Built between 1903 and 1912, the space created by Antoni Gaudí comprises three architectural ensembles: the Cova Cascada (The Waterfall Grotto), the Capella de la Verge (The Chapel of the Virgin Mary) — both constructed in artificial rockwork known as rocalla—, and the Plaça dels Bancs, (Square of the Benches), which features the trencadís (broken-tile mosaic) benches that would serve as a prototype for those later made for Park Güell. Linked both formally and spatially through water, together these three structures form an enigmatic and mysterious garden.
Constructed in artificial rockwork known as rocalla, this mound-shaped construction is crowned by a small temple that rises above the 4.60 metrehigh perimeter wall, offering observers standing inside a magnificent perspective of the expansive views beyond. This structure reproduces organic forms including caves, pinnacles, pathways, springs and waterfalls, creating a distinctive, magical scenography that evokes Mount Montserrat.
Formerly used as a chapel, this grotto once housed two sculptures: one of the Virgin Mary and another of Bernadette Soubirous and was dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes. The shape of the grotto is reminiscent of a dragon, with a vast gaping mouth, fearsome eyes set into the ceiling, and lateral extensions that suggest tentacles and a tail.
This is an earth-floored square, enclosed by trencadís (brokentile mosaic) benches that form an exuberant assemblage in which colour, symbolism and fantastical forms take centre stage. The trencadís technique used to decorate these benches clearly features varying degrees of intervention.
Several years ago, based on the artistic and historical value of the Jardí Invisible evidenced in the doctoral thesis of the architect David Agulló, and endorsed by leading authorities on the work of Antoni Gaudí, the Sant Joan de Déu Healthcare Complex proposed recovering this outstanding heritage with a rehabilitation and renaturalisation project.
Through the application of contemporary knowledge, techniques and materials, the aim is to return a singular space to the public domain that bridges past and future, and highlights the synergies between art, health and nature.
The renewed Jardí Invisible will become the linchpin of a bio-healthy green lung on the banks of the River Llobregat, featuring an organic, ecological and sustainable architecture that preserves its original character as a place for experimentation, innovation, recreation and contemplation — but also as a site for care.
The rehabilitation and renaturalisation project has the support of the Catalonian government’s Department of Heritage, as well as the guidance of leading restoration experts, and is based on three cross-cutting values:
The intervention proposes the careful and respectful restoration of the original work, ensuring that the restored sections can be clearly identified. It combines research and documentation on the early 20th-century construction with innovative technical and material solutions that guarantee reliable results.
The ensemble, built largely with primary or reclaimed materials, will maintain this philosophy throughout the rehabilitation process. Environmental responsibility, energy efficiency and natural watertreatment systems have been applied in order to reduce consumption and prevent waste.
The new Jardí Invisible seeks to promote a renewed model of the relationship between people and their surroundings. The space will offer an immersive experience that encourages healthy habits and restores the original flora, helping to redefine the balance between human activity and nature.
The rehabilitation and renaturalisation project for the Jardí Invisible is divided into eight phases and will run until 2030.
In 2024, the benches were restored. The most noteworthy aspect of this restoration is that all the preserved trencadís (broken-tile mosaic) pieces are original, laid at the beginning of the last century under the direction of Antoni Gaudí. With this intervention, the intention was to pay tribute not only to the father of Catalan Modernism but also to all those who made the project possible.
PHASE 1
Consolidation of the area and perimeter of the Cova Cascada. Work began in June 2022 and was completed in December of the same year.
The restoration of the benches was carried out in 2024.
PHASE 2
Consolidation of the hyperbolic vault, the small temple and the reconstruction of the projecting eaves, including auxiliary structures associated with the Cova Cascada.
Phase 2A: Work will begin in March 2026 and finish in December 2026.
Phase 2B: Work will be carried out in 2027.
PHASE 3
Consolidation of the viaduct and the bridge, including the auxiliary structures of the Cova Cascada.
PHASE 4
Restoration of the Cova Cascada surface.
PHASE 5
Consolidation and restoration of the Capella de la Verge.
