Historical

L’antiga Casa Pedrós, al centre de Castellterçol, és on va néixer i morir una de les figures clau del segle XX a Catalunya: Enric Prat de la Riba . Convertit en museu, ens apropa a la figura fundacional de la Lliga Regionalista, el primer president de la Mancomunitat de Catalunya i un dels principals teòrics del nacionalisme català.

Acompanyat d’una exhibició audiovisual, podem seguir la seva carrera professional i la ideologia del polític i escriptor. Al mateix temps, ens endinsem en el seu àmbit més personal, ja que l’arquitectura i els mobles són originals de la casa. Així, podem descobrir com era la vida en una casa de camp ben feta a principis del segle XX.

A excepció de l’oficina, que conté els mobles que Prat de la Riba tenia a Barcelona, ​​la resta de la casa es conserva intacta. Destaquen la cuina, el centre de la vida familiar i el menjador, reservat per a ocasions especials. La religiositat de la família es reflecteix en la presència d’imatges religioses a la majoria d’habitacions, particularment a les habitacions.

Al segle X, una xarxa de torres de guaita va delimitar el comtat d’Osona, que després va estendre els seus dominis a Anoia i Segarra. De tots ells, la torre Manresana de Prats de Rei és la que ha resistit millor el pas del temps. Tant és així que també va ser una de les escenes de la Guerra de Successió espanyola.

Al seu voltant hi havia un castell medieval de frontera , del qual només resten els fonaments de les muralles i una sala. La Torre, reconstruïda al segle XII, és l’únic element del complex en bon estat que s’ha conservat.

I està molt ben reforçat. Construïda amb pedres de carreus, la torre Manresana està dividida en tres nivells i amb un gruix minvant de paret, que va des dels 215 cm a la base fins als 160 cm a la part superior. Una de les claus de la seva seguretat va ser que només es podia entrar per una porta situada a mig camí de la torre, a la qual s’accedia a través d’una escala elevada.

La terrassa, situada a 21 metres d'alçada , ofereix una àmplia panoràmica del comtat de l'Anoia. Per aquest motiu, el 1711 va ser l’escenari d’enfrontaments entre el bàndol austríac i els Borbons per controlar la zona de Calaf.

Considered one of the main historical monuments of Tortosa, together with the Cathedral and the Royal Colleges, the Castle of Sant Joan, known as the Castle of La Suda, is a key witness to the Andalusian past of the city. Also preserved here is the only open air Islamic necropolis in Catalonia.

It was built in the 10th century under the Caliphate of Abderraman III, on top of an ancient Roman Acropolis. Despite the height, a huge pit was excavated within the enclosure down to the level of the Ebre river to provide the fortress with water.

After the conquest of Tortosa by Ramon Berenguer IV in 1148, the castle became a prison. It was owned by the House of Montcada and by the Templars and was the favourite residence of King Jaume I. In addition to being a Royal Palace, it has also been a Court of Justice. It currently houses a parador de turisme.

In addition to the very important Muslim cemetery, the layout and the foundations of the walls and the well have also been preserved from the Islamic period. This consists of underground galleries which house a mill and two ovens.

The medieval legacy can be seen in some Gothic windows, the gunpowder store and the parade ground. However, it passed unnoticed as, in the 15th and 17th centuries; the Castle underwent many modifications for defensive reasons.

A 461 metres d'alçada, a la part alta de la serra de la Guàrdia, és fàcil imaginar l'impressionant Castell de Claramunt vigilant i protegit per la conca d' Adena .

Jo, tot i que necessito nombroses destruccions i reconstruccions, és fortalesa del segle X és un dels exemples principals de la xarxa de castells fronterers, que van marcar la línia entre el Comtat de Barcelona i Al-Andalus.

Encomanat dels seus inicis a la casa de Claramunt, el castell esdevenir el centre administratiu dels dominis feus de Cardona-Medinaceli entre els segles XIV i XIX. Tanmateix, no hi ha aletes serioses al segle XX que recupera la seva glòria amb la compra i restauració per part dels seus propis propietaris, la família Miquel .

Té l’estructura típica de castells del segle XII, amb dos recintes que ocupen més de 5.000 m2: el sobirà o recinte superior, amb la zona residencial, la Sala Gòtica i quatre torres, entre les que destaca la torre de conservació; l’altre, el recinte jussà o inferior, assigna els serveis del castell i l’actualització és un gran pati envoltat de muralles.

També es conserven les restes de l’ església romànica de Santa Maria , la primera parròquia de la Pobla de Claramunt.

Between 75,000 and 40,000 years ago, the cliff of Capelló was a shelter for Neanderthals, an extinct species of hominid who were organised into small communities of hunter-gatherers. Thousands of years later, Abric Romaní revealed to archaeologists what life was like for a species who shared common evolutionary ancestry with modern man.

