Historical

The Roman Teatre de Tàrraco, in the lower part of the city near the forum and the port area, is one of the city’s earliest buildings designed for public entertainment and a prominent example of cultural life during the Roman period.

It was built in the early 1st century BC, during the reign of Emperor Augustus, and was erected on a strategic site, making use of the natural slope of the land to support the tiered seating. Seating approximately 6,000 spectators, the theatre hosted performances and public events in one of the busiest areas of Tàrraco.

Key parts of the structure remain, including the cavea or auditorium, with the first few rows still intact; the orchestra, the semi-circular area reserved for dignitaries; and the scaena, where the performances took place. Other elements of the original structure can also be identified, such as some of the staircases which divided the space.

The theatre continued to operate until the end of the 2nd century AD, at which point it fell into disuse as a performance venue and served other purposes. Although it remained hidden until the late 19th century and suffered considerable damage, the Roman theatre of Tàrraco is an essential element in understanding one of the city’s most vibrant areas: the port and its harbour district.

Nau Gaudí in Mataró, is one of Antoni Gaudí's earliest projects. It was built in 1883 and formed part of the Cooperativa Obrera Mataronense project, spearheaded by the industrialist and one of the leaders of the late 19th-century cooperative movement, Salvador Pagès, who was sympathetic to the ideas of utopian socialism.

The plan was to build a large complex comprising factories, housing and social facilities. However, only a few parts of this project were ever built, including the cotton bleaching warehouse, which is the only major building that has survived.

It is a large, open-plan space of almost 600 square metres, supported by thirteen wooden parabolic arches that hold up the roof without the need for columns. Innovative for its time, this solution showcases Gaudí's engineering ingenuity and his ability to create functional spaces with great architectural power.

Contrary to his best-known works, Gaudí opted for austere architecture that placed materials and structural elements at the forefront. Just a few metres from the warehouse, visitors can also see the outhouses, which are the oldest structure on the site. In this modest building, Gaudí was already experimenting with ventilation solutions and decorative details, which he would later use in his architectural designs.

Nowadays, Nau Gaudí is a museum dedicated to exploring the early career of one of the world’s most renowned architects and showcasing works by contemporary artists, courtesy of the Mataró Contemporary Art Consortium Museum and the Lluís Bassat Collection.

Towering over the bay of Sant Feliu at the tip of the Gixols headland, Caseta del Salvament Marítim offers a unique insight into the history of coastguard protection and rescue operations along the Catalan coast.

The building was completed in 1890 and was strategically located to control the natural harbours of Abric and Calassanç, at a time when they were particularly vulnerable. Besides sheltering shipwrecked sailors and the volunteers who carried out search and rescue duties, the station was used to store rescue equipment, such as the lifeboat, the launching platform and the line-thrower, along with a wide variety of essential tools and materials for operations.

The cabin and its contents represent an exceptional heritage site due to the preserved materials and the fact that it remains in its original location. Original items from the late 19th century are preserved inside, such as the lifeboat, as well as instruments, documentation and other items related to maritime activities.

Nowadays, it serves as one of the branches of the Sant Feliu de Guíxols History Museum. Visitors can learn about how rescue operations were organised and how sailors’ lives were protected in an often unpredictable maritime environment.

Torre Bellesguard is one of Antoni Gaudí’s most remarkable projects in Barcelona. At the foot of the Collserola hills, the castle lies on a site with over two thousand years of history. Remains from the Iberian and Roman periods have been found there. It was also once a hideout for outlaws and home to King Martin I the Humane, the last monarch of the Casal de Barcelona.

In the early 20th century, Gaudí drew inspiration from that past to build a residence on the site for the Figueres family. The building is reminiscent of a castle, with ramparts, Gothic-style windows and a large spire topped by a four-armed cross. However, Gaudí takes a liberal approach to the Gothic style and combines it with his own architectural innovations, such as the use of slabs, ceramic mosaic benches and stained-glass windows.

The tower is built from greenish stone quarried from the site itself, which blends the building seamlessly into the landscape. Inside, the light-filled spaces, the staircase courtyard and the attics with exposed brickwork highlight the architect's ingenuity.

Declared a Site of Cultural Interest in 1969, Torre Bellesguard is now open to the public, providing visitors with the opportunity to discover one of Gaudí’s most hidden treasures and the site’s long history.

If you want to take a trip back in time and get an insight into the Spanish Civil War, Poble Vell de Corbera d'Ebre is a must-see.

Located at the top of the Montera hillock, it is one of the most symbolic places of the Battle of the Ebro, the most difficult and decisive of the war. Between 25 July and 16 November 1938, after 115 intense days of conflict, life in Corbera d'Ebre changed.

Located on the front line of the Republican Front, the old part of the village was destroyed by aerial bombardment and artillery from Franco's army. The village was abandoned and, over time, the community moved to the lower part of the hill and built Poble Nou.

Now Poble Vell is a place of memory, an open-air museum. It provides a first-hand account of the historical facts and the devastating consequences of the war. In addition to the streets and houses, we can also admire the monuments to the International Brigades and the 'Permanent Flame', the sculpture 'The Boot', by Joan Brossa, and 'La Foradada'. A must-see is the Freedom Alphabet, a collection of 28 works spread out around the town to emphasise the value of words over force and violence. And the spectacular late 18th-century Baroque church, Església Vella de Sant Pere, which remained standing despite the battle. It has since been restored and now hosts artistic and cultural events.

In 1992, Poble Vell de Corbera d'Ebre was declared a Cultural Asset of National Interest by the Government of Catalonia and is a monument to Peace.

Castelldefels Castle is perched on a hill at 59 metres above sea level. This monumental ensemble, which lends its name to the town, was built in the 10th century over what had been an Iberian settlement and, later, a Roman villa.