PHASE 6
Creation of the lake basin layout and installation of the hydraulic system.
PHASE 7
Installation work.
PHASE 8
Urbanisation and renaturalisation of the surrounding area.
If you would like to collaborate with the restoration and rehabilitation of Gaudí’s Jardí Invisible, please write to us at Parcsanitari.solidaritat@sjd.es
The years in which the Modernist garden of the former Sant Boi de Llobregat Asylum was built (1903–1912) coincide with the period when Gaudí was working on the design and construction of the church known as the Cripta de la Colònia Güell (1898–1914).
Travelling from Barcelona, he would take the railway to Cornellà station and then continue by tartana—a horsedrawn carriage—passing through the municipality of Sant Boi de Llobregat. Just before coming to the Colònia Güell, he would pass by the grounds of the former Sant Boi Asylum, where, between 1903 and 1912, a series of grottoes, squares, fountains, parterres and benches was being built—features that anticipate elements found in later works by Antoni Gaudí.
During this period, the architect is thought to have established links with the municipality, as several artisan workshops from Sant Boi were involved in the construction of the church of the Colònia Güell. Surviving invoices from these workshops signed by Gaudí himself, along with receipts for his journeys by tartana, are proof of this connection.
It is also significant that, for the first phase of the works at Park Güell and the Cripta de la Colònia Güell, the builder Lluís Parés was contracted; like many of his bricklayers, he was born and also worked in Sant Boi.
The Jardí Invisible (the Invisible Garden) in the Sant Joan de Déu Healthcare Complex includes a series of architectural elements and complex compositional and structural schemes that inevitably recall aspects of the work Antoni Gaudí was carrying out during the same period, or immediately following the completion of the various construction phases of the garden.
The Cova-cascada (Waterfall Grotto) in the Jardí Invisible features a viaduct that bears many resemblances to the viaducts of Park Güell. In both cases, the structures create porticoed spaces and negotiate changes in level; they include planters and benches that function as balustrades; they contain planter pots that form part of the structural system; and they employ construction methods and materials that are identical or very similar.
As for the trencadís (broken-tile mosaic) benches in the Plaça dels Bancs (Square of the Benches), built in 1912, they show strong analogies with the serpentine trencadís bench at Park Güell, completed between 1913 and 1914. Both in Sant Boi and in Park Güell, the benches share a crosssection that is almost identical, generated from a semiparabolic front and changes of plane articulated by coved mouldings and semiparabolas.
Turning to the actual trencadís technique itself, it is noteworthy that while the mosaics in both parks exhibit similarities, they also present striking differences. In Sant Boi, the trencadís is arranged in “patches”: irregular shapes in uniform colours or vegetal motifs interlaced to create a sinuous compositional structure. In contrast, the Park Güell trencadís is a mix of juxtaposed colour that form a collage, grouped into orthogonal geometries — squares, rectangles, etc. – or irregular shapes partially bounded by straight lines.
However, in the case of both the Sant Boi and Park Güell mosaics, there are also circles broken into three or four parts to form mainly X or Yshaped crosses.
La finalització de la construcció de la “Cova-cascada” del Jardí Invisible, el 1906, coincideix amb l’inici de les obres de la Casa Milà. Per aquest motiu és sorprenent que ambdues edificacions presentin semblances formals i compositives molt remarcables.
Per exemple, hi ha semblances remarcables a les façanes, les quals es descomponen en formes corbes irregulars que s’ordenen mitjançant plans horitzontals i que es pleguen generant espais interiors. També es pot trobar, tant al terrat de la Casa Milà com a la “Cova-Cascada”, trencadís amb vidre, estructures de forma helicoidal i escultures formant màscares.
L’església de la Colònia Güell, que s’havia de construir sobre la cripta existent avui en dia, es va projectar treballant amb una gran maqueta funicular. Aquesta maqueta es va construir amb fils penjants, traccionats amb pesos que reproduïen els diferents elements de l’edifici; invertint-la 180 graus obtenien la forma òptima treballant a compressió.