In terms of the number and the importance of the findings, Abric Romaní has become one of the principal Middle Palaeolithic sites on the Iberian Peninsula. Thanks to these discoveries, it is possible to reconstruct the modus vivendi of these communities and their interaction with the natural environment in which they lived.

In addition, Abric Romaní, which is still in the process of excavation, has, for the first time allowed us to determine (for Neanderthal groups) the occupation strategies, the structure of their dwellings, subsistence strategies, the technologies of fire and tools, etc. Notable among the remains recovered are scores of wooden objects (the largest collection in the world with such an ancient chronology), close to 200 fireplaces and numerous tools made of stone and bone that demonstrate some very technically advanced production systems.

Abric Romaní forms part of the NEAN-Capellades Prehistoric Park, which includes some 20 archaeological sites in total, and acts as a centre for the dissemination of prehistory and the promotion of cultural tourism.

Built on an excellent vantage point, the medieval castle of Miravet is one of the best examples of the architecture of the Order of the Templars in Europe. This military and religious building is Arab in origin and was built in the defensive style of the castles Terra Santa, with majestic walls that rise up over the River Ebro.

After its conquest in 1153, it became the property of the Christians and Ramon Berenguer IV gave it to Pere de Rovira, master of the Knights Templar in Hispania and Provence, who reconstructed the castle transforming it into one of the main centres of Christian power on the Iberian Peninsula.

Its uniformity of construction shows that the Templars constructed the building in a relatively short time. Nevertheless, the remains of an Andalusian fortress are evident especially in the lower sections of the wall and in part of the buildings of the upper enclosure.

Beyond the Castle, Miravet is a walled citadel with constructions on different levels. Its forms are blunt and austere i, like a form of medieval hive, in that within the walls, the community had everything needed for day-to-day living.

The Archive of the Crown of Aragon (ACA) is the historical archive which contains the documents from the institutions of the ancient Crown of Aragon, as well from other historical Spanish collections. The former Royal Archive of Barcelona brings together more than seven centuries of history between its walls.

King Jaume II of Aragon created the Royal Archive of Barcelona in 1318 with the aim of unifying the collection from all the Crown territories. At the beginning, it was mainly to safeguard the written records relating to the Royal Heritage, as well as government and legal documents. During the Bourbon monarchy the building was modernised (1738), a new internal regulations were approved (1754) and with the change of name began the task of incorporating the files of institutions of the Ancient Regime into the collection of the Crown of Aragon.

Until 1993, it was housed in the Palau del Lloctinent, a building constructed between 1549 and 1557 as an extension of the Palau Reial Major in Barcelona. Subsequently, the majority of documents, as well as the task of research, conservation and custody, were moved to the current location on Carrer Almogàvers. The historical headquarters is maintained for the dissemination, through courses and exhibitions, and for ceremonial events.

From a manuscript of the tenth century, to the Proceedings of the Governing Council of the Republican Government, and including archives and personal collections of illustrious personages of the Catalan society in the 19th and 20th centuries such as Francesc Macià, Prat de la Riba, Eugeni D'Ors and Carles Riba. Since 1980, the National Archive of Catalonia (Arxiu Nacional de Catalunya, ANC) has been the institution in charge of gathering, preserving and disseminating the documentary heritage of the country.

As the general archive of the government, the ANC receives, restores and manages the documentation generated by the political and administrative actions of the Generalitat de Catalunya. As a national historical archive, it is dedicated to the restoration of documentation which is key to the knowledge of our past.

In addition to the archives from the administration, associations and foundations, and from the Church, particularly notable among its more than 900 holdings and documentary collections are the personal holdings and the manuscript, scroll and printed collections.

The history of the national archives of Catalonia began in 1936, during the Spanish Republic, and was restarted with the end of Franco's dictatorship. The current headquarters in Sant Cugat is a modern building featuring the latest technologies to ensure the best preservation of documents.

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.

Beyond speculations about whether the building was a mausoleum or a villa during the Roman era, the roman complex of Centcelles (Constantí) is unique for its 4th century mosaics. Exceptional architectural testament of the late-Roman period in Catalonia, since the year 2000, it has been included in the set of monuments of the ancient Tarraco which were declared a Unesco World Heritage Site.

The oldest remains of Centcelles are from a small rural building from the 2nd -1st Century BC, which later became a magnificent villa with a baths complex. The most notable area is the closed circular room with a dome where the mosaics are found. These are considered to be the oldest Christian-themed dome mosaics of the Roman world and are exceptional for their good state of preservation. They represent several scenes, organised into three areas: a hunt on the lower section, biblical scenes from the Old and the New Testament in the central part and figures of the four seasons at the top.

From the study of these mosaics and mural paintings, one could think that the villa was a mausoleum. Even so, its interpretation is still uncertain. The first hypothesis of the researchers suggested that the mosaics made reference to the tomb of Constant, son of the Emperor Constantine the Great. More recent researches, however, think that Centcelles was the late Roman villa of a notable person in the ecclesiastical or civil hierarchy.