Architecture

An imposing building next the River Ebro is a testament from the 14th century to the history of Tortosa. The Cathedral of Santa Maria, together with the Castle of La Suda and the Royal Colleges, forms the most notable architectural complex in the city.

Standing on the same spot as had previously been a Roman forum, a mosque and a Romanesque cathedral, is the current Cathedral of Santa Maria, whose construction began in 1347 following the classic Gothic style. Nevertheless, it includes later elements such as the Baroque façade completed in 1757.

Most notable is the central nave and cloister, with a major exhibition of carved gravestones, and the chapel of La Mare de Déu de la Cinta, in the Baroque style.

At the same time, one cannot ignore the rich sculptural and pictorial heritage of the Cathedral of Tortosa, starting with the altarpiece of Mare de Déu de l’Estrella (Virgin of the Star - 14th century) which presides over the main altar. Other Gothic altarpieces have occupied the walls of the Basilica such as the Virgin of the Angels, by Pere Serra (currently in the MNAC), or that of the Transfiguration, attributed to the workshop of Jaume Huguet.

The latter is one of the star exhibits of the Cathedral Museum, which displays nearly 200 pieces of religious art accumulated over nine centuries. Here you can see paintings, sculptures, tapestries, objects in precious metals and a valuable collection of codices.

Manresa is inevitably associated with the stunning image of the Collegiate Basilica of Santa Maria at the top of the Puigcardener hill. Popularly known as La Seu, it is considered one of the main Catalan Gothic buildings.

Its elevated location was, successively, the site of an Iberian settlement, a Roman fortress and a Romanesque church. The construction of the current building began in 1322 under the direction of the same architect as that of Santa Maria del Mar, Berenguer de Montagut, and was completed at the end of the 15th century with the Gothic as the predominant style. However, after later alterations, we also find Baroque Renaissance elements or even neo-Gothic, as in the façade of the Baptistery.

The most notable elements of La Seu are the impressive rose window of the western façade, the bell tower and the crypt with a large marble tabernacle and eight Baroque medallions. Laterally, it has two protruding towers: one, the Chapel of the Holy Sacrament; and the other the Baptistery, with an octagonal plan.

Inside, its pictorial collection stands out, notable among which is the altarpiece of the Holy Spirit by Pere Serra, one of the most important works of Catalan painting of the 14th century.

Over the main façade of the building is the Historical Museum of La Seu, opened in 1934, which exhibits a large display of works of sacred art.

In 887 Guifré el Pilós (Wilfred the Hairy) founded the monastery of Sant Joan de Ripoll which was later known as Sant Joan de les Abadesses. And, for nearly 60 years between the 9th and 10th centuries, it was the only female monastery in Catalonia.

The first abbess was the daughter of Wilfred the Hairy, Emma of Barcelona. This community of Benedictine nuns remained until 1017 when the nuns, accused of leading a life which was hardly exemplary, were expelled. Subsequently, the monastery was occupied by a male community of Augustinian canons until the 16th century and then went on to be ruled by the archpriest until the 19th century.

The monastic enclosure that we see today has undergone modifications over time. The original Romanesque church was renovated in the 12th century in the monumental architectural style of the models in South-West France and it was partly reconstructed after the 1428 earthquake. Inside, one cannot miss the Santíssim Misteri or Holy Mystery, the only preserved Romanesque sculpture in Catalonia that remains in situ.

Attached to the Church is the Gothic cloister (15th century) and the Chapel of Dolors (18th century), with the baroque cupola by the sculptor Jacint Morató. Also preserved is the old Abbey Palace, 14th-15th century, which today houses the Interpretation Centre of the Myth of Count Arnau as this legendary character was connected to the first community of nuns at the Abbey.

The monastery museum, open since 1975 in the old rectory, displays a collection of paintings, sculptures, textiles and metalwork from the 8th century until the 20th century, most of which was designed for liturgical worship.

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.

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 (Science and charity), his time spent in Paris (), from the (The fool) and from the rose period (Harlequin).

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.

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.

The old Mill in Vila de Capellades, one of the most important both in Catalonia and Spain, is now the Paper Mill Museum. Its mission is twofold: on the one hand, to promote the industrial and historical heritage of papermaking from the 13th century until the beginning of the 20th century; and on the other hand, to give continuity to the artisan activity of handmade paper.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, its easily accessible environment and an abundance of water made Capellades the capital of paper, with illustrious names like Soteras, Romeu, Guarro, Serra and Romaní. The high quality of its products was appreciated by customers in Spain as well in the overseas colonies.

Tools, machinery, labels, wooden stamps and the different varieties of paper exhibited in the museum are the witnesses to this industrial task. To these aims must be added conservation and new uses of the mill buildings, and the numerous documents about the technology and the art of the papermaking.

Integrated in the network of the Museu de la Ciència i de la Tècnica de Catalunya, during the last few years the Paper Mill Museum has also become a meeting point for professionals to explore the possibilities of paper as an artistic material.