Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
play up Catalan works of the period, which largely absorbed the prevailing European influ-
ences - thus Barcelona artist
Antoni Viladomat
(1678-1755), whose twenty paintings of St
Francis, executed for a monastery, are shown here in their entirety. However, more familiar
to most will be the masterpieces of the Spanish Golden Age, notably Velázquez's
SaintPaul
and Zurbarán's
Immaculate Conception
.
The modern art collection
MNAC ends on a high note with its unsurpassed
nineteenth- and twentieth-century
Catalan art
collection, which is particularly good on
modernista
and
noucentista
painting
and sculpture, the two dominant schools of the period. Rooms highlight both individual
artists and genres, shedding light on the development of art in an exciting period of Catalun-
ya's history. The works provide a rich, varied experience, ranging from intricate Barcelona
streetscenesto
modernista
interiordesign(includingfurniturebyGaudí),whiletherearealso
fascinating diversions into avant-garde sculpture and historical photography.
Museu Etnològic
Pg. de Santa Madrona 16-22 • Under renovation •
www.museuetnologic.bcn.cat
• Espanya/Poble Sec, or
bus #55 from c/ de Lleida
The city's ethnological museum boasts extensive cultural collections from across the globe,
particularly the Amazon region, Papua New Guinea, pre-Hispanic America, Australia, Mo-
rocco and Ethiopia. Refreshingly, Spain and its regions aren't neglected, with the museum
oftendrawingontheworkofSpanishethnographerssuchasRamonViolant,whospentmuch
ofthe1940srecordingthedailyroutineofinhabitantsofthePyrenees.Themuseumisclosed
for renovations, and is expected to re-open at the end of 2014.
Museu d'Arqueologia de Catalunya
Pg. de Santa Madrona 39-41 • Tues-Sat 9.30am-7pm, Sun & hols 10am-2.30pm • €3, under-16s & last Sun of
the month free • 934 232 149,
www.mac.cat
• Espanya/Poble Sec, or bus #55 from c/de Lleida
For the early and classical-era history of the land now known as Catalunya you shouldn't
missthe
Museud'ArqueologiadeCatalunya
,whosericharcheologicalcollectionspansthe
centuries fromtheStoneAgetothetimeoftheVisigoths.Dramatic findsfromthemostfam-
ous of the region's archeological sites are concentrated here, notably pieces from the Greek
site at Empúries on the Costa Brava, including a replica of the renowned marble statue of
Asclepius, Greek god of medicine, which dominates the central rotunda. The Second Punic
War (218-201 BC) saw the Carthaginians expelled from Iberia by the Romans, who made
their provincial capital at Tarragona (Tarraco), with a secondary outpost at Barcelona (Bar-
cino). There's some fine Roman glassware and mosaic work on display, while an upper floor
