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that sustained the brothers are now mere dusty gardens, albeit with views over the
low walls to Tibidabo and the Collserola hills.
To reach the monastery, walk straight ahead out of the train station and down
the pedestrianized c/Valldoreix, taking the first right and then the first left (it’s
still c/Valldoreix), and then keep straight along the shopping street (c/Santa
Maria and then c/Santiago Rusiñol) until you see the monastery bell tower
(10min).You’ll pass plenty of places to eat on your way, while Plaça Octavia,
outside the monastery, has a weekly
market
every Thursday.
Terrassa
TERRASSA
, a large city with a population of 150,000, about 20km out of
Barcelona, hides its treasures in the older part of town, a twenty-minute walk
from the station (get off at Terrassa-Rambla, the last stop). Here, three pre-
Romanesque churches, dating from the fifth to the tenth centuries, form an
unusual complex built on the site of the former Roman town of Egara. It’s
known as the
Conjunt Monumental de les Esglésies de Sant Pere
(Tues–Sat 10am–1.30pm & 4–7pm, Sun 11am–2pm; free;
T
937 833 702) –
not that you’ll see any signs – and excavations and improvement works are still
ongoing. But the church doors are usually open for visits and someone should
be around to give you an explanatory leaflet.
The largest church,
Sant Pere
, is the least interesting, with just a badly faded
Gothic mural and a tenth-century mosaic fragment on view within its walls.
Santa Maria
is far better endowed, starting with a mosaic pavement outside
that dates from the fifth century.The same date is given to the sunken baptismal
font inside, while much later Gothic (fourteenth- and fifteenth-century) murals
and altarpieces – one by Catalan master Jaume Huguet – are also on display. But
it’s the intervening building, the fifth-century baptistry of
Sant Miquel
, that’s
the most fascinating here. A tiny, square building of rough masonry, steeped in
gloom, it has eight assorted columns supporting the dome, each with carved
Roman or Visigothic capitals. Underneath sits the partially reconstructed
baptismal bath, while steps lead down into a simple crypt.
To get there, turn right out of the station (Rambla d’Egara exit) and immedi-
ately right again into Plaça de Clavé, following c/Major up to PlaçaVella, where
there are some outdoor
cafés
. The route then crosses the square, turns up c/
Gavatxons and follows c/Sant Pere, c/Nou de Sant Pere and c/de la Creu Gran,
finally crossing a viaduct to arrive at the entrance to the church complex.
Terrassa is also known for its
modernista
-style
industrial buildings
– the town
was an important textile producer in the nineteenth century, and the Catalan
Museum of Science and Technology (Rambla d’Egara 270,
W
www.mnactec
.cat) is housed in one of its grandest factories. Barcelona’s Ruta del Modernisme
package provides an “industrial and
modernista
route” through town, while the
local tourist office organizes guided tours (Raval de Montserrat 14,
T
937 397
019,
W
www.terrassa.org/turisme).
Colònia Güell
Before work at the Parc Güell got under way, Antoni Gaudí had already been
charged with the design of parts of Eusebi Güell’s earliest attempts to establish
a Utopian industrial estate, or
colònia
(colony), on the western outskirts of
OUT OF THE CITY
|
Colònia Güell