Did you know? Bellesguard, Gaudí’s tribute to Catalonia

Today is our national Diada, and it seems like the perfect moment to remember the deep connection between the Bellesguard Tower and the history of Catalonia. At times in the past, Bellesguard has been the epicenter of events and biographies of key figures. At other times, it is not the protagonist but rather a witness, and by studying what happened at Bellesguard, we can understand what was happening in the city and the country. Bellesguard and Catalonia go hand in hand, and today is the time to explain and celebrate it. 

Eleven years ago, on the eve of the 2013 Diada, the magazine El Temps published an extensive report where, for the first time, the research conducted by the Bellesguard Research Group was revealed. On the magazine cover, we can read: “Bellesguard. The hidden keys to Gaudí’s tribute to Catalonia”:

A week later, the Bellesguard Tower opened its doors to the public for the first time. 

First part: enigmas uncovered 

The report is divided into three parts. The first, by Álex Milan, is titled: “The Enigmas of Bellesguard Uncovered.” The author explains how Bellesguard was the last residence of Martin the Humane and, by extension, of the House of Barcelona. Over the centuries, the palace deteriorated, being in very poor condition by 1900. Antoni Gaudí, true to the spirit of the Renaixença, restored the remnants of the old palace, integrating them into the gardens, and built a structure that is halfway between modernism and Gothic, filled with symbols and allusions to Catalan identity and the historical importance of the estate over the centuries. 

Lluís Guilera Molas was one of the great doctors of the last century. Specializing in oncology, he was purged due to his Catalanist militancy, which prevented him from practicing in the public healthcare system. For this reason, in 1944, he bought the Bellesguard Tower to convert it into a private hospital, initially for oncology, and shortly after, in the hands of his son Lluís Guilera Soler, it became a maternity hospital where many Barcelonans were born. 

Once again, Catalan identity becomes vital in the course of Bellesguard’s history. 

The Guilera family owned it until 2018, being responsible for the creation of the Bellesguard Research Group and the opening of the tower to the public as a house museum. 

Second part: the recovered hero 

The second part of the report, by Gemma Aguilera, delves directly into the events around September 11th, titled: “The Bourbon Outrage at Bellesguard in 1714.” New research has rescued Joan de Gualbes i Copons from oblivion, a key figure in the defense of Barcelona in 1714 and, therefore, a direct witness to the events commemorated during the Diada. He was not only the owner of Bellesguard at that time but also collected and safeguarded all documents related to the estate’s history, creating the so-called “Gualbes Archive,” the main source of information analyzed by the Bellesguard Research Group three centuries later. 

In addition to fighting against the troops of Philip V, Gualbes turned Bellesguard into the headquarters of the Academy of the Distrustful, where meetings of the city’s most prominent literary figures were held and, clandestinely, assemblies of the anti-Bourbon cause. 

Third part: Gaudí, the independentist 

The third part, again by Gemma Aguilera, is titled “Gaudí, a Censored Independentist.” In it, the author recalls some episodes and viewpoints of the architect that, for a long time after his death, were suppressed from his public image. 

As mentioned at the beginning, Bellesguard and Catalonia are inseparable concepts. Everything here resonates: echoes and traces of moments and characters that have been key in our history and that explain the country. The most universal, undoubtedly, is Antoni Gaudí, who leaves us at Bellesguard his particular tribute to Catalan identity.