At the top of a hill overlooking the "Conca de Tremp" (Tremp Basin), there is a group of monuments that could be represent a large part of medieval life: the Castell de Mur and, at barely one hundred metres in size, the Col·legiata de Santa Maria de Mur. These two buildings are symbols of spiritual and military domination of a border territory that had just been conquered by Muslims. They were lands under the jurisdiction of one of the prominent names of the medieval Pallars: Arnau Mir de Tost.
The architectural structure of the castle is simple but very unique and consists of a walled perimeter and boat-shaped ground floor, which has a unique gateway with southern access. The area is 31 metres long and the one-metre-thick wall has a height that varies between 14 and 18 metres. It forms a slightly irregular triangle, because of the rock on which it is constructed, with rounded corners. It is an exemplary piece of the civil military architecture of the eleventh century, with exceptionally well-conserved perimeter walls.
All the work is constructed with a small and regular bond, characteristic of the First Romanesque, and conserved within the enclosure, there lies the circular master tower; about 16 metres high, divided into four floors and bearing loophole windows.
600 metres away on a hill of Montseny, the Montsoriu Castle is a fusion between the Romanesque fortification of the exterior and the Gothic palace interior. A medieval fortress of great beauty that has withstood the passage of time and the onslaught of various battles.
The building extends from the 10th century to the 15th century. Over these 500 years, the architectural complex has been transformed to meet different uses. The fortress is divided into 3 concentric and tiered walled precincts: the Sobirà enclosure, the parade ground and Jussà enclosure.
The Sobirà enclosure (10th-12th century) is the highest and is noted for the Torre de l'Homenatge (the keep), which gives the Castle its appearance. We can also find the pre-Romanesque chapel of Sant Pere, in which Romanesque paintings are preserves and the Gothic Hall.
At a lower level there is the Pati d’armes (parade ground), the central area of the castle. Built between the 12th and 14th centuries, it was partially covered by an arcaded gallery. From the 14th century, the castle was transformed into a residential palace and several rooms were built such as the dining room and the kitchen.
Finally, the Jussà enclosure is a uniform space with 4 rectangular towers designed to protect the small access door to the Castle.
Currently, at the top of the hill, a large part of the Romanesque defensive wall remains standing, its towers and the Gothic interior that was the luxurious residence of the Viscounts of Cabrera.
Founded in the early 12th century, Santa Maria de Vallbona de les Monges is the most important female Cistercian Monastery in Catalonia. From the time of its construction, in 1153, it has always been inhabited by nuns and currently forms part of the Cistercian Route (along with Santes Creus and Poblet).
The complex is representative of Cistercian art, faithful to the Rule of Saint Benedict. As can be seen in Vallbona de les Monges, it bypasses ornamentation, achieving sober and functional spaces.
During the visit to the Church, it is worth looking up for a moment. On the main portal (13th century), one can find one of the first reliefs of Santa Mariato appear on a tympanum in Catalonia. Once inside, the church is characterised by simplicity and the wonderful play of light. To the right of the altar there is the simple and plain sarcophagus of Queen Yolande of Hungary, wife of Jaume I the Conqueror.
The simplicity and austerity continues in the cloister, where one can clearly see the stages of construction. The south nave, primitive Romanesque, does not have any kind of decoration. The eastern nave, 13th-century Romanesque, features small rosettes. The northern nave is Gothic and, finally, the western nave is a Renaissance building from the 16th century, but it follows the general style of the Romanesque galleries.
The Cathedral of Santa Maria was built between the 12th and 14th century on the highest point of the city, in a place full of history. Previously there had been a 10th century mosque, a Christian Visigothic basilica and, earlier, a Roman temple. The Cathedral in Tarragona hides, within its foundations, an ancient temple dedicated to Augustus.
The existence of this building was known through numismatic and written references, although its location wasn’t stated. The most logical idea was that it would be found in the forum of the ancient ‘Tàrraco’ (the Roman name for Tarragona), where centuries later Christian temples were erected. In 2010, a team of archaeologists excavated the central nave of the Cathedral and laid bare the remains of the Roman temple.
The Cathedral itself, however, is a transitional work between Romanesque and Gothic periods; the former was then still current, and spread in the 12th century to many parts of the New Catalonia. In Tarragona later styles such as Gothic, coexisted with the Renaissance and the Baroque.
Notable are the three portals of the church, which correspond to its three naves: the main one is Gothic and the other two Romanesque. Looking up, however, you can see that the Cathedral is unfinished, due to the ravages caused by the black death.
The Gothic cloister, which leads to the Diocesan Museum, stands out for it extensive sculptural decoration. The more curious visitors can find an Arabic inscription dating from the year 960 from the ancient mosque and the representation of the popular legend of the burial of a cat by rats.
Inside, the presbytery and the central apse have a fully Romanesque element that one might pass without noticing: the pavement. It is made of stone and marble, coloured white, black, orange and yellow, and with geometric interlaced designs.
