Art and culture
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Museums and collections[edit]
Maritime Museum, Lloret
The Maritime Museum, which focuses on the history of the Indianos and Lloret de Mar's seafaring and fishing past, is housed in Casa Garriga, an old Indiano house that was acquired by the town council in 1981 in order to turn it into a local museum. It is divided into five areas: Sons of the sea, Mediterranean, Gateway to the ocean, Lloret after sailing ships, and Beyond the beach. The route through the museum takes in everything from coastal trading in the Mediterranean to high-sea sailing across the Atlantic.
Castle of Sant Joan[edit]
Situated at the top of the hill that separates Lloret de Mar and Fenals beaches, it dates back to the turn of the 11th century. The castle served as a watchtower to warn of possible attacks from the sea. The origins of the Castle of Sant Joan are the origins of the town of Lloret. Back in the 11th century, the area of land delimited as Loredo was ruled over by Sicardis of Lloret (1031-1103). According to the terms of Sicardis' will, the feudal land was to be shared between two of her sons: Bernat Umbert, Bishop of Girona, and Bernat Gaufred, a secular lord who became Lord of Palafolls. This shared jurisdiction lasted until 1218, when Bishop Bernat Umbert died and his fief passed exclusively to the See of the Chapter of Girona Cathedral. In 1790, the Comú (Town Council) and the inhabitants of Lloret asked the Royal Council of the Treasury ("Real Consejo de Hacienda") to make the castle and its land royal property in exchange for the payment of 8,000 pounds to the Cathedral Chapter for its loss of ownership rights. The legal dispute, which lasted until 1802, was decided in favour of Lloret's inhabitants, bringing almost eight centuries of feudal rule to an end, although the Castle of Sant Joan belonged to the Chapter until 1807. The Third Coalition War that pitted Great Britain against Spain and France, and which concluded at the Battle of Trafalgar, had disastrous consequences for the tower of the Castle of Sant Joan. In 1805 the British Navy bombed the tower, destroying the fortified enclosure once and for all. The castle remained in disuse throughout the 19th century and was reduced to ruins. The restoration of the keep, which is now open to visitors, was completed in 1992. Meanwhile, the excavations and the museological project were completed between 2000 and 2001.
Modernist cemetery of the Indianos[edit]
Marble figure designed by Ismael Smith i Marí at the modernist cemetery of the Indianos
Lloret de Mar Cemetery
The modernist cemetery of Lloret de Mar is one of the most important Indiano cemeteries in Catalonia and one of the most representative anywhere in Spain. The essence of Lloret de Mar cemetery can be traced to the arrival of the newly rich Indianos, those who returned to the town after making their fortune in the Americas. Designed by Joaquim Artau i Fàbregas, the main avenue contains a series of dazzling pantheons and hypogea in a highly evocative modernist style.
Bonaventura Conill i Montobbio, a disciple of Gaudí, was one of the cemetery's most prolific architects, producing high crosses, dragons that watch over the darkness and death, and angels with heads bowed who mourn like any mortal.
The Indianos were families with many good connections, which explains the presence of works by architects such as Puig i Cadafalch and Ismael Smith i Marí, who designed the pale marble female figure that symbolises death and that rests surrounded by red roses. At the end of the central avenue there is a chapel around which the second category hypogea are arranged. There are rows of avenues lined with very similar and highly decorative pantheons, all joined, some adorned with fresh flowers and others left bare.
Work on the new cemetery began in 1896 and its construction was completed in 1901. Relatively unknown, it offers a wide perspective on the funerary art of the period. The completed basic structure of the cemetery was impressive for a town with fewer than 4000 inhabitants. Once it was officially opened the leading architects and sculptors of the time contributed works. Joaquim Artau i Fàbregas drew up the original plans and once the cemetery opened the architects Antoni Maria Gallissà and Josep Puig i Cadafalch were the first to execute projects for the new necropolis. Another architect, Vicenç Artigas i Albertí, soon became involved and over the course of 1903 Bonaventura Conill i Montobbio, a disciple of Gaudí, joined the group. Both of these architects continued to work for the cemetery on a regular basis and most of the works that make up the complex constituted an important part of their output. In 1905 Ramon Maria Riudor joined the list of contributors. This architect, who worked on and off in Lloret de Mar, designed a pantheon for the cemetery. The cemetery of Lloret de Mar is possibly one of the most important examples of Catalan funerary art of the modernist period. Although it is a rather small complex, it contains a good number of works capable of reviving the debate over modernist art and the modernists.
Modernist buildings[edit]
Sanctuary of Sant Pere del Bosc
Architects such as Enric Monserdà, Bonaventura Conill and Puig i Cadafalch built modernist buildings including the Sanctuary of Sant Pere del Bosc with the small chapel of Mare de Déu de Gràcia (Our Lady of Grace), or the chapel of the Baptistery and the chapel of the Santíssim Sagrament (Holiest Sacrament), both of which belong to the church of Sant Romà, and, last of all, the pantheon of the Costa Macià family, one of the most complex and sumptuous modernist structures in Lloret de Mar cemetery.
Puig de Castellet Iberian settlement[edit]
Puig de Castellet Iberian settlement
There are three Iberian settlements in Lloret de Mar: Montbarbat, Puig de Castellet and Turó Rodó, dating from as far back as the 4th century BC (Montbarbat) to as late as the 2nd century BC (Turó Rodó). By the time of the 1st century BC, the Iberian world had been swept away due to the expansion of the Roman Empire.
