Between Cambrils and Montbrió del Camp is one of the best examples of romantic gardening in the Mediterranean. The Samà Parc is a mix of botanical garden, zoo and native forest, which today is still seducing its visitors thanks to the beauty and harmony of the whole and its delicate exoticism.
The developer of the park was Salvador Samà i Torrents, Marquis of Marianao, belonging to a Latin-American family who had settled in Cuba and who wanted to bring the atmosphere of the old colony to Baix Camp. The project was carried out by Josep Fontserè i Mestre, creator of the great cascade of the Parc de la Ciutadella in Barcelona.
In 1881 he began planting in the Park with long rows of plane trees, mandarin trees, limes, horse chestnuts, water lilies, palms and yuccas, among other plant species. Later, the Park hosted animals from the Marquis’ private zoo which were exhibited in several enclosures and cages. Equally important in the composition of the Park are the architectural elements: the palace, the lake and the waterfall, the Pavelló dels Lloros (pavilion of the parrots) and the Torre de l’Angle (the angular tower) are the most notable.
To study, preserve and disseminate the history of the city; the Museu d’Història de Barcelona (Museum of the History of Barcelona - MUHBA) provides an explanatory showcase of the city through an extensive collection and various outstanding heritage areas. The Museum brings together cultural material that explains the past and the present and this translates into a rich and heterogeneous collection that continues to grow. The MUHBA is a mirror on the many faces of the city: an important historic centre, a new modernista city and a diverse complex of old towns and newly created districts.
The monumental complex of Plaça del Rei has been the foundational core of the Museu d’Història de Barcelona since it was created in 1943. In the ground beneath the Casa Padellàs you can see an important part of ancient Barcino; the visit allows you to stroll through the streets of Roman Barcelona, get close to the walls from the time, enter a laundry from the 2nd century AD, see the remains of the first Christian community of the city, etc. The complex is completed with important medieval buildings such as the Palau Reial Major (Royal Palace) and the Tinell salon. But in addition to these landmarks, the headquarters of MUHBA has a permanent exhibition, displaying pieces about the ancient municipal government, the guilds and brotherhoods of Barcelona, the cotton industry, festive and popular imagery of the city, nineteenth-century Barcelona and the urban reforms.
Over the years, this historic centre has expanded considerably and now includes up to 15 heritage spaces spread around the city. Notable is the Temple of Augustus, the Roman Sepulchral Way, the Call, Park Güell, Santa Caterina, the Turó de la Rovira and Fabra i Coats, among others.
The Drassanes Reials, the Royal Shipyards of Barcelona, were the great factory for the galleys that the Crown of Aragon needed at the height of its Mediterranean expansion. Located by the sea and at the foot of Montjuïc, for many years it was thought that they were the largest and most complete medieval shipyards in the world to have been preserved. But the excavations in 2012 showed that, at the end of the 16th century, on top of the old medieval building,a new shipyard had been constructed that corresponds to the current building.
The King Jaume I instigated the creation of the shipyards, even though it was Pere III who, in collaboration with the city and the Government of Catalonia, gave the final impetus at the end of the 14th century. The first building of this infrastructure was a large walled construction with a tower at each corner; later it was covered and expanded. The large gothic hall of eight naves that we see today dates from the 16th century, although it maintains the original gothic style. It is a wide and well-illuminated space thanks to the large windows and is covered with a wooden roof.
Currently the building is home to the Museu Marítim de Barcelona (Barcelona Maritime Museum). The collection was started in 1929 and has been enriched over the years. Highlights include the models of ships, nautical instruments, votive offerings, maritime paintings, figureheads and cartography. Also very popular are the replicas of the Royal Galley of Joan d’Àustria and the schooner of Santa Eulàlia.
