Barcelona

We start the route in Arenys de Mar, at the Mollfulleda destilleries, known as the "Calisay factory".

It was founded in 1896 by the emigrant Magí Mollfulleda who, after buying the formula invented by the Benedictine monks from a French citizen, devoted the building to producing this well-known liquor. The façades are inspired by popular architecture and contain numerous Neo-Gothic and Neo-Romanesque elements.

In Alella we find the Sindicat Alella Vinícola (Alella Wine production Union). Work of the architect Jeroni Martorell, it was designed in 1906 and has numerous balanced arches and skylights on the roof to allow the light in.

In Badalona we make an obligatory stop:  the Anís del Mono factory, erected by the Bosch brothers. Located right next to the beach, the factory was originally a modest "fassina" (distillery) where anise was produced; the current building is the result of alterations carried out in 1922 by the architect Agustí Domingo i Verdaguer, who incorporated some Modernista elements.
 
MODERNISM AND CULTURE
In Barcelona, fans of Modernisme can see the best-known residential buildings: the casa Batlló, the Pedrera and the casa Amatller are just a few examples. But in the city you can also find old factories converted into cultural centres: the Casaramona factory (CaixaFòrum), Can Framis (art gallery and exhibition rooms) and the Vapor Vell, converted into the Municipal Library.
 
THE WINE ACTIVITY OF THE GÜELL FAMILY
Heading south; between Garraf and Sitges, we will find the Cellers Güell, designed by Antoni Gaudí. In 1872 Eusebi Güell purchased the estate of medieval origin, to use it for the cultivation of the vine and wine production. The building had two floors for the winery located in the basement and, on ground level, the garage, warehouses, temporary housing and the Güell family chapel.

Our route ends at the Can Pujol winery of Vilanova i la Geltrú; designed in 1935, inside you can see the ancient and wide nave that contained the distillery and the cellars with the underground wine presses, which date back to the 18th century.


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Before visiting the winery of Bages, it is worth entering the Valls de Montcau and taking a look at the isolated wine vats and "barraques de vi" (vineyard huts).These are traditional dry stone, handcrafted circular constructions, which we can find alone or in a group, scattered around the fields.

Particularly worth seeing are the vats of Solanes, between the thermal springs of Pont de Vilomara and Rocafort, the Vats of Tosques, located in the Flequer valley and the set of the Escudelleta, at the thermal spring of Rocafort, consisting of eleven vats and seven adjoining huts. Perfectly integrated into the landscape, these agricultural constructions made by the peasants themselves at the end of the 19th century represent the "archaeology" of the modern wineries.

Following the route, we visit the masia Roqueta (country house), in the medieval municipality of Santa Maria d’Horta d’Avinyó. Its basements still conserve the aroma of the wine that has been produced there for centuries.
 
A WALK THROUGH THE MEDIEVAL ROMANESQUE
We will visit the village of Talamanca with its cobbled streets. In the castle or Molí del Menut (small mill), another medieval farmhouse, we will see the old press and the vats used to make wine, the water mill for grinding the grain and cattle pens.

Near Talamanca we will find some cooperative wineries of the area, such as those of the Agricultural Union of Santpedor and that of Salelles, in addition to the old distillery of Can Forrellat in Castellbell and Vilar.
 
THE COLONIES OF LLOBREGAT
Further to the north we find other testimonies of Catalonia's industrial past. Following the course of the River Llobregat we can visit the Colònia Vidal, that of Viladomiu, Cal Marçal and Cal Rosal, among others. All without forgetting the medieval touch provided by the Romanesque church of Saint Vicenç Obiols and the Orniu bridge.


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FUNDACIÓ PALAU IN CALDES D'ESTRAC

In Caldes d’Estrac you can visit the Palau Foundation. As well as conserving and disseminating Josep Palau i Fabre's documentary and artistic works there is a permanent exhibition of works by Torres García, Mompou, Rebull, Nonell and Nogués, amongst others. There are also works by Picasso, a great friend of Palau i Fabre.

MODERNISTA CEMETERY BY SINERA IN ARENYS DE MAR

In Arenys de Mar there is more art in the form of the Modernista cemetery by Sinera that crowns the Pietat hill, which was immortalised by Salvador Espriu. You can follow this with a stroll around the town's historic centre which, since 2008, has formed part of the 'Xarxa de Municipis Indians' (which means, approximately, the network of municipalities influenced by residents who had made good in the Americas). The excursion ends with a visit to the port of Arenys where, after 4 p.m. you can see the fishing boats coming in with the day's catch.

