There are actually three entities in Barcelona that use the name Hospital de la Santa Cruz I Sant Pau. (Hospital of the Holy Cross and Saint Paul.) The first was built in 1401 and now houses the Biblioteca de Catalunya (Library of Catalonia).
Take that in folks: Built 91 years before Columbus set sail and still in use!
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Take that in folks: Built 91 years before Columbus set sail and still in use!
Click Read More below right...
The second “Hospital” was designed by the architect Lluis Domenech i Montaner and construction began in 1902. Montaner who also designed the Palau de la Musica was a contemporary of Gaudi’s. Montaner’s son completed the project after his death.
In 2009 the medical facilities moved to a new facility on the same gargantuan block hence the third Hospital of the same name.
Our visit today was to the modernista masterpiece. The guidebooks call it the most underrated modernista site in Barcelona. There are 12 buildings left of the 24 that were built. Montaner had plans for 48. Current plans are that restoration of all buildings will be completed by next year. Currently four are open to the public and the others are or will be used by research and cultural institutions. The restoration is a massive undertaking. One building required 22 million Euros in funding.
We took the guided tour. Our first on this trip as all the other sites have adapted audio tours as their means of interpretation. They did, however, use two pieces of technology quite successfully. iPads were the method of showing the tour group photographs that enhanced the narrative and there was a very effective use of video projection in one of the tunnels that run under the complex. The tunnels were used to move patients and equipment between buildings easily. The images of Doctors and nurses walking by and gurneys being moved got the message across quite effectively.
When designing this complex Montaner took care to make the surroundings beautiful. The predominant colors are green, blue, and yellow. Green was chosen for its known healing properties, blue for the sky and yellow for the sun. The decorations feature flowers, and images of plants and animals. The landscape includes fruit bearing trees, lavender and other fragrant plants, as well as those providing vivid colors when they bloom. Ceramic tiles, mosaics, sculpture and stained glass are used quite liberally. It’s a site to behold.
Of course, this could not have been done without the extensive financial support of the major donor. We were, however, aghast at just how extensively the decorations included references to the donor’s name, his businesses or his family. It would have been nice to spend the money instead on helping the poor souls who needed the care provided by this facility. This is probably not much different from the names attached to hospital facilities today except that they are usually a sign or plaque, or portrait and not done in mosaic, ceramic, or by the most famous sculptors of the day.
We had lunch at a sidewalk café on an esplanade with a few of one of the Modernista buildings of the hospital on one end and the Sagrada Familia on the other.
In 2009 the medical facilities moved to a new facility on the same gargantuan block hence the third Hospital of the same name.
Our visit today was to the modernista masterpiece. The guidebooks call it the most underrated modernista site in Barcelona. There are 12 buildings left of the 24 that were built. Montaner had plans for 48. Current plans are that restoration of all buildings will be completed by next year. Currently four are open to the public and the others are or will be used by research and cultural institutions. The restoration is a massive undertaking. One building required 22 million Euros in funding.
We took the guided tour. Our first on this trip as all the other sites have adapted audio tours as their means of interpretation. They did, however, use two pieces of technology quite successfully. iPads were the method of showing the tour group photographs that enhanced the narrative and there was a very effective use of video projection in one of the tunnels that run under the complex. The tunnels were used to move patients and equipment between buildings easily. The images of Doctors and nurses walking by and gurneys being moved got the message across quite effectively.
When designing this complex Montaner took care to make the surroundings beautiful. The predominant colors are green, blue, and yellow. Green was chosen for its known healing properties, blue for the sky and yellow for the sun. The decorations feature flowers, and images of plants and animals. The landscape includes fruit bearing trees, lavender and other fragrant plants, as well as those providing vivid colors when they bloom. Ceramic tiles, mosaics, sculpture and stained glass are used quite liberally. It’s a site to behold.
Of course, this could not have been done without the extensive financial support of the major donor. We were, however, aghast at just how extensively the decorations included references to the donor’s name, his businesses or his family. It would have been nice to spend the money instead on helping the poor souls who needed the care provided by this facility. This is probably not much different from the names attached to hospital facilities today except that they are usually a sign or plaque, or portrait and not done in mosaic, ceramic, or by the most famous sculptors of the day.
We had lunch at a sidewalk café on an esplanade with a few of one of the Modernista buildings of the hospital on one end and the Sagrada Familia on the other.