Under the waters of El Port de la Selva bay, resting for more than 2,000 years, the Cap del Vol, a Roman vessel that sank with its cargo of wine and which has been baptised with the name of the beach where the wreck remains. From the outset, the researchers realised that the Cap del Vol was not a conventional Roman ship: the characteristics of its naval architecture were quite different from other wrecks (sunken ships) from the same period.
In particular, the draught of the vessel (the distance between the waterline and the keel) is lower than that of other ships and its keel is not pronounced. Features that made it ideal for sailing in shallow waters or in wetland areas and the scholars believe that in reality it was a ship built by the indigenous population of the area.
El Cap del Vol was carrying a load of wine stored in amphora and it is believed that it made the trip between the Catalan coast and that of Narbonne. Among the most remarkable finds there is a coin from Arse (Sagunt) and the cork in one of the amphora.
The Historic Archives of the City of Barcelona (AHCB) is the institution in charge of custody, preservation, treatment and dissemination of historical documents generated by the government of the city since the 13th century, when the Barcelona municipal government was created, and until the liberal revolution of the mid-19th century.
Over time, a wide range of archival materials, bibliographic and newspaper collections of historical interest have been incorporated and it has become one of the most important archival centres of Catalonia and an essential reference for historians.
From the 1920s the headquarters of the archive has been the
Currently the holdings and collections of the historical archive of the city of Barcelona are divided into three main sections: documentary collections, the library and the newspaper library.
The Regional Archives Network (XAC) is made up of regional archives that work to ensure the principles of provenance and regionality in the treatment and access to documents.
Each of the 41 archives of the network is responsible for organising, preserving, disseminating and facilitating access to the documentation and documentary heritage of their region, and also collaborates with the various public administrations.
In addition, they are also in charge of the custody of the documents of the municipalities of less than 10,000 inhabitants, notary protocols more than 100 years old, the documentation regarding the administration of Justice, the public records of the State, and any other documentation of historic or cultural interest for the area.
Since 1981 the three provincial archives (Girona, Lleida, Tarragona) also form part of the Regional Archives Network of the Catalan Government.
With the aim of cataloguing, preserving and disseminating the bibliographic heritage of Catalonia, in 1983 the Catalan Government created the Collective Catalogue of Catalonia’s Bibliographic Heritage (CCPBC).
Managed by the Biblioteca de Catalunya, the CCPBC is a cooperative cataloguing project open to all types of institutions that have bibliographic collections relating to heritage. It contains bibliographic descriptions of printed documents that range from the very beginnings of printing until the start of the 20th century, as well as manuscripts and other types of documentary heritage interest conserved in the libraries of Catalonia.
Some of the major libraries with bibliography of patrimonial interest are, in addition to the Biblioteca de Catalunya, the institutions such as the Historical Archive of the City of Barcelona, the Abbey of Santa Maria de Poblet, the Ateneu Barcelonès, the Library of Montserrat, the Episcopal Library of Vic, Casa Asia, the Centre Excursionista de Catalunya, the Josep Pla Foundtion, the Institute of Catalan Studies, the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya and the Archaeological Museum of Catalonia, among others.
The CCPBC has collaborated in the preparation of the bibliographic heritage of the Spanish State since 1992, and from 2007 has also formed part of the Collective Catalogue of Catalan Universities (CCUC).
To find out about the historical memory of the country, the conservation of the documentary heritage becomes key. In Catalonia, 330 archives are in charge of preserving and dissemination of this valuable personal, legal and institutional testimony.
Whether they are publicly owned (local, regional, provincial or national), belong to official bodies (universities, professional associations, etc.) or belong to private entities (associations, foundations, etc.), in all these archives you can find very diverse documentation: textual, audio-visual, cartographic and electronic.
The Catalonia Archives System (SAC) is the body that oversees standards and common procedures for the management and dissemination of the documentary heritage of Catalonia. These include, among others, the archives of the Catalan Government, the Crown of Aragon, the archives of municipalities with more than 10,000 inhabitants, the provincial councils, the archives of the universities and of the parishes and the churches.
The four great Chronicles were written in the late 13th and 14th centuries and form the finest histographical collection from medieval Europe. Their authors, Jaume I, Bernat Desclot, Ramon Muntaner and Pere el Cerimoniós, aimed to leave a record of facts which they intended would be of educational value. The works of Jaume I and Pere el Cerimoniós are considered to be the only autobiographies of medieval monarchs.
In the first of the Chronicles, the Llibre dels feits, King Jaume I tells of the facts of his life, leaving out those that might have harmed the image he wanted to convey of a heroic and courtly monarch.
In the Llibre del rei En Pere, Bernat Desclot, there is no direct evidence of what he relates. Although it is noted for its careful documentation, its story offers a clearly interpretative vision of Pere el Gran.
Although there is direct evidence many of the facts told in the Llibre de Ramon Muntaner, the author manipulates history. He also doesn’t hide his enthusiasm for monarchs, whom he considers to be supernatural beings protected by divine grace.