SANTA FLORENTINA CASTLE IN CANET DE MAR

With the smell of fish fresh in your mind you go next to Canet de Mar. Fans of Game of Thrones are in for a treat because you can take a stroll through the precinct of Santa Florentina castle, where some scenes in the series were filmed. The jewel in the heritage crown of Canet, however, is Lluís Domènech i Montaner. After his marriage to Maria Roura this Modernista architect passed his summers here. These days you can visit the Casa Domènech, the family residence and his final work, and the Masia Rocosa, the summer residence.

HERMITAGE OF SANT PAU IN SANT POL DE MAR

The last stop is Sant Pol de Mar where you can wander around the narrow streets of this seaside town, pause to rest on the promenade and the Camí de Ronda and go up to the Hermitage of Sant Pau, which commands a privileged view from the top of the hill. An advantage to this excursion is that it can be made by train because all these towns have a railway station. If you like hiking you could hike along the section of the Via Marina del Camí de Sant Jaume, which passes through these towns.

Barcelona and Vic invite us to enjoy the magnificent Romanesque collections of their museums. However, between the two cities there is a road filled with art and history.

OLYMPIC, ROMANESQUE, UNUSUAL

There are numerous Olympic cities, though only Barcelona has Romanesque jewels so near its Olympic Stadium. The Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (National Museum of Art of Catalonia) has one of the most important collections of Romanesque art in the world.

Not everything from the Romanesque style can be seen in the MNAC, however. In the very centre of city you find one of the most tranquil spots of the bustling Raval: the ancient monastery of Sant Pau del Camp is a still little-known Romanesque jewel.

ARTISTIC “RECYCLING”

In Vallès, Sant Cugat was built on a wealth of history. The Romanesque monastery is found on the ancient site of a Roman fortress, the Castrum Octavianum. The same is the case in Terrassa, where the Monumental Churches of Sant Pere were erected on an old Visigothic settlement. Taking advantage of earlier constructions has been a very common practice throughout history.

LAND OF MONASTERIES

The journey continues in the Bages area. History, myths, geology and art mark the personality of the spectacular massif of Montserrat. The popular Moreneta, the patron saint of Catalonia, is an originally white Romanesque virgin that has been darkening from the degradation of materials and pigments.

In Sant Fruitós you find Sant Benet de Bages, an icon evocative of the Middle Ages to many Renaissance authors and one of the country's most important Romanesque monasteries. A similar esteem is warranted for another shining example of early Catalan Romanesque: the canonry of Sant Vicenç de Cardona.

We recommend you to visit again rooms filled with the best Romanesque examples. You can't pass up the paintings, sculptures and liturgical objects of the Museu Episcopal de Vic (Episcopal Museum of Vic). However, in the capital of Osona there is much more to see: in the historic centre there are Romanesque jewels such as the bell tower and crypt of the Cathedral of Sant Pere.

Finally you arrive to the shores of the Pantà de Sau (Sau water reservoir). The journey ends in Masies de Roda exploring the only Benedictine monastery of the county, Sant Pere of Casserres, where there is a permanent exhibition commenting the life style of 11th century monks.


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Terrassa Turisme provides a number of guided tours that will take you back to the Terassa of 1900, visiting an industrial heritage that is unique in Catalonia. You will see bourgeois houses, factories with their chimneys, steam mills, and much more.
 
MASIA FREIXA
 
The Masia Freixa, one of the city's most iconic and curious buildings, came about when Josep Freixa decided to turn his factory into a private house. He entrusted the work to the architect Lluís Muncunill and last year the roof was refurbished to give it back the appearance it had at the beginning of the 20th century.
 
CASA ALEGRE DE SAGRERA
 
The Casa Alegre de Sagrera was built at the beginning of the 19th century. Almost a century later, in 1911, it underwent large-scale refurbishment to turn it into a Modernista-period bourgeois house of a Terrassa industrialist. Since 1973 it has been used to house one of the sections of Terrassa Museum.

MERCAT DE LA INDEPENDÈNCIA
 
The Mercat de la Independència, designed by the municipal architects Antoni Pascual and Melcior Vinyals, was opened on 14 November 1908. It was an innovative building because it had an iron structure, the largest in the city, at a time when iron was generally used as a decorative element.
 
THE AYMERICH, AMAT I JOVER TEXTILE MILL, HOME TO THE mNACTEC
 
The Vapor Aymerich, Amat i Jover, a textile mill, is one of the best examples of industrial Modernista architecture in Catalonia. It was designed in 1906 by the architect Lluís Muncunill and it now houses the National Museum of Science and Industry of Catalonia (mNACTEC).
 

If you would like to know more about Modernista Terrassa, sign up for the guided tour organised by Terrassa Turisme on the fourth Saturday. The tour includes the Masia Freixa, the Casa Alegra de Sagrera and the mNACTEC.
 