During the 14th and 15th centuries, Tortosa was a commercial enclave of the highest order. This splendour can be seen in buildings such as the Cathedral, the noble palaces, the Episcopal Palace, the walled enclosure or the llotja (the exchange). In the 16th century Tortosa was one of the most important cities in Catalonia politically, economically and demographically. It is from this period that the Royal Colleges date, the most important Renaissance complex in Catalonia.
The monumental complex consists of three buildings. The most important thing is the College of Sant Jaume i Sant Maties, from 1564, which started out to educate young Muslim converts. It is a large two-story building organised around a central courtyard – the only Renaissance courtyard in Catalonia - noted for its rich sculptural ornamentation with a strong Italian influence.
The other building is the College of Sant Jordi i Sant Domènec, from 1578. It was originally a Dominican convent, but Francoist shelling (1937-1939) left only the simple Renaissance portal of two buildings standing.
Completing the complex is the Church of Sant Domènec, from 1585. It is a church with a single nave, in Gothic style, with side chapels. Currently the central nave is dominated by the storage-archive from the now disappeared town hall. Since 2008, it has hosted the Renaissance Interpretation Centre.
The Cabdella Power Station, located in the municipality of La Torre de Cabdella, was the first hydroelectric power station in Catalonia. Its gestation was at the end of the 19th century when Emili Riu, journalist and politician from Sort, found a way to take advantage of the large water reserve of the Vall Fosca, which exceeded 50 million m3.
In 1914 the company, Energia Elèctrica de Catalunya (Electricity Energy of Catalonia) put the hydroelectric power station in operation. It was an ambitious plan that took advantage of the waters of the Lake Gento system through a 5 kilometre long canal with an elevation of 836 metres. In addition, they had to install new infrastructure: a funicular railway, access roads, narrow-gauge railways, homes for employees, etc. Even so, the project was finished in just two years.
After a time, the power station was transferred to La Canadenca company (now Fecsa-Endesa). Currently, in one part of the installation, we can find the Cabdella Hydroelectric Museum, belonging to the network of museums of the Museu de la Ciència i de la Tècnica de Catalunya, which appreciates what the power station meant both for industry and also for the region.
Defined by the playwright Àngel Guimèra as one of the cathedrals of wine, the modernista cellar of Pinell del Brai is the architectural expression of the agricultural cooperatives in Catalonia at the end of the 19th century. Its construction, in 1919, was the responsibility of Cèsar Martinell who used all the elements of the traditional Catalan architecture, the modernista aesthetic, and enriched it with the technical innovations of his teacher Antoni Gaudí.
The light that is filtered from the windows, the floor plan reminiscent of a church and the feeling of spaciousness recreates the interior of a Gothic Cathedral. But beyond the architectural beauty of the building, Martinell created a functional space designed for the production of wine. For this reason, some important technical innovations were incorporated: the structure of the warehousing based on parabolic arches, the ventilation system through large windows or insulation in the cavity walls of the containers in which the wine is made.
The most characteristic element of the winery is undoubtedly the glazed ceramic frieze on the façade designed by the painter Francesc Xavier Nogués, where there are scenes of the harvest and the production of wine and oil. Despite it being spectacular, due to the lack of budget, it was taken out of the initial project and was not incorporated until 1949.
Montserrat is a symbol for Catalonia and a point of pilgrimage for believers. The main attraction is the Mare de Déu (the mother of God), the patron saint of Catalonia. This Romanesque Virgin is popularly known as La Moreneta, due to the colour of the face and hands, darkened by the smoke of lighted candles.
The monastery was founded in 1025 on the orders of the Abbot Oliba, on top of a small chapel that Guifré el Pilós had donated to the Monastery of Ripoll.
The visit to Montserrat starts at the 16th-century basilica with Romanesque remains and a Gothic structure. Starting from here, the Plaça de Santa Maria, the epicentre, you can go over the whole complex, thanks to the great 19th-century renovation led by Josep Puig i Cadafalch.