Partint d’aquest fet, resulta molt sorprenent que, als pilars interiors de la volta principal de la “Cova-cascada”, hi hagi un conjunt de superfícies nervades corbes que sembla que vulguin recordar la maqueta invertida d’arcs funiculars de l’església de la Colònia Güell, apareixent la mateixa tal que “fossilitzada” a la mateixa construcció.
A més, la planta de la cripta de l’església de la Colònia Güell, iniciada el 1908, i la planta de la construcció modernista de la “Cova-cascada” del Jardí Invisible, finalitzada el 1906, tenen una estructura compositiva formada per un espai central el·líptic, una estructura adossada porticada i un element longitudinal amb doble accés que facilita l’entrada a la part superior del conjunt arquitectònic.
La construcció modernista de la “Cova-cascada” del Jardí Invisible, edificada el 1906, conté un sistema estructural que té moltes analogies amb el sistema estructural —inèdit fins llavors en la història de l’arquitectura— del creuer i les naus laterals de la Sagrada Família, començada a projectar per Gaudí el 1915 i finalitzant-se el 1921 en forma de plànols i una gran maqueta de guix.
L’estructura de les cúpules del creuer de la Sagrada Família es forma per una gran cúpula buidada que és un gran hiperboloide d’una fulla amb la part còncava més desenvolupada, que es recolza, en la seva anella perimetral, sobre quatre braços provinents de les quatre columnes principals de pòrfid. Aquestes columnes estan coronades per capitells massissos en forma de mig hiperboloide d’una fulla convexa, en els quals es formen una sèrie de bisells generats per plans, que donen continuïtat formal entre els pilars i la cúpula principal.
Concèntricament, es generen dos anells formats per una sèrie de cúpules hiperbòliques buidades sustentades pels braços amb els capitells hiperbòlics massissos de les columnes centrals de pòrfir. Sobre aquesta estructura, es disposa, perimetralment i recolzant-se als braços de les columnes principals, el cimbori, que és la fita principal del temple.
A la cúpula principal de la “Cova-cascada” es repeteix un esquema conceptual molt semblant al de les estructures del creuer de la Sagrada Família. En un mateix espai hi ha una cúpula de forma anàloga a mig hiperboloide còncau buidat que està recolzada, concèntricament, sobre una sèrie de pilars massissos anàlegs, en alguns trams, a mig hiperboloide convex, existint a més un conjunt de formes corbes que fan la funció d’entrellaçar-los.
Finalment, sobre la cúpula principal s’hi recolza, perimetralment, el baldaquí, que és la fita del conjunt arquitectònic de la “Cova-cascada” del Jardí Invisible.
In addition to the architectural value of the original constructions, there is also a body of evidence indicating that residents of the psychiatric centre were involved in their creation, enabling us to draw connections between this architectural and artistic ensemble and the rehabilitation therapies in use at the time.
The Hospitaller Order of Saint John of God was a pioneer in introducing ergotherapy in Spain, as well as in developing approaches that used art as a means of expression: in fact, in the late 20th century, these approaches would give rise to ArtsinHealth therapies through the Torrents d’Art programme.
During the years in which the Modernist garden at the Sant Joan de Déu Healthcare Complex was being built, the former Sant Boi de Llobregat Asylum ran workshops where people with mental disorders were trained in bricklaying. The participation of patients in the execution of this Modernist construction can be seen in very simple interventions, sometimes expressed in an ingenuous visual language, which coexist alongside others of immense structural complexity and outstanding artistic quality.
Moreover, Gaudí’s trencadís represents a way of recovering discarded material, and likewise, the involvement of Sant Boi’s residents in the construction process construction can be interpreted as a similar dignification, through a pious artistic work, of persons that had been “cast aside” by society. In this sense, the intervention in the municipality resonates with Gaudí’s mental and symbolic universe.
Popular tradition has it that in the year 880 CE, a sculpture of the Virgin and Child was found in a cave on Mount Montserrat. Over the centuries this led to a profound spiritual connection between people, the mountain, and the Virgin. In 1881, Pope Leo XIII conducted the canonical coronation of the Virgin of Montserrat, proclaiming her the patron saint of the diocese of Catalonia and, consequently, of the Catalan people. Following this event, Montserrat and its caves became objects of worship, symbolising the refuge of the Christian faith.
