moved to new buildings in 2009. Once vacated and renovated, Domènech i Montaner's modernist pavilions became the home of other institutions.
The Basílica Expiatòria de la Sagrada Família (Basilica and Expiatory Church of the Sagrada Familia) is one of the most remarkable examples of Catalan ‘modernisme’ (Art Nouveau) and has become a symbol of Barcelona. Undoubtedly it is the unfinished monument that attracts most visitors in the world. Moreover, Antoni Gaudí poured all his efforts and knowledge into the project right up until his death, although he only saw completion of the crypt, the apse and the façade of the Nativity with one of the bell towers. Together, these areas were declared World Heritage Site in 2005.
Construction of the Sagrada Familia began in 1882 with the crypt located under the apse, according to a preliminary neo-Gothic design. When the commission was handed over to Gaudí, he completely changed the design and adapted the project to his naturalist ideals. One of the treasures of the crypt is the Roman-style mosaics on the floor. Another feature that cannot be missed is the framed altarpiece dedicated to the Holy Family by the sculptor Josep Llimona. And it is precisely in this intimate and mystic setting that Antoni Gaudí is buried, specifically in the chapel of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
Once the crypt and apse were finished, Gaudí started on a more ambitious and complex project based on detailed symbolism and great formal construction innovations based on the parabolic arch. This led to the Nativity façade. According to Gaudí: "If instead of creating this decorated, ornate and bombastic façade, I had begun with the Passion, hard, bare and bone-like; people would have expressed disapproval". Thus he turned the façade into a detailed stone book relating the episodes of Jesus’s childhood.
After Gaudí’s death, the building went through decades of slow evolution. With the revival of interest in the work of Gaudí, the number of visitors has greatly increased in recent years and construction work on the temple has advanced quickly, following the models and notes left by the master. The interior of the nave of the church is a new attraction and it is hoped that in 2026 the building of Gaudí’s dreams will be completed.
Located in the heart of the city of Barcelona, the Parc de la Ciutadella is not only a reference point as a green space in the city: its great diversity of elements (museums, lake, waterfall, century-old vegetation, sculptures, etc.) make it especially valued by residents and visitors to the city. Built in the second half of the 19th century on the occasion of the Universal Exposition of 1888, the current park occupies the grounds of the citadel which Felip V ordered to be built in 1714 after the War of Succession.
Of the pavilions built for the Universal Exposition, the Castell dels Tres Dragons (headquarters of the Museum of Zoology of Barcelona), the Umbracle (the plant house), and the Hivernacle (greenhouse) survive. But where all eyes are focused is on the lake and the monumental waterfall. A young Antoni Gaudí took part in the construction of the fountain, topped by a wrought iron sculpture.
In the old Plaza de Armas of the fortress is the seat of the Parliament of Catalonia and very close by, you can see a copy of El desconsol (Desolation), by Josep Llimona. This replica is the most prominent of the hundreds of sculptures that the visitor can see in the Park.
The main entrance to la Ciutadella along the Passeig de Lluís Companys, which is headed by the imposing modernista Triumphal Arch and which forms one of the most beautiful urban postcards of the city.
For many years, the Ciutadella was the only park in the city, and the first of those currently existing which was designed specifically as a public space. Its versatility turns the green lung of Barcelona into a stage for leisure and cultural activities.
Santa Caterina, opened in 1848, was the first covered market in Barcelona. Since 2005, the roof has become its stand-out element. It is this last alteration which has made the market a benchmark for contemporary architecture and a point of interest for tourists. The undulating and colourful roof has already become a new symbol of Barcelona.
In 1997, the architects Enric Miralles and Benedetta Tagliabue reformed the market that was originally designed by Josep Mas i Vila. The project maintained 3 out of the 4 original facades and raises up a skeleton of iron, steel and concrete, to the interior of the building, standing between the structure of wooden arches that form the ceiling.
But certainly the starring role of the new market goes to the roof: a huge wavy structure covered by 200,000 ceramic hexagons in 67 different colours. The work of ceramicist Toni Cumella, it represents the fruit and vegetables sold from the market stalls and fills the area with light and colour.
The launch of the market has helped to re-energise the neighbourhood. Now, brought together under the same roof as the stalls of fresh produce, is a supermarket, restaurants and the display of the remains of the old Dominican convent.