Unmissable is the Museum of Montserrat. Its collection began with the materials of the biblical East brought back from his travels by Father Buenaventura Ubach. Since then, the collection has expanded with outstanding works from painters such as Caravaggio, Rusiñol, Casas, Nonell, Picasso, Monet, Sisley, Degas, Pissarro and Dali.
The museum being here is no coincidence. From the 17th century, Montserrat has been a cultural centre of the highest order as demonstrated by the exceptional library with more than 250,000 volumes from the monastery. Notable among the suggested activities is as visit to the Escolania, which is one of the oldest boys' choir schools in Europe, documented since the 14th century.
Near the Abbey, the neighbouring Monestir de Santa Cecília, is still preserved, which currently functions as the Sean Scully Art Space. Notable as well is the Romanesque church, also renovated in the 1930s by Puig i Cadafalch. Few know that this monastery was Abat Oliba’s first choice to extend his domains to Montserrat, but met with refusal of the community.
The Gardens of Santa Clotilde, located on a truly beautiful cliff top with views over the sea, are considered to be the model of the noucentista garden. They were made by the architect Nicolau Rubió i Tudurí, a close follower of Jean Claude Nicolas Forestier, who designed, among other things, the gardens of Montjuïc and the Parc de la Ciutadella.
In an attempt to restore the classical forms, the gardens were designed in the manner of the old gardens of the Italian Renaissance. They are structured on the basis of a terraced incline, where the diversity of species of Mediterranean plants alternate with small ponds and groups of sculptures.
Near the main entrance to the gardens is the casa original that is noted for the semicircular arches on the ground floor, a large terrace and a three-storey turret. To the south face of the tower there is a painted tile panel dedicated to Santa Clotilde dating back to 1930.
The gardens have been arranged around the main set of steps, known as the Escala de les Sirenes, (the steps of the Sirens), which runs from the terrace of the house. As one descends, there is the smell of resins, laurels and aromatic plants with the sea in the background.
Casa Masó is the birthplace of the architect Rafael Masó , a symbol of the development of "Noucentisme" in Girona. Perfectly integrated into the urban environment, the building consists of a ground floor, three apartments and the roof.
The current house is the union of four craftsman-type houses purchased by the Masó family. The façade in Carrer Ballesteries combines the Secessionist style with Barroque-inspired elments. At the rear, glass and ceramic collonades frame the Onyar river.
Rafael Masó made two major alterations to the house. The first, in 1911, when his father commissioned him to adapt the house to the needs of a large and socially ascending family. The second renovation was in 1918, when his brother inherited the house. In addition to unifying the façades, he designed the staircase, the stained glass windows and much of the furniture inside.
For the renovations, the architect turned to the "Modernista" (Catalan Art Nouveau) style prevailing at the time, although he continued to introduce more elements of the nascent "Noucentisme" movement.
Since 2006, this affluent house has been the home of the Rafael Masó Foundation and is currently the only house along the Onyar open to the public.
The musicians Lluís Millet and Amadeu Vives, founders of the Catalan Choral Society in 1891, commissioned Lluis Domenech i Montaner to construct a building as the headquarters of the organisation. However, they didn't want just any building, rather a unique building that would reflect the sentiment of the Catalan bourgeoisie of the late nineteenth century. On 23rd April, 1905, construction was started and the Barcelona high-society did not miss its opening on 9th February, 1908.
A particularly outstanding feature of the façade is the sculptural cluster representing Catalan popular music. Once inside, the visitor encounters main foyer, a baroque area full of colour, before they are presented with the real jewel of the building: the concert hall. Domenech i Montaner used a steel structure that supports the weight of construction in order to obtain a large, open and clean space. In addition, the ceiling is adorned with a large skylight in the shape of an inverted dome that represents a sun surrounded by female faces. The stage is the other big attraction of the hall, flanked by the most important sculptures of the building.
Domenech i Montaner designed a palace where architecture is combined with sculpture, joinery, marquetry, glasswork, mosaic and ceramics. This is what we know as a true work of art.