Gaudí forged a strong bond with Mount Montserrat from an early age, possibly visiting it as a member of the Catalonian Association of Scientific Excursions.
The year 1900 marked the beginning of a significant shift and evolution in Gaudí’s work: he began to develop an artistic approach centred on representing, through geometric abstraction, the forms of caves and mountains.
The Covacascada (Waterfall Grotto) of the former Sant Boi asylum displays a morphology of organic character — featuring caves, pinnacles and pathways —that connects it directly to the landscape of Mount Montserrat; like many of Gaudí’s works, it is an architecture that reproduces and interacts with its natural surroundings with the intention of sacralising them.
In the Modernist garden of the former Sant Boi de Llobregat Asylum, whose construction began in 1906, a grotto dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes was erected in 1911. Two sculptures—of the Virgin and of Bernadette—were installed there, together with large cascades fitted with multiple jets, magnificent natureinspired ornamentation, lakes with sinuous outlines, enigmatic rocalla (artificial rockwork) grottoes, and abundant vegetation. Together, they form a beautifully realised garden imbued with clear Marian symbolism.
This grotto, dedicated to the Virgin Mary and crowned with twelve stars, is shaped like a dragon, with water flowing up from its base to form a tongue-shaped lake. The whole ensemble evokes the image of a dragon opening its mouth and “spewing” water onto the main square of the garden. This imagery allows the scene to be linked to the passage of The Woman and the Dragon in the Book of Revelation. Indeed, the garden contains a large series of symbolic references to the Apocalypse of Saint John— references that are fully coherent with the historical moment of the creation of this garden, when the ideas and events promoted by modernity were clashing with the traditionally prevailing Catholic vision of the world. This garden, steeped in symbolism related to water, unspoilt nature, and ultimately to earthly paradise, is clearly connected to the Christian vision of the paradise to come: the Heavenly Jerusalem of Saint John’s text.
Beneath an apparently “rough” construction of organic appearance and with subtle allusions to the aesthetic of the Far East, the Modernist ensemble in the gardens of the former Sant Boi asylum conceals a rigid, geometric, canonical and symbolic architecture — clearly evident in the plans and sections — which recall the architecture of the Christian temple. Indeed, the construction within the San Joan de Déu Healthcare Complex includes a chapel, a crypt, a tower, domes and a keystone—which symbolises the axis mundi of any temple—and also contains liturgical elements such as an altar, a baldachin and a baptismal font. Furthermore, photographic and written documentation from the period shows that there were two sculptures of the Virgin and Bernadette, a priedieu, and that worship was practised there. The Modernist ensemble is formed from architectural elements arranged in a canonical layout, developed and oriented towards the east and aligned along a longitudinal west-east axis — the canonical orientation of the Western Christian temple. Consideration must also be given to the symbolic discourse of this construction, rooted in the Apocalypse, as in the Western Christian temple.
Beatus manuscripts are handwritten codices that are copies of the first version of the Commentary on the Book of Revelation by Saint John, written and illustrated towards the end of the 8th century by the Asturian abbot Beatus at the monastery of San Martín de Liébana in Cantabria. From this first manuscript, further copies were eventually produced, always preserving the same illustrations and symbolic schemes; some copies also incorporated additional texts not found in the original, together with the corresponding new illustrations. The Beatus manuscripts became treasured possessions of many churches and the core of monastic libraries, enjoying enormous diffusion and prestige between the 8th and 13th centuries.
Analysing Gaudí’s biography and the stylistic and symbolic content of his architecture, it is plausible to think that at some point during the first half of his professional career he came into contact with, or learned of the existence of, the Beatus manuscripts.
A morphological analysis of the Modernist ensemble in the former Sant Boi asylum reveals a series of analogies that could directly relate this construction in particular to the text and illustrations of the Girona Beatus. Below are several clear examples:
Dates: 6th, 7th, 11th and 12th March | Time. From 7.30 p.m. to 8.30 p.m. (shows from 7.30 p.m. to 8 p.m. and from 8 p.m. to 8.30 p.m.)
