Museum

From history and ethnography to geography and the economy, also taking in the ecology. The Museu de les Terres de l'Ebre (Museum of the Lands of the Ebro in Amposta) gives a cross-sectional view of the Ebro delta region. Visitors can learn about the Ilercavones, learn different ways of fishing, even see a ‘llagut’ up close, the most characteristic river boat.

It was created in 2011, as an expansion and updating of the previous Museu Comarcal del Montsià (Montsià County Museum). It occupies the old modernista building of the Miquel Granell state school, which has been converted to meet the needs of a modern and thought-provoking museum project. The museum conserves and manages one of the most important collections of nature, archaeology and ethnology in the Terres de l'Ebre region made up of more than 35,000 objects, among which the Falcata stands out, an Iberian sword that forms part of the set of urns and artefacts from the Iberian necropolis of Mianes (Santa Barbara).

The permanent exhibition "The lands of the Ebro: from prehistory to the middle ages" takes a tour through the history of the banks of the lower Ebro, starting from the archaeological remains found in the area. The second room, "Ebro: the water road" focuses on the influence of the most important river on the Iberian Peninsula on history and the collective identity, and reflects on what the future of the territory will be like.

On the museum’s website, various archaeological items can be viewed in 3D.

The museum will head up the network "Ebro nature & culture" which brings together museums, interpretation centres, archaeological sites and monuments in the different municipalities of the Ebro.

You can discover the history of Tortosa in one of the most significant buildings of the city. This is the old abattoir, a modernista work by the architect Pau Monguió, built on land reclaimed from the River Ebro. In 2012, on the centenary of the Museum of Tortosa it was moved and advantage was taken of the pavilions to display a completely renovated Museum project.

The museum has a collection of more than 4,000 pieces among which include prehistoric flint tools, Roman funerary stones, Andalusian pottery, Gothic capitals, signs of flooding, the tools of one of the last potters of Tortosa, and paintings and sculpture by artists from Tortosa, among others.

The tour of the permanent exhibition provides information on the history of Tortosa and its surrounding regions, from the prehistoric times to the present day. Remains from Ilercavonia, Dertosa or Turtuxa are displayed. You can see the most representative pieces from each historical period from the museum’s own collection and from other museums that have made loans to the collection, such as the Prado Museum, the MNAC (National Art Museum of Catalonia), the National Archaeolgical Museum of Tarragona and the Museu de les Terres de l’Ebre. The contemporary work of the artist Leonardo Escoda interacts obliquely with the space and the content of the museum.

The idea of creating a museum in Valls goes back to 1909. From that time onwards, it has received donations and loans from patrons such that it now holds a collection of over a thousand works of Catalan art from the last 120 years, considered one of the best in Catalonia.

Located in the Casa de Cultura since 1970, its premises were completely refurbished in 1993. Taking a chronological journey through the collection, there are examples of Realism (F. Galofré Oller, Josep Marqués, Baldomer Galofré) and Modernism and Impressionism (Isidre Nonell, Eliseu Meifrén, Enric Galwey, Joan Llimona, Francesc Vayreda) and Noucentisme (Joaquim Sunyer, Enric Casanovas). One of the jewels of the museum is the collection of paintings, sculptures and jewellery by Manolo Hugué, linked to the early avant-garde.

The museum also has a good representation of the post-war artists (Josep M. Mallol Suazo, Josep Amat, Joan Miró, Antoni Tàpies, Joan Brossa, Apel·les Fenosa, Modest Cuixart).

Notable is its photography collection, thanks to the loan made in 1998 by the photographer Francesc Català-Roca. It is completed with works by Pere Català Pic, Pere Català Roca, Colita, Xavier Miserachs, Leopoldo Pomés and Oriol Maspons.

In addition to the art collection, the Museum of Valls also holds an important archaeological collection focused on the Iberian world, available to researchers, and an ethnographic collection of the castellera (human towers) which will become part of the future Museu Casteller de Catalunya (Human Tower Museum of Catalonia).

To understand what the twentieth century meant at an artistic level for the western regions of Catalonia, you should visit the Museu d'Art Jaume Morera, dedicated to modern and contemporary art in Lleida. Various artistic disciplines are represented here: painting, sculpture, architecture, drawing, print-making, graphic design, photography, video and even comics, with a clear predominance of local artists.