The fourth of the Chronicles, the Llibre del Rei Pere III, is noted for its literary quality. However, it has always been the least appreciated because of its distance from the epic and chivalrous spirit and presents a King obsessed with imitating and surpassing his predecessors.
The codices of the four major Chronicles are preserved in the Biblioteca de Catalunya.
The first film exhibition in Catalonia took place on 5th May, 1895 in Barcelona. Almost a century later, in 1981, the Filmoteca de Catalunya, was born, dedicated to the conservation of film and audiovisual heritage and to the dissemination of film culture.
Today, the Filmoteca de Catalunya has a collection of more than 45,000 books, 20,000 graphic archives, 8,000 films, 5,000 sound tracks and 1,200 pieces of original film equipment. It is the result of the work of conservation, restoration, cataloguing, documentation and study of the film heritage of Catalonia carried out by this institution.
However, the best way to get to know the Filmoteca is through exhibitions, publications and film projections, nearly a thousand each year.
After acquiring a first projection room in the street Travessera de Gràcia and more than 20 years at the old Aquitània cinema in Sarrià, in 2012 the new headquarters in the district of El Raval were officially opened. This building, designed by Josep Lluís Mateo is the location for the main display and exhibition areas, a library and a bookstore.
The holdings and film collections are conserved in the other main site of the Filmoteca, the Centre de Conservació i Restauració, located in Terrassa, in the Parc Audiovisual de Catalunya.
The history of Catalan bibliography cannot be understood without the task of acquisition, preservation and dissemination of collections with immense literary, artistic and scientific interest that the Biblioteca de Catalunya (The National Library of Catalonia) has held since its creation in 1907.
Notable amongst its holdings of approximately three million items, are the collection of nearly 20,000 manuscripts and 500,000 letters. There we find medieval marvels such as the Homilies d'Organyà (13th century), the Llibre de l'orde de cavalleria (Book of the Order of Chivalry), by Ramon Llull and the four great Chronicles; or seminal modern manuscripts such as the Oda a la Pàtria (Ode to the Motherland), by Bonaventura C. Aribau (1833), or L'Atlàntida, by Jacint Verdaguer.
Also notable are the newspaper and sound archives, as well as the graphic collections, with prints, drawings, maps and photographs, from the 16th century until the present day.
The Biblioteca de Catalunya also manages the Frederic Marès Book Museum, consisting of more than 1,500 documents that the collector gave to the institution. And also the Joan Maragall Archive, housed in the former residence of the poet.
From 1939, the Biblioteca de Catalunya has been based in the Antic Hospital de la Santa Creu in Barcelona, one of the most important complexes of 15th century Gothic civil architecture in Catalonia. As a result of the merger of several medieval hospitals in Barcelona, it was for many centuries the largest health facility in the country.
Cervera is home to one of the most beautiful baroque buildings in Catalonia. The imposing sobriety of the University building is the remaining trace of the institution that was built here.
It was the political circumstances that made the creation of this institution of higher education possible. King Felip V founded it in 1717 as compensation for damages suffered during the war of the Spanish succession, and became the intellectual centre of Catalonia.
The majestic architecture of the building follows a scheme borrowed from military architecture, with a rectangular floor plan and towers on the corners. The main façade is in the moderate Baroque style and was adapted to local character, while the second façade, the interior, represents the new neo-classical trends.
The most significant area of this majestic building is the paranymph or events hall, which also includes the chapel. On the altar there is a Baroque altarpiece made by the master Jaume Padró, a small apse with alabaster sculptures from Sarral surrounded by coloured marbles. The complex is presided over by the Immaculate Conception, patroness of the University and the representative of the Wisdom.
The greatest monument in Catalonia is also the largest bastioned fortress in Europe. The Castle of Sant Ferran occupies an area of 550,000 m² at the top of the hill of Figueres. As a good frontier Castle, the location is unbeatable: It has good views of the Serra de l’Albera, which creates the border with France, and the Gulf of Roses.
Undoubtedly it was constructed to meet the need to reinforce the border after the Peace of the Pyrenees of 1659 and owes its name to King Ferran VI (Ferdinand VI). The fortification, which was begun in 1766 but was only completed in 1892, consists of two enclosures.
The interior, of more than 325,000 m2, consists of six bastions connected by stretches of wall. The size of the building cannot go unnoticed: stables with capacity for 500 horses, warehouses to store food for 10,000 people for a year, the main square, new pavilions for the accommodation of the officials and their families, and four big cisterns with a total capacity of nine million litres of water.
The exterior enclosure, with a perimeter of 3,120 metres, made up of three hornworks, seven ravelins and two counterguards. It is separated from the outside by a large moat of 10 hectares, which can currently be visited, including the underground galleries.
Its monumental dimensions have always made military activity both difficult and very costly which has frequently meant that it has not been used to its full potential. Since 1997 regular guided tours of the Castle of Sant Ferran have been organised.
