At the beginning of the 20th century, the town of Sitges became a meeting place for the most important writers, musicians, sculptors, painters, and critics of the country, leaving their artistic mark on the streets and historic buildings of the town.
This cultural movement is considered the cradle of Catalan Modernism. Below, we will discuss its origins and suggest a Modernist route through Sitges that you will surely enjoy.
Sitges and Modernism
During the 19th century, Sitges experienced a time full of social, economic, industrial, and cultural changes. With the turn of the century, Santiago Rusiñol, a young bohemian drawn by the town’s artistic opportunities, settled in the Cau Ferrat of Sitges and organized the five Modernist festivals, which took place from 1892 to 1899 and were attended by dozens of renowned artists and intellectuals, such as Ramon Casas, Àngel Guimerà, Narcís Oller, and Emilia Pardo Bazán, among many others.
These festivals represented an escape from bourgeois mentality and an entry into the sublimation of art, where different artistic models and styles were accepted and can still be seen in the town’s urban layout today. The artistic renewal of the modernists involved incorporating nature and organic forms into home decoration, using materials like glass and wrought iron, but also innovating in other arts such as literature, painting, and music.
Thanks to Santiago Rusiñol’s initiatives, one of the leading figures of the movement, the bright and Mediterranean Sitges became the center of artistic and bohemian life. Additionally, the town was also chosen by the so-called Americans, Sitges residents who returned enriched from Spanish colonies and beautified the town with their Modernist-style houses.
Today, we can visit what Modernism left in Sitges, and there is no better way to do it than with a Modernist route!
Modernist Route in Sitges: What to Expect?
The Modernist Route in Sitges starts at the train station square, a symbol of the new era and modernity of the country, where we can discover the new eixample and the Modernist houses of the Americans who made their fortune in the Spanish colonies.
We continue through the streets of the town center (Isla Cuba Street and Francesc Gumà Street), where some of the most prominent architects, such as Gaietà Buïgas, built their houses. Examples include Casa Bonaventura Blay (1901) and Casa Manuel Planas (1908). We can also view the interior of the Teatro Prado, a Modernist building that hosted two of the Modernist festivals organized by Rusiñol in Sitges and was a meeting place for many followers of this movement.
The route continues with a visit to the blue courtyard, the only preserved example of typical Sitges courtyards that inspired Rusiñol, who depicted it in some of his paintings and also dedicated a play to it, The Blue Courtyard.
We proceed to Cabo de la Villa to admire the Modernist house of the American Bartomeu Carbonell i Mussons. And we reach the Town Hall Square, where the town hall building itself is in a Neo-Gothic style. Here is also the market, which was the first Modernist building in the municipality and is now Casa Bacardí.
Additionally, we can explore the old 14th-century walls and the exteriors of the Sitges museums: the Cau Ferrat Museum (Santiago Rusiñol’s former workshop now a public museum) and the Maricel Museum and Palau Maricel, buildings with rich histories. The Cau Ferrat Museum contains collections of ancient art gathered by the artist, including painting, drawing, sculpture, wrought iron, ceramics, and glass, as well as works by other artists such as Picasso, R. Pichot, Enric Clarasó, etc. The Palau Maricel is actually the artistic ensemble of two museums, the Mar Museum and the Terra Museum. The main spaces of the Palau include the Saló d’Or, Saló Blau, Sala Capella, Sala Vaixells, terraces, and cloister, which have hosted many significant social and cultural events and offer spectacular views of the Mediterranean.
After exploring these sites, we can end the route at Fragata Beach from the promenade, a setting for several Luminist paintings, a pictorial style that deeply rooted in the town, where the Sitges School was founded, considered the precursor of Catalan Modernism for its innovative techniques of the time.
Discover the Modernist Route from Hotel Calipolis
Now that you know the essentials of Modernism in Sitges and the many possibilities offered by the Modernist route in this unique town, you can’t miss it. It’s time to plan your getaway! If you’re considering coming to Sitges, at the Hotel Calipolis, located in the city center with direct sea views, we have everything you need.