Opened in 1917 in the former Sant Lluís market, it is currently located in the Casino Principal building in Lleida pending the construction of its new headquarters. The painter Jaume Morera i Galícia, who donated his art collection and acted as patron, played a very prominent role in the initial tasks of putting together the museum's art collection. In gratitude for his collaboration, the Museum was named after him.

The collection ranges from the turn of the nineteenth century up to the present day: from Baldomer Gili, Xavier Gosé and Santiago Rusiñol to Joan Brossa and Albert Bayona. One of the most important parts of the collection, however, concerns the Avant-garde of the 1930s, in which pride of place is given to 190 works by the sculptor Leande Cristòfol such as De l’aire a l’aire (From Air to the Air, 1933) or Nit de lluna (Night of the Moon, 1935).

The landscapes of Garrotxa have been a source of inspiration for several generations of artists, as a visit to this museum makes clear. Located on the third floor of the eighteenth century hospital building, the Museum of Garrotxa (Olot) displays the artistic activity of the region between the late eighteenth and mid-twentieth centuries, placing the main emphasis on the Olot landscape school of painting. This movement from the second half of the nineteenth century, led by the siblings Joaquim and Marià Vayreda and Josep Berga i Boix, introduced the model of the Barbizon school of landscape painting to Catalan art.

Works by local artists such as Miquel Blay, Josep Clarà, Ramon Amadeu, Josep Berga i Boada, Melcior Domenge, Iu Pasqual, Francesc Vayreda, Xavier Nogués, Leonci Quera, Josep Pujol, Xavier Gosé and Laureà Barrau, among others, form part of the museum's collection.

The collection is completed with the presence of artists from outside the region, mainly from the turn of the 19th century, such as Enric Galwey, Joan Llimona, Joan Brull, Joaquim Mir and Ramon Casas, who is given pride of a place in the museum and whose painting La càrrega (The Charge), a large canvas which, at the time, was very controversial, has been in the museum’s collection since 1919. Also noteworthy is the collection of Modernista posters.

In 2016, the permanent exhibition was expanded with the donation of 13 works from the MNAC (Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya) by artists who were influenced by the Olot landscape painting school, such as Rafel Benet, Ramon Martí Alsina and Modest Urgell, which allows a more comprehensive reading of the museum collection to be made.

Since 2004, the Masia de Can Serra in Sant Adrià de Besòs has housed the History of Immigration in Catalonia Museum (Museu d'història de la immigració de Catalunya - MhiC) which acts as a centre for research and dissemination of the memory of migration in Catalonia. In doing so, the Museum offers a permanent exhibition divided into three areas using modern, interactive and educational museum resources.

The Humans in Movement area shows the historical trends in human movement from prehistoric times until the 20th century. The visit continues inside an old railway carriage from the mid-20th century: the Sevillano. This space pays tribute to the generation of internal migrations to Catalonia in the 20th century. It also includes testimonies and memories of those who were passengers. The last area presents migrations of the 21st century, which take place in a globalised world in continuous transformation.

The MhiC also has a documentation and resource centre. Forming part of the collection are the oral memory questionnaires that those who have taken part in the migratory processes can fill out.

From the 1960s, the Diputació (Provincial Council) of Tarragona had been acquiring a significant artistic collection which was not open for public viewing. So, in 1976, they created the Museum of Modern Art, whose purpose was to promote the study and knowledge of the modern and contemporary art and, at the same time, to preserve and display these collections.

The original location chosen was Casa Martí, an 18th century stately home located in the upper part of Tarragona. In 2008, the museum renewed its permanent exhibition and opened a new, more modern and educational museum project.

The museum devotes some rooms to the Taller - Escola de Pintura i Escultura (Workshop - School of Painting and Sculpture) which the Republican Government built in Tarragona and the subsequent Escola Taller d’Art de la Diputació de Tarragona (Workshop and School of Art of the Provincial Council of Tarragona). Also exhibited are works by contemporary artists of the 1980s from the region, such as Bruno Gallart or James Solé.

One of the most important collections of the museum is the legacy left by the sculptor Julio Antonio. In the permanent exhibition, you can see various facets of his work, placing emphasis on the Monument als Herois de 1811 (Monument to the Heroes of 1811), located on the Rambla Nova in Tarragona. Other representatives of the transition from the 19th century to the 20th century, such as Joseph Tapiró, are also on display.