Venue. The Jardí Invisible at the Sant Joan de Déu Healthcare Complex. Carrer del Doctor Antoni Pujadas, 42 (Sant Boi de Llobregat)
A light and sound show
This is a sensory experience centred on Gaudí’s “Invisible Garden”, part of the Sant Joan de Déu Healthcare Campus (Sant Boi de Llobregat).
On the site where a lake once stood, but which is now dry, this installation symbolically evokes lost water through light and sound. Created by Luis Colaçao, and inspired by Gaudí’s view of nature as a teacher, drops of water form a focal point for this experience.
Maximum group size: 50 people | Advance booking required
Date 10th March | Time From 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Venue. The Jardí invisible. Sant Joan de Déu Healthcare Complex
Narrative performance + light and sound show at the Jardí Invisible.
Admission by invitation only
Date From 19th March to 30th April | Time. Thursdays, from 5 p.m. to 6.30 p.m.
Venue. UNED Sant Boi -L’Olivera. Plaça Montserrat Roig, 1.
Modernist Photographic Tours is an initiative that combines artistic vision and heritage discovery as part of the celebration of the Gaudí Year in Sant Boi. It is an invitation for participants to observe and interpret Modernist architecture through the camera, transforming everyday spaces into scenes of visual creation.
A series of walking tours around Sant Boi and Colònia Güell will enable participants to improve their photographic technique, understand light and composition, and develop a personal vision while obtaining an insight into some of the most significant Modernist sites in the area, connected to the context and legacy of Antoni Gaudí.
Dates: 28th March, 25th April, 23rd May and 20th June | Time 12 noon
Venue. Torrents d’Art Cultural Centre. Sant Joan de Déu Healthcare Complex. Carrer del Doctor Antoni Pujadas, 42. (Sant Boi de Llobregat)
A one-hour guided tour of the reinterpretation space of the Jardí Invisible, cocreated with participants from the Torrents d’Art programme.
An activity for groups of 12-15 people. Advance booking required
March to November | Time.
Venue. The Jardí Invisible. Sant Joan de Déu Healthcare Complex
Guided tour
A guided tour providing an insight into the garden’s heritage, artistic, social and healthcare value.
Date 11th April | Time 11.30 a.m.
Venue Marianao Park
A dynamic, familyfriendly photography activity in Sant Boi’s Marianao Park, featuring a treasure trail that reveals benches, fountains and structures designed by Fontserè. The aim is to identify styles such as Medievalism, Eclecticism and colonial influences, and to understand how architecture expresses power, identity and the historical memory of a site.
To participate, families must bring a mobile phone with a camera.
Dia 17 d’abril | Hora 18.30 h
Lloc Cambra Agrària (Punt de trobada). C. Lluís Pasqual Roca, 8
Route
Created to mark Gaudí Year, this route reveals another side of Modernism: one that grew out of labour, production, and the transformation of the landscape. It explores buildings and spaces that illustrate how Sant Boi evolved from an agricultural town into a city undergoing a process of modernisation during the first third of the 20th century.
Free activity
Date 18th April | Time 12 noon
Venue Can Castells Art Centre. Carrer de Lluís Castells, 16
Installation
Mur amb forat, Cub i Porció are three sculptures from 2003, made from recycled iron, welded and twisted to form a forged effect, creating an organic appearance reminiscent of the tangled growths created by climbing plants in nature. Their construction requires steady, continuous action so that the pieces acquire a specific rhythm. This way of “working” recalls the dripping technique used by the artist Pollock, in this case from the threedimensional perspective of sculptures. In terms of both the use of materials that have been found and their organic significance, parallels can be drawn with the Modernists’ working methods: in this case moving beyond purely ornamental purposes to seek a contemporary approach: a “new Modernism” that reflects the complexity of our own time and expresses a desire to rediscover lost forms.
Free entrance, no booking needed
Date 25th April | Time 11 a.m.
