Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
copies of pre-Neanderthal skulls to lovely Carthaginian necklaces and jewel-studded
Visigothic crosses.
There's good material on the Balearic Islands (rooms X to XIII) and Empúries (Empori-
on, the Greek and Roman city on the Costa Brava; rooms XIV and XVII). The Roman finds
upstairs were mostly dug up in and around Barcelona. The most beautiful piece is a mosaic
depicting Les Tres Gràcies (The Three Graces), unearthed near Plaça de Sant Jaume in the
18th century. Another is of Bellerophon and the Chimera. In the final room, dedicated to the
dying centuries of the Roman world, a beautiful golden disk depicting Medusa stands out.
The museum has been renovated slowly over recent years, and the displays are now updated
with a more modern design and interactive displays.
MUSEUM
MUSEU ETNOLÒGIC
Barcelona's ethnology museum presents a curious permanent collection that explores how
various societies have worked down the centuries, as seen through collections of all sorts of
objects. The entire museum was closed at the time of writing for major refurbishments.
Check the website for reopening date.
Prior to the refurbishment, the museum started with a general look at ethnology in an in-
troductory section, Orígens (Origins). Thereafter, collections covered the Pyrenees region in
Catalonia (including traditional instruments and archive images of traditional dances) and
Salamanca in central Spain, looking at a now largely extinct rural society. Further collec-
tions explored other regions around the world, but these are to be ceded to the new Museu
de Cultures del Món, which will open in the Born in 2015. The museum typically displays
only a fraction of its collections at a time, showcasing a number of countries at different in-
tervals, including for temporary exhibitions.
GARDENS
JARDÍ BOTÀNIC
free; 10am-7pm; 55, 150)
This botanical garden is dedicated to Mediterranean flora and has a collection of some
40,000 plants and 1500 species that thrive in areas with a climate similar to that of the
Mediterranean, such as the Eastern Mediterranean, Spain (including the Balearic and Canary
Islands), North Africa, Australia, California, Chile and South Africa.
The garden is a work in progress and the plan is to reach 4000 species.
CEMETERY
CEMENTIRI DEL SUD-OEST
