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Pablo Picasso and Barcelona had a special connection. He lived there during his childhood and youth. For this reason, he chose this city to open, in 1963, the first Picasso museum in the world and the only one created during the artist's life. Its main legacy is the most comprehensive collection of works executed by the artist during his youth, comprising more than 4,000 items. That is why the Picasso Museum of Barcelona has become a reference centre for discovering the early stages in Picasso’s artistic career.
Most of the pieces that can be seen in the museum date back to the period between 1890 to 1917. The tour includes paintings from the artist’s childhood and school years (Man with Beret), from his
Particularly outstanding among the paintings executed after 1917, is the Las Meninas, series from 1957, a group of 58 paintings analysing the masterpiece by Velázquez. Here you will also find the collection of etchings, lithographs and ceramics.
The entire exhibition of avant-garde art is housed in the interior of five major palaces in the street Carrer Montcada, that date back to the 13th-14th centuries and are an excellent example of Catalan Gothic civil architecture.
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.
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.
The historical and monumental importance of the old Tarraco is reflected in the current Museu de Tarraco (Museum of Tarraco, MNAT), a reference centre for learning about life in this period. Formed during the first half of the 19th century, the MNAT is the oldest Museum in Catalonia within its field and its extensive collection masterfully illustrates the process of Romanisation of the Iberian Peninsula.
Located in a new building since 1960 in which a fragment of the wall has been preserved in situ underground. Among the most outstanding pieces recovered from ancient Tarraco, you can see part of a medallion (clipeus) with the representation of Jupiter-Ammon, the altar dedicated to the Numen of Augustuses (the divine power), a pedestal of a statue with an inscription dedicated to the genius of the Colonia of Tarraco, the statues of Bacchus, Hercules, Claudius and Minerva, the portrait of Nero Julius Caesar and the sarcophagi of the Lion and the Pedagogue.
Meriting their own chapter are the high-quality mosaics which are preserved in the Museum, such as the head of the Medusa -the best of those found in Tarraco- from the residential area of the city; one representing Euterpe, Muse of music, discovered in the Roman villa of Els Munts (Altafulla); the tombstone of Optimus, mosaic with inscription, found in the Early-Christian Necropolis in Tarragona; and the mosaic of the Fish which decorated a room of the Roman villa of Callípolis, in the municipality of Vila-seca.
Among the most extraordinary pieces at MNAT, is an articulated ivory doll found in the sarcophagus of a girl in the Necropolis of Tarraco and the bronze lamp decorated with a representation of a theatrical mask from the Roman villa of la Llosa.
In addition to the Archaeological Museum, MNAT manages the Necropolis of Tarraco, the Roman villa of Els Munts (Altafulla) and the Roman Complex of Centcelles (Constantí). It also includes the famous monuments of the Arch of Berà and the Tower of the Scipios – situated on the Via Augusta – as well as the Roman Theatre in the city. A complex of the highest order which has been a World Heritage Site since 2000 and which takes the visitor closer to a fundamental period in European history.
The Museu d’Arqueologia de Catalunya (MAC) is organised around its 6 regional centres (Barcelona, CASC, Empúries, Girona, Olèrdola and Ullastret). Of them all, Barcelona is the centre that offers a more cross-cutting view because it explains the social, technological, economic, and religious developments from early man up to the middle ages in Catalonia and the Mediterranean.
Located in the former Pavelló d'Arts Gràfiques, (Graphic Arts Pavilion), built for the 1929 Universal Exposition of Barcelona, the MAC Barcelona renovated 11 rooms between 2010 and 2013. The permanent exhibition, consisting of more than one million original pieces, takes the visitor on a journey through pre-history, protohistory, the Greek and Phoenician colonisation and the establishment of the Roman Empire.
To accompany the visitor, there are learning resources, pictures, scenery and also audiovisual pieces such as the funeral rituals of prehistoric times compared with those of today.
One of the most emblematic pieces of the museum is the statue of the Roman God Aesculapius, now a reproduction because the original was moved to the Empúries centre in 2008. Other notable exhibits include the Paleolithic materials, the 53,200 year-old Neanderthal jaw from Sitges, the Iberian treasure of Tivissa, the Phoenician votive figures, Greek ceramics and the Roman statue found in the street Carrer Paradís, and considered to be the highest quality sculpture recovered from ancient Barcino, the Roman name for Barcelona.
Military strategy and religious worship are united on the highest peak of Cardona. From the 9th century, the Castle and the Collegiate Church of Sant Vicenç have dominated the region and control the salt basins. During the War of the Spanish Succession, when they become a symbol of the resistance for the supporters of the Archduke Carles against the defenders of Philip of Anjou: the castle was the last fortress to surrender to the Bourbon troops and it fell after the capitulation of Barcelona on 18th September 1714.
The medieval complex is divided between the stately pavilions and the canonry of Sant Vicenç. The Castle was built in 886 under the command of the Count of Barcelona, Guifré el Pilós, but was not completed until several centuries later. Of the most notable elements of the first building from the 9th century only the Torre de la Minyona remains. During the first half of the 11th century, it was constructed within the precinct of the Church of Sant Vicenç, an imposing building and one of the best samples of the first Catalan Romanesque.
A great example of medieval military fortification, between the 11th and 15th centuries, the castle was the residence of the Lords of Cardona but eventually it lost its residential function and gained strategic importance. From the 17th century, the fortress updated its defensive system with a ring of bastions.