Venue Can Castells Art Centre. C. Lluís Castells, 16
Workshop for families
We invite you to take part in a family workshop to discover the Sagrada Família as a space not only to be looked at, but also listened to. Inspired by Gaudí’s idea of a temple that should sound like a great symphony of stone, we will create a small sculptural instrument based on the form of one of its towers. The architecture will be transformed into a resonant body, capable of breathing and vibrating.
Gaudí considered the human voice the most important instrument of all, and therefore the workshop will conclude with a song performed jointly by the participating families. A creative experience in which architecture can be lived through all the senses.
Free activity
Date 26th April | Time 10 a.m.
Venue Departure point: The Jardí invisible. Sant Joan de Déu Healthcare Complex
A circular tour of Sant Boi de Llobregat and the Colònia Güell. A five-kilometre inclusive and pet-friendly walk designed for all the family.
Date 26th April | Time 11.30 a.m.
Venue Marianao Palace
Observation of insects, birds and plants using field notebooks and drawings. A handson family activity.
Activity suitable for children aged 5 and over.
Booking: https://www.entrapolis.com/entrades/exploradors-al-parc-de-marianao-amb-la-rutlla
Free activity
Date 7th May | Time 6.30 p.m.
Venue Sant Boi Museum. Carrer del Pont, 7
This lecture offers a historical and heritagebased journey through Marianao Palace in Sant Boi de Llobregat, analysing it as an expression of the power, prestige and tastes of the Samà family, closely linked to Cuba and the Catalan bourgeoisie of the 19th century.
Starting with the figure of Salvador Samà i Torrents, Marquis of Marianao, it explores the social and economic context that enabled the construction of the palace and its park, conceived as a symbolic unit where architecture and landscape come together to project an image of modernity and authority. A specific section focuses on the role of Fontserè and the design of the park as a stage for social display.
The talk ends with a look at the transformation of Marianao Palace over the course of the 20th century, and its eventual conversion into a public heritage site, reflecting on its current value as a space for memory, identity and civic use.
Part of the lecture series “Visible and Invisible Architectures: Landscape, Power and Gaudí’s Legacy”, in collaboration with the distance learning university UNED Sant Boi.
This series of lectures offers a transversal perspective on architecture, landscape and artistic creation in Sant Boi and Barcelona in the 19th and 20th centuries, creating a dialogue between power, nature and symbolic imagination.
The programme begins with an analysis of Marianao Palace as a landscape and architectural project linked to the Catalan bourgeoisie and the colonial imaginaries of the 19th century. It continues with two lectures addressing Antoni Gaudí and his relationship with gardens and nature — through the Jardí Invisible of Sant Boi, attributed to the architect — and with light and geometry inside the Sagrada Família Church.
The series concludes with a contemporary vision of Gaudí’s legacy through trencadís (broken-tile mosaics) and fragment in art, relating it to the work of two 20th-century artists, Jeanne Reynal and Niki de Saint Phalle.
A series that invites us to rethink heritage as a space for memory, experimentation and creativity
No booking needed
Date 7th May | Time 5 p.m.
Venue Ciutat Cooperativa i Molí Nou Community Centre
A creative and expressive workshop inspired by Gaudí as a creator of forms, emotions and spirituality.
The first part includes a simple, visually based introduction to his work, followed by a space for participants to create a symbolic trencadís using personal photographs and memories, old images of Sant Boi, objects, cutouts, textures and recycled materials. Each fragment of the trencadís represents a moment, a memory or an emotion.
Free activity aimed at adults
Date 10th May | Time 11.30 a.m.
Venue Meeting point: Marianao Palace
Route
Maria Lledó Barreda, Director of the Sant Boi Museum, will provide an insight into the figures of Josep Fontserè and the Marquis of Marianao, as well as the context of Modernism and the transformation of the park. Her talk will cover the origins of the project, through to the completion of the Marianao quarter.
Free Activity
Date 12th May | Time 5 p.m.
Venue Marianao Community Centre. Carrer de Miquel, 2
A creative and expressive workshop inspired by Gaudí as a creator of forms, emotions and spirituality.
