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The Crosses of Bellesguard

By Ferran Garcés

We are in the midst of two important days commemorating the origin of devotion to one of the most influential symbols in historical, religious, and artistic spheres. On May 3, according to the Roman rite, the Invention of the Holy Cross was celebrated (from the Latin invenio, “to discover”), and on the 21st of the same month, according to the Byzantine rite, the feast of its discoverer, Saint Helena, will be celebrated. Both commemorations seem to be rooted in an even older tradition: the worship of the May tree (also known as “May Day,” “Maypole,” “May Festival,” or simply “the May Days”).

A brief context. In the year 313, the Roman emperor Constantine legalized Christianity. Shortly after, in the year 326, his mother, Helena of Constantinople, known as Saint Helena, made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land to witness the sites of Jesus Christ’s Passion firsthand. She is credited with the excavation that led to the recovery of the lingum crucis (literally, in Latin, “wood of the cross”), also known as the Holy Cross or the True Cross, to distinguish it from the crosses of the two thieves crucified alongside Jesus. From this point on, the cult of the cross would prevail over the pagan celebration of the May Tree, though it did not entirely replace it.

The topic is vast, and we cannot cover even a small portion of it. Here, we only aim to summarize the relationship between Bellesguard Tower and this ancient symbol. This relationship can be divided into two categories: those linked to a king, today known as “the Humane,” but in his time called “the Ecclesiastic,” and those linked to a genius popularly known as “the architect of God”…

In the time of “the Ecclesiastic”

Martin I “the Ecclesiastic,” so named by his contemporaries for his devotion, was a great collector of relics. He wanted them all—and, of course, the one discovered by Helena of Constantinople.

In Barcelona, his memory was—and still is—very present. Two highly representative buildings are proof of this. The first is the city’s cathedral, whose full name is “Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia” (1). The second building, similarly named because it depended on the cathedral, is the Hospital of the Holy Cross. It began construction in 1401 under the watchful eye of Martin I “the Ecclesiastic” and with the authorization of Benedict XIII, better known as Pope Luna (2). As a curiosity, remember that the place where Gaudí died was this hospital (3).

A little before inaugurating the hospital, King Martin had obtained a piece of the True Cross. It was a gift from the same pope, given to him during a trip to Avignon, where the pontiff then resided. From here, the fate of the relic follows two paths.

According to some, before moving to the palace of Bellesguard in 1409, King Martin donated the relic to the Parish of Saints Just and Pastor, a church where the so-called Gualbes Archive is kept—an archive detailing the entire history of Bellesguard, from the time of this monarch until 1714. In this tradition, the relic disappeared after the Spanish Civil War.

According to others, Pope Luna’s gift passed into the hands of Margaret of Prades, the second wife of Martin I, as part of her inheritance after the monarch’s death in 1410. Unfortunately, as soon as her husband was buried, the young widow—she was twenty-one—became the target of a fierce legal battle to strip her of her possessions. Especially the relics, which were kept in the chapel of Saint Agatha, located in the current Plaça del Rei. Even so, Margaret stood up to her enemies. One of her rebellious acts was to empty the chapel of Saint Agatha and take the relics to the palace of Bellesguard, where she thought they would be better protected (4). Nevertheless, Margaret ultimately lost the dispute to Ferdinand I of Antequera, King Martin’s successor. Both would die shortly after. In 1437, Alfonso the Magnanimous, son of Ferdinand I, brought the True Cross and other relics to the Cathedral of Valencia, where they can still be seen today.

In the time of “the architect of God”

The story of the ancient symbol unearthed by Helena of Constantinople continues with many more legends and artistic representations across the world. At Bellesguard Tower, we can see two. One at the very top, on the rooftop, and another at street level, right at the entrance. The first crowns a narrow spire that mimics the pinnacles of Gothic cathedrals. It has a four-armed shape, a design unique to Gaudí’s works. He was inspired by the cypress cone (or galbulus), a tree that recurs in Christian symbolism.

Beneath this cross, we see a crown, representing Martin I “the Ecclesiastic,” and further down, a Catalan senyera, symbolizing both the House of Barcelona—the monarch’s dynasty—and Catalonia. Interestingly, during Franco’s dictatorship, the senyera was covered, and around this time in 2008, the pinnacle had to be reinforced to prevent it from collapsing.

The cross on the pinnacle, high above on the rooftop, was designed to be seen from afar. However, Gaudí also added another cross at ground level, which may go unnoticed despite being right at the entrance. At least in spring, when the surrounding trees cover it with their new branches. This time, the cross is in the shape of the Maltese Cross, with eight points commemorating the eight Beatitudes. The number eight recurs in Bellesguard Tower. We also find it in the house’s vestibule, in the form of an eight-pointed star, one of the symbols of the Virgin Mary.

This cross is attributed to Gaudí, though Domènech Sugrañes also contributed to its construction—the same architect who added new elements to Bellesguard Tower a little after the master had left. An original feature of this cross is that it serves as a base for a dual-purpose lamp, thanks to the addition of a bracket and a lightbulb.

If the rooftop cross evokes the pinnacles of cathedrals, the street-level cross recalls the wayside crosses—monuments common since the Middle Ages. Their main function was to protect places of worship and Christian populations. Over time, wayside crosses also served more worldly purposes, such as marking municipal boundaries. As such, the cross became a familiar sign at crossroads, where people—and legends—have always met and crossed paths…

Notes

(1) According to the official website of Barcelona Cathedral, the relationship between the temple and the Holy Cross (year 599) predates that of Saint Eulalia (year 877).

(2) Terreu, Miquel (11/30/2018), “The Founding Bull of the Hospital of the Holy Cross,” Blog de Santa Creu a Sant Pau. Online:

(3) In Barcelona, the name Hospital of the Holy Cross refers to two buildings, which can cause confusion. So here’s a brief clarification. The original, oldest hospital is located in the Raval district of Barcelona and was named Holy Cross because it depended on the Barcelona Cathedral, which—as we’ve seen—was under the invocation of the relic discovered by Saint Helena. This is the building whose construction began in 1401 with King Martin’s presence, and the building where, five centuries later, Gaudí died—becoming one of the last patients treated there.

The second, more modern hospital is the work of Lluís Domènech i Montaner, another of the great Modernist architects. It was built between 1905 and 1910, making it contemporary with Bellesguard Tower (1900–1909). It is named after the Holy Cross because it is the successor of the former hospital, and after Saint Paul in honor of Pau Gil i Serra, the patron who funded the work.

(4) Martín Lloris, Catalina, and Gómez-Ferrer Lozano, Guillermo (2023), “Margarida de Prades y la disputa sobre la propiedad de las reliquias reales,” Locus Amoenus, no. 21, Universidad Católica de Valencia San Vicente Mártir, pp. 29–30.