Architecture

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 great specialist in agroindustrial construction in Catalonia, Cèsar Martinell, made his "debut" in Rocafort de Queralt in 1918. The final result, full of innovations and architectural daring, was a great platform for his career.

The winery of Roquefort that we see today is the result of three projects carried out between 1918 and 1947. During the first years, it consisted of a building with two parallel areas and a perpendicular third area which was used as an unloading bay and machine room. Later this was enlarged with two more areas, the modernisation of the machine room, and a new water tank to replace the original.

But without doubt, the most decisive contribution was the use, for the first time, of the Gaudinian parabolic arch as the main support of the structure of the building. The original idea was to have the traditional wooden roof truss as a support for the gabled roof, but the economic circumstances of the time led the architect to change his idea: with the First World War, the price of wood had multiplied five times.

With regard to the "aesthetic" aspect of the winery, the tiling work used in the arches of the doors and windows is particularly outstanding as is the ceramic tiled frieze that runs along the cornice of the building. The main façade of the winery is perfectly symmetrical and highlights the huge window made up of three elements, with rampant arches and round arches. The door consists of a round voussoired arch which, in its time, was the support for the large window. This composition is repeated on the facade of the three areas.

This has to be one of the most beautiful works by the architect Cèsar Martinell. The winery of the Agricultural Union of Saint Isidre of Nulles, on the outskirts of the town, was the third commission in just one year for the most celebrated of the Catalan agricultural architects. With certain lines that remind us of Gothic art, the architecture of the Nulles winery is refined, monumental and elegant.

The structure of the building is slightly different from Martinell's previous works; the construction of Nulles comprises two areas measuring 21 by 18 metres without a separating wall between them. A slender, durable and lightweight "skeleton" that gives the feeling of vastness and allows one to create an open and orderly space. The winery has yet another space, a transversal nave with a simpler structure, based on metal trusses and a sheet metal roof.

The monumentality of the façade fully justifies the name of "wine cathedral". The double basilica area can clearly be seen thanks to its two identical, symmetrical fronts. It has a solid base of stone that runs along longitudinally, broken only by the two doors of each area. The portals outline a parabolic arch and protrude slightly to support the large windows situated above them (also parabolic arches and brickwork). The façade shows off the vertical brickwork pilasters, from the wall front up to the roof where the stepped finish form a symmetrical slope on both sides;  the blind arches and original corners of the façade made from brick pillars forming low relief are also outstanding.

Located in an area with a certain unevenness, topography that was favoured by Martinell for making the best use of space, the winery of Falset was built in 1919.

In this building, that evokes the shapes of a castle, we find one of the characteristics that define Modernista architecture and which continued to be used by the disciples of Gaudí and Domènech i Montaner: the recovery and free interpretation of Catalan medieval architectural forms.

The winery consists of two perpendicular buildings, responding to the division of working spaces: the unloading bay and the machine rooms are in the smallest building, and the vats and presses are in the larger one.

But the difference in Falset is the absence of the parabolic arc. The sloping roof is supported by the classic wooden roof trusses which, in turn, rest on brick pillars together with side arches. On the central structure of the winery of Falset we can see 9 highly stylised vertical windows crowned with a large relieving arch which stands on four brick pilasters that reach the ground. Of the three gateways to the winery, the main one forms a round voussoir arch in the medieval style.

On both sides stand two square plan towers, with large vertical openings and corners finished with brickwork, which contrasts with the white of the rest of the wall and creates a beautiful balance of lines and colours. The last element worth noting is the water tank. Functional and artistic, the tank at the winery of Falset is circular and is supported by two crossed parabolic arches and four pilasters that surround it, all constructed in brickwork.

The cooperative winery of Espluga de Francolí was the first of its kind to be commissioned by a renowned architect. Pere Domènech i Roura, son of Lluís Domènech i Montaner, initiated the construction of the "signature wineries" or "wineries of the rich" with the design and direction of the works. Subsequently, Cèsar Martinell also worked at the Espluga Winery.  Erected in 1913, it was the first Modernista cooperative winery of Catalonia and of the rest of the Spanish State. Today, this centre, a pioneer of the most artistic and innovative the cooperative system houses the facilities of the Wine Museum.

The layout of the winery is similar to that of other contemporary buildings, comprising: three rectangular, parallel areas, individualised two-sided roofs and another nave placed at right angles to the others. In the structure of the winery we find all the Modernista genius. Pere Domènech designed a system of pillars in a cross that became ogival arches which make the role of the transverse and side arches of an area (solutions previously employed in medieval architecture). The areas, 44 by 12 metres, housed a total of 40, reinforced cement vats each with a capacity of 340 hectolitres, and several underground presses. The perpendicular area was slightly smaller (13 by 8 metres) and housed the entrance bay and machine room (with the latest presses of the time). As an annex to this nave, the winery also had a laboratory in order to control the production process more effectively.

The facade is equal for the three main areas. Historians talk about elements that recall the most genuine Catalan architecture: ogival arcades with small windows, brick pillars arranged vertically, triangular crowns and galleries of blind arches reminiscent of Lombard Romanesque. The materials used for the façade were crushed stone, rendering and brickwork. Another "aesthetic" element is the water tank. Located next to the unloading bay, it is a circular brick tower crowned by a conical roof decorated with classic Modernista mosaic.

In 1915, the winery of Espluga de Francolí occupied 1,311 square metres and had 160 members. Cèsar Martinell made an extension in 1929 by adding another area. In 1990 it was renovated and restored and, finally, in 1998 the Wine Museum was opened.