The first part includes a simple, visually based introduction to his work, followed by a space for participants to create a symbolic trencadís using personal photographs and memories, old images of Sant Boi, objects, cutouts, textures and recycled materials. Each fragment of the trencadís represents a moment, a memory or an emotion.
Free activity aimed at adults
Date 14th My | Time 6.30 p.m.
Venue Sant Boi Museum. Carrer del Pont, 7
Lecture
This previously unknown work articulates the formal and conceptual shift behind Antoni Gaudí’s later great achievements.
It highlights the fact that the Modernist ensemble of the former Sant Boi psychiatric hospital was a space of architectural experimentation anticipating the forms of the future Casa Milà, certain geometries of the Crypt of the Colònia Güell, the nave ceilings of the Sagrada Família, and the undulating bench of Park Güell. Rich in symbolism linked to the text of the Apocalypse of Saint John and dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes, this work also resonates with Antoni Gaudí’s mental and spiritual universe.
A further factor for consideration is the social dimension of this work: built between 1903 and 1912 with the participation of patients from the healthcare centre, it became an architectural laboratory where ergotherapy served as a tool for healing and rehabilitation.
Date 21st May | Time 6.30 p.m.
Venue Sant Boi Museum. Carrer del Pont, 7
Lecture
A unique exploration of the presence of light and colour in the Temple of the Sagrada Família. The images accompanying the lecture are exceptional and speak for themselves.
The Temple of the Sagrada Familia stands as one of humanity’s most remarkable cultural achievements. Its value lies in the culmination of more than a century of research, experience, thought and creative endeavour: initiated by the brilliant Antoni Gaudí, the project was continued by a select group of architects, engineers, craftsmen and artists who have worked – and continue to work – on the completion of the building.
This lecture invites you to see the magnificent work by the master from a unique perspective: the perception of light in space, an understanding of the geometric forms in the architecture that make these light effects possible, and a journey through the history and symbolism of the building itself.
It is still a challenge to fully understand this master of proportions, the visionary Gaudí who placed his trust in technological progress, the young and inquisitive Gaudí who received the commission for the Sagrada Família, and the mature, meticulous and obsessive Gaudí who, at the end of his life, conceived a new temple. Who was the Gaudí who presented this challenge before humanity?
No reservation required
Date 23rd May | Time 11 a.m.
Venue Can Castells Art Centre
Family activity
Modernist architects used ceramics as a decorative resource for their buildings in ways that had never been seen before. However, Antoni Gaudí stands out above the rest, going a step further and creating designs that could be considered almost abstract. Works overflowing with colour, symbolism and forms that make them truly unique.
Together with the artist Nien Boots, we invite families to create a piece inspired by Gaudí’s work. How do you picture your family in shape and colour? Are you a green family made of rounded forms with red flames? Or a white castle with pink clouds? The emotions, colours and forms that define you as a family.
Booking: https://www.entrapolis.com/entrades/trencadis-en-familia-a-carrec-de-nien-boots
Free Activity
Date 28th May | Time 6. 30 p.m.
Venue Sant Boi Museum. Carrer del Pont, 7
Lecture
Trencadís is one of Antoni Gaudí’s most radical contributions: a technique whereby fragments become form, material and thought. Beyond architecture, trencadís represents a creative attitude grounded in freedom, imperfection and recomposition.
This lecture explores Gaudí’s legacy through the work of two 20th-century women artists, Jeanne Reynal and Niki de Saint Phalle, who transformed ceramics and sculpture into contemporary artistic languages. In their work, the fragment becomes gesture, body and inhabitable space.
No reservation required
Date 29th May | Time 6.30 p.m.
Venue Homenatge a Gaudí monument (Meeting point). Carrer Pau Casals, 7
Route
This route proposes a journey through Gaudí’s presence in Sant Boi, from symbolic remembrance to the discovery of one of his most surprising spaces. The walk begins at the Homenatge a Gaudí monument, a publicart intervention inaugurated in 1999, composed of three pillars and a trencadís mosaic that reinterpret the architect’s most emblematic technique.