However, the most renowned work in the Museum of Modern Art in Tarragona bears the signature of Joan Miró. This is the Tapís de Tarragona (Tapestry of Tarragona), a large-scale project that the painter made together with Josep Royo. In 1970, Miró gave this tapestry to the Hospital de la Cruz Roja in Tarragona, then directed by Rafael Orozco, in thanks for the care this doctor gave to his daughter. When the institution was closed down, the work was given over to the Museum where it occupies a place of honour.

This medieval building is the gift Dalí gave to Gala, his wife and muse. The Gala Dalí Castle house-museum in Púbol, open to the public since 1996, both encapsulates the relationship between the two lovers and, at the same time, allows the creative talent of the artist to be discovered in all sorts of decorative details.
 
In 1969, Salvador Dalí acquired the castle of the Barony of Púbol, a fortification from the 14th-15th century that was in a very poor state, but which had a captivating mysterious and romantic appearance. The artist himself personally took charge of the interior décor, creating pictorial representations on the walls and ceilings and faux architectural features. He gave the rooms antiques, Baroque textiles and romantic symbols, creating a sombre and sensitive atmosphere, designed as a refuge for his wife.
 
The whole building celebrates the cult of Gala, almost as if she were a feudal Lady. The couple even agreed that Dalí would not visit unless he had received an invitation from her in writing.
 
In the 1980s, the castle was transformed into Salvador Dalí’s last studio. Nowadays, one can see the paintings and drawings that Dalí gave Gala, sculptures of long-legged elephant sculptures in the garden and a collection of haute couture dresses. However, one of the most important elements is undoubtedly the mausoleum in the basement, designed by the painter, where Gala was buried, the Lady of the Castle.
 
The Gala Dalí Castle in Púbol forms, together with Salvador Dalí's House in Portlligat and the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres, the ‘Dalí triangle’ of Empordà.

Since the first excavations in the 19th century, the significant archaeological heritage in the Pla de l'Estany has been revealed. And it is here that some of the most outstanding archaeological sites in Catalonia are found. The results of this work carried out in the region are brought together in the Banyoles Regional Archaeological Museum. Thus, it comes as no surprise that the Museum houses one of the most important collections of palaeontology and archaeology in Catalonia.

The Museum officially opened in 1943 and since then has been housed in the Gothic palace of Pia Almoina. From 2000 to 2009, the museum was refurbished, bringing it up-to-date with modern museum standards. Currently, the Banyoles Regional Archaeological Museum has three permanent exhibition rooms (the Palaeontology, Prehistory and History rooms) that allow you to take a tour from the upper Tertiary period until the 18th century.

In the Palaeontology room, highlights include fossils of large animals from the Tertiary period and the Quaternary periods, such as the skull of a saber-toothed tiger from the archaeological site at Incarcal. The Prehistory room gives pride of place to the Neanderthal jaw bone from Banyoles found in the Pla de la Formiga in 1887 and also displays several pieces from the Neolithic settlements of La Draga and the Caves of Serinyà.
 
The History room explains what the Pla de l’Estany was like through the finds made principally in the Iberian village of Mas Castell de Porqueres and the Roman villa of Vilauba. In terms of the Medieval-Modern period, the display focuses mainly on the old town of Banyoles.

Since 1990, the old steam locomotive depot at Vilanova i la Geltrú has hosted one of the most important railway collections in Europe. More than 60 vehicles from all eras, technologies and countries, including 28 steam locomotives from the late 19th century, make up the bulk of the displays at the Museu del Ferrocarril de Catalunya (Catalonia Railroad Museum).

The history of the Spanish railway can be traced through its collection, starting with a replica of the first train to operate on the Peninsula, the Mataró. You can also see the oldest original locomotive in Spain, the last steam-powered vehicle and the first Talgo train. In addition, there are objects from the railways that explain what the stations were like and how the railway traffic was controlled. Among other items, there is an interlocking lever frame and a signal box originating from the Estació de França in Barcelona.

As well as the technical and historical aspect, the Museum invites you to discover the social and emotional aspects of the world of the train. For this reason, it has been designed as an experience space. And so visitors can go inside the locomotives, travel on the passenger trains and even watch audiovisual projections inside a freight wagon.

The important work of the Museum in preservation and dissemination is demonstrated by its documentation centre, with more than 10,000 photographs, 5,000 bibliographic records and 400 videos.