The Iberians, who were the indigenous inhabitants of the Iberian Peninsula, were organised into territorial tribes: Laietani, Cessetani, Ilercavones, Ilergetes, Ausetani and Indigetes. The Indigetes inhabited the Puig de Castellet settlement. This settlement, dating from the 3rd century BC, is situated two kilometres away from Lloret de Mar town centre in a strategic spot with an excellent vantage point overlooking the area stretching from the Tordera estuary to the Lloret coast. It is a small 650 m2 enclosure composed of around six dwellings. The settlement was fortified with a thick wall and defence towers during a turbulent period of history that shook the Mediterranean region from 264 BC to 146 BC: the Punic Wars. The strengthening of the enclosure wall dates back to the 3rd century BC, coinciding with the period of Carthaginian rule. As such, this settlement was active for around 50 years between 250 BC and 200 BC, at which point it was abandoned.
The excavations have been carried out in various stages: the first from 1968 to 1969, the second from 1970 to 1972 and the third and final stage from 1975 to 1986. During the excavations a large amount of archaeological material was unearthed, mostly locally produced ceramics but also Attic ceramics imported from different places, including Italy, Greece and Rhode (Roses). The Puig de Castellet settlement has been incorporated in the "Route of the Iberians", created by the Archaeology Museum of Catalonia and for which Lloret de Mar Town Council has carried out the necessary site adaptation.
Indiano houses route[edit]
Church of Sant Romà
Church of Sant Romà: In 2014 restoration work was completed on the Can Font building, the former residence of a family of Indianos, which was the name given to Catalans who emigrated to America at the turn of the 20th century to seek their fortune. Between 1800 and 1840 many of Lloret's townsfolk set sail for America, many of them children of the town's poorest families, with the dream of making their fortune in the New World. Two Cuban cities, Havana and Matanzas, were the most common destinations for emigrants, who took on all sorts of jobs there. However, they never lost touch with their home town, one of the Catalan towns that was most influenced by these connections with the Indies. The Indianos were philanthropists and benefactors who contributed to Lloret's urban transformation. They funded many charity projects, such as the hospital and schools, and took an active part in the modernist reconstruction of the parish church.[citation needed]
Casa Garriga (Maritime Museum): Enric Garriga i Mataró, who emigrated to Cienfuegos (Cuba) and made his fortune with a construction materials firm, had this house built. When he died, his widow purchased the adjacent plot, creating a twin-structured building with a ground floor, two upper floors and a garden on the promenade side. The totally symmetrical façade features six balconies on the two upper floors, crowned by a pediment and balustrades. Casa Garriga now houses the Maritime Museum, dedicated to showcasing the town's seafaring past.
Passeig Verdaguer or Passeig de les Palmeres: Promenade with a colonial feel built by the Girona-based architect Martí Sureda on land reclaimed from the sea. Flanked by the Casa Garriga building at one end and by the grand town hall at the other, Passeig de les Palmeres, which would later bear the name of Jacint Verdaguer, was a project promoted by the Indianos, who had their residences built on plots in this reclaimed area. Their largesse enabled the town council to raise the funds for building the new neoclassical town hall.
Carrer de les Vídues i Donzelles: A narrow street with a curious name (Widows and Maidens) that recalls a theme associated with the Indiano legend: young maidens who became wealthy widows when their Indiano husbands died were discouraged from seeking a new husband by a special clause in the dead husband's will, by virtue of which they would lose their fortune on remarrying. As such, they tended to stay at home and seldom went out.
Parish Church and Church of Sant Romà: The Indianos funded the modernist reconstruction of the church (1914), a project commissioned to the architect Bonaventura Conill i Montobbio, with sculptures by Josep Llimona and Enric Clarasó. Two years later, from his home in Havana, Narcís Gelats provided the funds for the chapel of Santíssim Sacrament (Holiest Sacrament) (1916) in memory of his wife. Meanwhile, the link to the Americas is present in the mural of Our Lady of Charity (also known as Our Lady of El Cobre, patron saint of Cuba), which until recently was on display in the courtyard of the parish house and is currently being restored.
House of Nicolau Font i Maig: Built in 1877 by Feliu Torras i Mataró of Lloret, the house of this Indiano was composed of a basement, ground floor, two upper floors, an attic and a courtyard. Of particular note is the modernist wooden door with a wrought iron gate featuring whiplash motifs and a set of symbolic Indiano figures wearing a feather plume on their heads.
Es Tint[edit]
Es Tint is a small property where Lloret's fishermen went until the 1960s to dye their nets, using a liquid produced by boiling water and pine bark. This was when nets were made of hemp, esparto and, later on, cotton. The nets were dyed by means of an ancient technique used throughout the Mediterranean, which consisted of soaking the nets in the liquid previously boiled in the cauldron until they were well impregnated. They were then wrung and put out to dry on the beach. The dye served both to increase the durability of the nets and to camouflage them in the sea.
The emergence of nylon nets signalled the end of this small industry, which depended on the Fishermen's Guild, and the building fell into disuse.
In the past, every coastal town had premises of this kind for dyeing nets, normally run by the local guild. Not many survive today; on the Costa Brava only the Sa Perola building in Calella de Palafrugell and Es Tint in Lloret de Mar remain.
