Modernism - Art Noveau - in Penedès
Since the economic recovery in Penedès, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, after the collapse of the phylloxera plague, comes a time of prosperity. Wealthy agricultural owners, merchants and bourgeois began to comission new buildings following the architectural trends of the cultural movement that was developing in Catalonia: modernism, also known as art-noveau, with Antoni Gaudí being, without a doubt, its most famous and celebrated representative.
Architects of great importance, such as Puig i Cadafalch, Antoni Pons and Santiago Güell, among others, were responsible for building some of these great architectural works in order to modernize spaces and materials, and give new momentum to the Catalan culture. In Penedès, one can find modernist constructions and art in houses, religious works and functional buildings, such as factories and wineries.
The movement within the Penedès Wine Route
If you want to see the trace of this movement within the Penedès Wine Route, you should visit the exceptional architectural work of Puig i Cadafalch in Codorníu. The building symbolizes the fruitful alliance between nature and human labor, and is a stone tribute to the silence of cava.
You can also contemplate this movement in the Ludens winery, where the Masía Grabuach is located, dating from 1747, which was remodeled in 1920 by the prestigious architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch in the modernist style. Freixenet, Mascaró and Oriol Rossell are good examples the impact of Catalan modernism on the construction of wineries.
Related activities
Vilafranca modernista amb accés a la casa Serra i Coromines
Heritage Tour
El Penedès Through Gaudí’s Eyes – Wine and Its People
Guided Modernist Route