The castle was strategically constructed overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, overlooking a commanding position to control the territory and the coastal strip.

It was used for centuries as a fortress to defend the Eramprunyà barony, and was restored and fortified in the 16th century against attacks by Berber privateers.

Piracy began to fade away in the 18th century, and the castle fell into the hands of several noble families. One name that is closely associated with the fortification is the banker Manuel Girona, who bought and spearheaded the restoration of this iconic city landmark in 1897.

During the 20th century, it was used as a military training centre by the Republican authorities during the Civil War in 1937 and early 1938. Shortly afterwards, the castle and church were converted into a prison for international brigade members in March of the same year. Visitors can see original graffiti by these brigadiers in Santa Maria church in Castelldefels. This 10th-century church is the part of the ensemble that retains the oldest remains, with walls dating from the Iberian, Roman, medieval, modern and contemporary periods.

Both the castle and the church have been declared a Cultural Asset of National Interest.

Another impressive feature is the Fencing Room, which is decorated with 18th century paintings, and the Institutional Room, or the Noble Room, which bore witness to the grand feasts and celebrations attended by the Catalan bourgeoisie at the beginning of the 20th century, and which retains its neo-Gothic décor.

The Castle-Palace of la Bisbal d’Empordà, a construction that was at the same time castle, palace and prison, is one of the few examples of Romanesque civil architecture conserved in Catalan territory.

Located in the middle of a Medieval village, it was occupied for centuries by the lords of the region, the Bishops of Girona. The clergy obtained absolute control of la Bisbal (hence the name's origin) thanks to King Jaume I who granted them civil and criminal jurisdiction of the city. The castle became the site of spiritual and terrestrial power of its Lords. From its vantage point in the centre of the village, the bishops controlled the lands bathed by the river Daró and also administered justice which spurred the need for a prison.

The first thing that draws attention in the castle-palace is its sheer grandness. Boasting a rectangular layout, the original Romanesque building has been modified numerous times with structures of other styles (like the door and some Renaissance windows in the façade). As characteristic elements of Romanesque architecture we find semicircular voussoired windows in the North East and North West façade of the castle. In the latter area, there is also a basement constructed with inclined bricks, known as opus spicatum, a commonly utilised technique during antiquity and the first Middle Ages. Once inside the castle, we pass through a clearly Romanesque corridor, covered by a quarter circle vault and, descending the stairs we find the famous castle prison, a rectangular room covered with a semicircular arch.

The doors of the five rooms on the first floor are also crowned by these arches. If the bottom-most part is the prison, the highest part is the location of the chapel of Sant Miquel, also in the Romanesque style. The chapel is located in a rectangular space that, seen from the outside, is the most outstanding of the entire complex. With only a single nave the church is covered by a slightly pointed barrel vault.
 
The Castle-Palace of la Bisbal d’Empordà is part of the ‘Romanesque weekend: L'Empordà’ getaway.

Scribes, illuminators and miniaturists worked side by side in the workshop of the monastery of Ripoll, one of the centres of cultural reference in Medieval Europe. This celebrated workshop produced numerous manuscripts of great artistic quality, above all under the orders of the Abbot Oliba. Made in the first quarter of the 11th century, the Bible of Ripoll and the Bible of Rodes are the most enlightened that have come to us from the Romanesque period.

The monk Guifré (Wilfred), was the only copyists of these Bibles; the principal illustrator was, as historians have identified him, “an artist of the impressionist style.” His brushstroke was “original, decided and energetic” and he is responsible for the vast majority of the illustrations in the codex. With a different and less successful style, we find the third monk who participated in the Bible. He is clearly identified thanks to a peculiar characteristic: he had a propensity to make round faces, a bit full and utilised tools like the compass and the drawing pen to trace straight and curved lines.

The Bible of Ripoll is a large format volume (550x370mm) that contains 465 folios. More than the Sacred Scriptures, the codex includes 210 prologues, summaries and other introductory texts that make the Bible of Ripoll a type of “great illustrated medieval encyclopaedia.” The “font” of the texts is the pure Carolingian script by the monk Guifré (Wilfred), the only copyist of this work. The impressive miniatures and drawings in the work are renowned: we find 20 folios completely illustrated with miniatures that inspired the iconography of the lauded Portal of the monastery.

However, the Bible of Ripoll wasn't the only bible to come out of the rich workshop of the monastery. The first quarter of the 11^th century was prolific and, in total, there were three codices of this type made in Ripoll. In modern times only two are preserved, as the other copy disappeared in a fire in 1835.
The Bible of Ripoll was copied in the workshop and moved to Marseilles by the monks of the Monestir de Sant Víctor when the two abbeys were joined in 1070. Finally, in the 12^th century, the manuscript was taken to the Vatican thanks to the nephew of Pau V, and guarded in the Vatican Apostolic Library.

The third codex is known as the Bible of Rodes and was a gift of the Abbot Oliba from the Monestir de Sant Pere de Rodes with the motive of consecrating his monastic church (1022). This copy was stolen in the 17^th century by the French marshal Noailles during the looting of the monastery and later sold to the king Lluís XV.

The Bible of Rodes is written on vellum in what is known as pure Carolingian script. Originally it had 566 folios that, in the 18^th century in the hands of the French, were divided into four volumes. The artistic richness of the miniatures was important in and of itself but above all, for the great influence it had in inspiring Romanesque painting and sculpture. Art historians assume that the illustrations of the Bible inspired a fresco of the Crucifixion of Christ recovered from the cloister of Sant Pere de Rodes, some of the historic capitals (today in the National Museum of the Middle Ages of Paris) and scenes from the magnificent portal of Ripoll. It is now conserved in the National Library of France.

In 2002 and 2007, about a thousand years after its original edition, the two copies were reedited in copied version.