Despite being one of the most emblematic sites, Cardona was not the only setting linked to the War of Succession. The "Route 1714", organised as part of the programme of activities for the tri-centenary, includes 10 locations, such as El Born in Barcelona, the University of Cervera and the Rafael Casanova House Museum, among others.
A la riba del riu Gaià, trobem el monestir de Santes Creus , que era el centre d’un dels dominis monàstics més extensos i influents del Regne d’Aragó. Amb una arquitectura sòlida, seriosa i austera, l’abadia reflecteix el model canònic dels monestirs cistercencs (juntament amb Vallbona de les Monges i Poblet ). Visitar Santes Creus és reviure un moment en què la puresa i la distància del món de les persones es van concretar en un lloc ben arrelat a la terra.
Fundat el 1160, el punt àlgid de Santes Creus es trobava entre els segles XIII i XIV, per la seva estreta relació amb la noblesa i la família reial. Els reis, Pere el Gran i Jaume II el Just i la seva dona, Blanca d’Anjou, eren patrons del monestir i van optar per ser enterrats aquí, en dos mausoleus gòtics al costat de l’altar major. L’estudi i restauració de les tombes reials, el 2010, va permetre que es descobrissin intactes les restes de Pere el Gran i Blanca d’Anjou, les úniques restes dels Reis i Reines de la Corona d’Aragó.
El pla fonamental del monestir va organitzar els espais segons les necessitats de la comunitat. L’església, que es va obrir per al culte el 1225, és un exemple de la transició del romànic al gòtic. Tot i aportar sensació de lleugeresa i grandiositat, és un temple sòlid i auster. Contrasta amb l’esplendor del claustre, que data del segle XIV, el primer d’estil gòtic de la Corona d’Aragó.
The Torre Glòries (The Glòries Tower), a modern office building located at the entrance of the 22@ (the technological district of Barcelona), has altered the city’s skyline since 2005. It is the work of French architect Jean Nouvel, who is inspired by the images of a geyser, the architecture of Gaudí and the mountain of Montserrat. A contemporary lighthouse that attracts the interest of locals and tourists in equal measure.
Rising from two elliptical, concrete cylinders, one inside the other, the Torre Agbar measures 142 metres high and is covered by two "skins". The innermost is an aluminium plate painted with earth tones, blues, greens and greys. The outermost is a transparent and translucent wall made up of nearly 60,000 sheets of glass. Thanks to this double façade an air chamber is created that allows the heating of the building to be delivered and provide ventilation. The glass used are pieces of a brie-soleil, a system that controls the sun's rays depending on the outside temperature.
These characteristics make the Torre Agbar an original, intelligent and sustainable building, the three principles on which Nouvel’s project is based. It is especially notable on weekend nights, when 4,500 points of LED light (the most efficient and least polluting system) illuminate the façade with colour.
With more than 300 works, the Fundació Antoni Tàpies (Barcelona) has the most comprehensive collection of the Catalan artist, which reflects all the creative periods of the artist. Driven by Antoni Tàpies, the Foundation is a Museum and cultural centre that also works for the study and promotion of contemporary art.
Including paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints and books, it displays all aspects of Tàpies’ artistic activity. The collection includes a selection of drawings and portraits from the 1940s (Creu de paper de diari - Newsprint Cross), an important example of the matter works of the 1950s and 1960s (Forma negra sobre quadrat gris - Black form on grey square) and a significant representation of the object works of the late sixties and early seventies (Palla i fusta - Straw and wood).
The visitor will discover the different typologies, techniques and materials used by Tàpies: works made of rubber-foam and spray, varnishes and sculptures in refractory clay and objects and sculptures made with metallic plates or bronze.
The Fundació Antoni Tàpies is located in a modernista building designed by the architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner. This construction is unique as it was the first in the Eixample district to combine the use of exposed brick and iron within the urban setting. Currently the building is crowned by the Núvol i cadira (Cloud and chair) sculpture by Tàpies himself, a work which has become a symbol of the Foundation.
The Natural Sciences Museum of Barcelona is located in the Parc del Fòrum. Built by the architects Herzog and de Meuron in 2004, the museum occupies 9,000 m2 and is considered, architecturally, to be one of the most iconic buildings in the city.
In the entrance hall is the most emblematic piece on display in the museum, the skeleton of a whale that was found on a beach in Llançà in 1862. By popular vote, it was named Brava.
The narrative of the permanent exhibition is the interpretation of the present-day Earth as the result of the interaction between the planet’s chemical and physical environment and living beings. All this is shown in an educational way and through tactile screens and display cases with the museum’s collection – fossils, naturalised animals, plants, algae, rocks and minerals. There are also areas dedicated to fungi and the microscopic world, including the reproduction of viruses and microbes. A total of 4,500 of the over 4 million pieces the museum owns are exhibited.
The Natural Sciences Museum of Barcelona is an institution with over 140 years of history. It started off with the legacy of the collections of the naturalist Francesc Martorell i Peña. In addition to the Fòrum building, the Museum has other sites located in different parts of the city: the Jardí Botànic de Barcelona (Botanical Garden of Barcelona) and the Jardí Botànic Històric (Historical Botanical Garden), situated on Montjuic, the Centre Martorell (Martorell Exhibitions Centre), and the Castell dels Tres Dragons in the Parc de la Ciutadella.