What doesn’t go unnoticed is the large organ. It was made in the 16th century, although in 1929 the mechanism and the pipes were replaced by those of the Romantic organ from the Palau Maricel in Sitges.
It is in the chapels, built in the 14th century, where the shift towards the Gothic and later styles is most evident. The most outstanding piece is the polychrome, alabaster altarpiece, which has sculptures of Santa Tecla, Santa Maria and Sant Pau.
The Palau de la Generalitat, located in the Gothic quarter of Barcelona, is one of the few buildings of medieval origin in Europe that have been maintained as a seat of Government and for the same institution for which it was built.
The original house, on Carrer Sant Honorat, was acquired in 1400 and during the 15th century it was expanded and converted into a new gothic palace, the work of Marc Safont. Among the best preserved elements from this period are the Gothic Gallery and the Chapel of Sant Jordi.
During the 16th century, the Palau de la Generalitat grew with a new part which respected the previous Gothic style such as the Cambra Daurada (Golden Chamber) and the first Pati dels Tarongers(courtyard planted with orange trees). The most radical changes came with the extension towards the Plaça Sant Jaume (1597-1619): the current main façade was inspired by the Italian Renaissance, and there are four Doric columns of Roman origin dating from the 2nd century.
The last major changes in the building happened in the period of the Mancomunitat de Catalunya, the Catalan Commonwealth, (1914-1925): items such as the staircase of honour and the equestrian statue of Sant Jordi were added. Notable from the 1970s is the acquisition of more than a hundred pieces of modern, avant-garde and contemporary art by artists such as Montserrat Gudiol, Josep Maria Subirachs, Antoni Clavé, Joan Hernández Pizjuán, and Antoni Tàpies.
Built in 1847 on the Rambla of Barcelona, the Gran Teatre del Liceu was converted from its beginnings into a symbol of the emerging bourgeoisie of Barcelona and Catalonia.
The origin of the Liceu must be situated in the "Liceo Filarmónico Dramático Barcelona de SM la Reina Isabel II" (Barcelona Dramatic and Philharmonic Lyceum of HM Queen Isabel II), an organisation created to fill the need for a music conservatory in the city. The success of the initiative resulted in the construction of a new theatre, which was financed through commercial efforts: the boxes and seats were owned.
In its more than 150 years of history, it has seen three tragic events: the fire of 1861, the anarchist bomb of 1893, and the devastating fire of 1994. The last reconstruction, which lasted five years, has modernised the building, retaining as much as possible of its original essence. Notable is the Hall of Mirrors and its decoration of gilded and polychrome plaster mouldings.
With 2,292 seats, it is currently one of the largest opera houses in the world, and each year puts on more than forty opera performances, as well as dance, recitals, concerts and children's shows.
A Baroque church, a neo-classical convent-residence... and a cavern. These three elements make up the Cave of Sant Ignasi de Manresa, an architectural complex converted into a Centre of Spirituality, which is one of the iconic images of the capital of the Bages region.
Located on Puig de Sant Bartomeu, in one of the caverns formed by erosion from the waters of the Cardener river, this complex was built around the site where tradition says that St. Ignatius of Loyola lived for 11 months, meditating and writing part of his Spiritual Exercises, between 1522 and 1523.
In the cavern is the Relleu del Rapte de Sant Ignasi, (the Rapture of San Ignatius), a mid-17th century alabaster altarpiece, carved by the Manresan sculptor, Joan Grau, his Francesc and Josep Sunyer.
The Church, built in the 18th century with design of Josep Moretó of Vic, combines a discreet interior, in which the altar of the Blessed stands out, with a Baroque façade, both rich in elements and proportionate to its size.
Completing the complex is the convent-residence of the Jesuits, of neoclassical inspiration, and the lobby or hallway that connects the Church and the cavern, modernista in style and decorated with marble, mosaics, stucco, stained glass and metals.
Located on the northern side of the Pallàrs Sobirà, is Gerri de la Sal, a small medieval village that still retains its enclosure and which is noted for its industrial and architectural heritage: the alfolí, or salt storehouse, and the Monastery of Santa Maria.
The exploitation of the source of the salt, was, until recently, the main economic driving force for this town, which is reflected in its name. As a witness to this industrial past, the Casa de la sal or the Reial Alfolí de Gerri, the Royal warehouse, where the salt was extracted, treated and stored from the Middle Ages, remain. Considered to have the largest floor plan of any civil building in Pallars, it now houses the Museum of Gerri de la Sal.
The cultural interest of the complex is completed with the remains of an example of the Catalan Romanesque in its purest form: the Monastery of Santa Maria, which lies just outside the village.
Dedicated to the Benedictine order in 1149, it soon became an important evangelical centre for the Bishop of Urgell and also one of the richest. But at the end of the 12th century the Counts withdrew support for the monastery, and took its land and properties. The economic problems and the disputes led to the depopulation of its domains and it was finally deconsecrated in 1835. Of the monastery, now only the Church with the atrium or entrance porch remains. Inside you can see up to 30 decorated capitals.
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.
