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In Sant Sadurní
d’Anoia, Modernisme arrived with the resurgence
of the wine-growing industry that took place throughout
the Alt Penedès at the end of the 19th century
after the disastrous “Phylloxera plague”.
This rebirth of economic activity here led to an improvement
of the social and cultural infrastructure and caused
the innovative Modernista movement, with its eclectic
and neo-medievalist features, to be received with open
arms in provincial cultural centres such as Sant Sadurní.
Characteristics:
Modernisme here is basically ornamental, both in the
urban dwellings and in the farmhouses and industrial
buildings. Likewise, it is typically traditional with
respect to the maintenance of formulas and elements
of the Catalan folk construction systems. The architects
and master builders followed the local customs and adapted
the stylistic innovations to the tastes and spatial
and economic possibilities of the local customers. Consequently,
on the one hand there are decoratively handsome buildings,
such as the house Cal Calixtus (architect: Narcís
Aran i Vidal, 1885), which features a splendid gallery
with wrought-iron columns and stained-glass windows,
or Cal Rigol (Miquel Madurell i Rius, 1903), notable
for the plant motifs of its sculptured ornamentation
and its wrought-iron railings. Also of special note
is the crowning and the false rustication of Casa Lluís
Mestres (Santiago Güell i Grau, 1909), the naturalistic
decoration of the Agricultural Athenaeum (Miquel Madurell
i Rius, 1908-1909), the doorway and the central window
of Cal Solà (1909), and the dynamism of the balconies
and of the stepped summit of Casa Formosa Ragué
(Ramon Maria Riudor i Capella, 1892).
On the other hand, the appearance of industrial architecture
was accompanied by the use of new materials, such as
face brick, iron beams and girders, and completely innovative
structures that organised space according to criteria
of functionality. The Freixenet winery (Josep Ros Ros,
1927-1929) and the ensemble of the Codorniu winery (Josep
Puig i Cadafalch, 1902-1915) are the most notable examples
of this type of architecture in Sant Sadurní.
Most notable in the Freixenet winery is the Visitor
Reception Centre, which features a magnificent undulating
cornice with plant motifs made of coloured glazed ceramic
on the façade. At the Codorniu winery, the whole
ensemble forms a catalogue of diverse solutions of the
most experimental Modernisme, from the bays covered
with toric round arches and the flat-brick vaults of
the press porch, to the many parabolic arches, the lunettes,
the large glazed windows, etc.
Practical information
Guided tour:
The tour proposed here allows the observation of different
types of architecture, from houses to industrial structures
and from public edifices to civic buildings. The tour
is held on the last Saturday of each month and, in order
to take part in it, it is necessary to make reservations
at the Tourist Office.
Hours:
Time and meeting point: 10 am at the Tourist Office
Start of the tour with a guided visit to the Modernista
façades of the town centre.
Transfer in coach to the Codorniu winery to visit its
various Modernista buildings: the despatching room,
the Great Cellar and museum, the press porch, and the
interior of the Raventós Tower. Visit to the
cellars of the winery and tasting of wines.
2 pm. Return in coach to the town centre and end of
the tour.
Groups:
Maximum 25 persons (minimum 15 persons)
Price:
€ 10 / person (including VAT)
Including: guided tour of Sant Sadurní, transfers
in coach, visit to the Codorniu winery and tasting of
wines.
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