 
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The monastery of Montserrat was founded in 1025 on the orders of Abbot Oliba. It was built over a small hermitage which Guifré el Pilós (Wilfred the Hairy) had given to the Monastery of Ripoll. The star attraction of the visit is to see the Moreneta, a Romanesque carving of Our Lady of Montserrat, whose face and hands have been darkened by the smoke from candles.
 
The monastery of Montserrat can be reached in various ways: on foot; by car; rack railway and cable car. Thanks to the work carried out under the direction of Josep Puig i Cadafalch at the end of the 19th century, it is possible to walk all around the site, starting at the central location of Plaça de Santa Maria.
 
BASILICA
 
Start your visit with the basilica, a 16th century building with Romanesque remains and a Gothic structure. Since 1947, the statue of Our Lady Montserrat has been mounted in a silver retable in the upper apse. In 1881 pope Lleo XIII proclaimed Our Lady Montserrat to be the patron saint of Catalonia.
 
MUSEUM OF MONTSERRAT
 
Opposite the monastery is the Museum of Montserrat. It contains over 1,300 items, from a 2,200 BC Egyptian sarcophagus to 2010 painting by Sean Scully. The collection started with items brought back from visits to the Holy Land by father Bonaventura Ubach and, over the years, it has grown with additions from such outstanding artists as Caravaggio, Rusiñol, Casas, Nonell, Picasso, Monet, Sisley, Degas, Pissarro and Dalí.
 
AUDIOVISUAL SPACE
 
The information office is just in front of the rack railway station and it is here that you can see the 'Montserrat Open doors' video, which shows Montserrat from three main points of view: the mountain; the monastery; and the Sanctuary of Our lady of Montserrat. The visit ends with a moving conclusion in which the choir plays a prominent role!
 
SANTA CECÍLIA DE MONTSERRAT AND A SPACE FOR ART
 
A five-minute drive takes you to the Monastery of Santa Cecília de Montserrat, located in one of the mountain's most beautiful settings. Its church, which dates from the 11th century, was restored in the 1930s by Puig i Cadafalch and is one of the region's most outstanding examples of Romanesque architecture. It currently houses an exhibition of works by one of the most internationally renowned contemporary artists, Sean Scully.
 
CUISINE
 
Don't forget to try the local cottage cheese known as mató! It has been documented as 'Mató de Montserrat' since the end of the 19th century, although it was, of course, made and consumed a very long time before that. You will find it on sale at the market that is held up from the sanctuary where, still today, country folk come to sell their wares, such as mató, honey, cheeses, fig loaves and so forth, every day.
 
 
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The year 2017 marked 150 years since the birth of the architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch. This route will take you around some of his most outstanding works in the Eixample district of Barcelona: the Casa Amatller, the Casa Serra, the Palau Baró de Quadres, the Casa de les Punxes and the Palau Macaya. You could also sign up for the guided tour which is organised one Saturday every month.
 
CASA AMATLLER

The house of the chocolate magnate, Antoni Amatller, is one of the finest examples of Catalan Modernista architecture and one of the few that still has the rich ornamentation that is so characteristic of this style and so popular with the Catalan bourgeoisie. Located in the Passeig de Gràcia, the Casa Amatller is notable on account of the composition of its facade and the refurbishment of the ground and first floors to reflect the original architecture and the Modernista decorative arts it employed.
 
CASA SERRA

The house was designed as a family house to resemble a small palace, but it was never inhabited by its owner. It is located in the Rambla de Catalunya and with it Puig i Cadafalch wanted to pay homage to the former Casa Gralla, demolished in the mid-19th century, by reproducing the main entrance and the ornamentation of the windows.
 
PALAU BARÓ DE QUADRES

Puig i Cadafalch gave this building two facades, one on Carrer Rosselló and the other on Avinguda Diagonal, in a mixture of styles with neo-Gothic carvings and stained-glass windows. The building housed the Music Museum until 2011 and then, until 2013, it was the premises of the Casa Àsia. At the present time it is where the main offices of the Institut Ramon Llull are located.
 
CASA DE LES PUNXES

The Casa de les Punxes, also known as the Casa Terradas, was built in 1905 for the three daughters in the family. Inspired by Neuschwanstein castle in Bavaria, Puig i Cadafalch made the six turrets coincide with the intersections of the three roads around the house: Avinguda Diagonal (which, being the busiest road, has the main and most sumptuous facade), Carrer Rosselló and Carrer Bruc.
 
PALAU MACAYA

The building, located in Passeig de Sant Joan, is now the property of Obra Social ‘la Caixa’, and is outstanding on account of its white facade, with ochre sgraffiti, by Joan Paradís, and the wrought iron work, by Manuel Ballarín. Eusebi Arnau and Alfons Pujol, who worked frequently with Puig i Cadafalch, also worked on the ornamentation of the facade. Being a little off the city's tourist track, this building is often overlooked.
 
 
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