From there, the route continues towards the Jardí Invisible, a Modernist ensemble built between 1903 and 1912, featuring grottoes, benches and rockwork structures, recently attributed to Gaudí and now considered essential elements for understanding his formal and symbolic experimentation.
Between these two points, the route traces a narrative that connects memory, architecture and landscape, revealing how Gaudí’s imprint on the city extends beyond the great icons to become a local, human story that is still evolving today.
Free Activity
Date 30th May | Time 11.30 a.m.
Venue Marianao Park (Meeting point: Marianao Palace)
Family activity
A dynamic, familyfriendly photography activity in Sant Boi’s Parc de Marianao, featuring a treasure trail that reveals benches, fountains and structures designed by Fontserè. The aim is to identify styles such as Medievalism, Eclecticism and colonial influences, and to understand how architecture expresses power, identity and the historical memory of a site.
To participate, families must bring a mobile phone with a camera.
Free Activity
Date 31st May | Time 11.30 a.m.
Venue Marianao Park (Meeting point: Marianao Palace)
Family activity
An activity to spot the trees, flowers and natural forms that inspired Modernist ornamentation.
Booking: https://www.entrapolis.com/entrades/jocs-de-pistes-naturals-a-carrec-de-la-rutlla
Free Activity
Date 6th June | Time 11 a.m.
Venue Can Castells Art Centre. Carrer de Lluís Castells, 16
Workshop for families
We invite you to take part in a family workshop to discover the Sagrada Família as a space not only to be looked at, but also listened to. Inspired by Gaudí’s idea of a temple that should sound like a great symphony of stone, we will create a small sculptural instrument based on the form of one of its towers. The architecture will be transformed into a resonant body, capable of breathing and vibrating. Gaudí considered the human voice the most important instrument of all, and therefore the workshop will conclude with a song performed jointly by the participating families. A creative experience in which architecture can be lived through all the senses.
Free Activity
Date 10th June | Time 7 p.m.
Venue Can Castellet Cinema. Carrer de Jaume I, 28
Cinema
The screening of the short film Teixit d’un somni (Woven from a Dream) by Manuel Morales, transports us to the Colònia Güell of the early 20th century, at a time when Gaudí was building its church. Through the dream of a female factory worker, it delves into the social and human world of that historical context, weaving together everyday life and imagination.
The session will conclude with a conversationdebate between the director and Pere Koniec, focusing on the creative process and Gaudí’s presence in cinema, opening a space for dialogue on how to approach his legacy through contemporary audiovisual language.
Date 17th June | Time 5 p.m.
Venue Can Massallera Cultural Centre. Carrer de Mallorca, 30
Workshop for adults
This workshop invites participants to discover the relationship between light, colour and nature in the work of Antoni Gaudí through the creation of an artistic stainedglass piece. Inspired by Modernist stained glass — such as that in the Colònia Güell crypt — we will explore how Gaudí observed nature and transformed it into organic forms rich in light and symbolism.
Following a brief discussion and the viewing of images, each participant will create their own stainedglass piece using coloured acetate sheets on a template inspired by natural forms. The activity encourages creativity, personal expression and the enjoyment of the handson process, with no prior knowledge required.
Booking: https://www.entrapolis.com/entrades/antoni-gaudi-llum-i-color-a-carrec-de-vero-gonzalez
Free Activity
Date 20th June | Time 11 a.m.
Venue Can Castells Art Centre. Carrer de Lluís Castells, 16
Family activity
Modernist architects used ceramics as a decorative resource for their buildings in ways that had never been seen before. However, Antoni Gaudí stands out above the rest, going a step further and creating designs that could be considered almost abstract. Works overflowing with colour, symbolism and forms that make them truly unique.
Together with the artist Nien Boots, we invite families to create a piece inspired by Gaudí’s work. How do you picture your family in shape and colour? Are you a green family made of rounded forms with red flames? Or a white castle with pink clouds? The emotions, colours and forms that define you as a family.
Booking: https://www.entrapolis.com/entrades/trencadis-en-familia-a-carrec-de-nien-boots
Free Activity
Date 28th June | Time 11.30 a.m.
Venue Meeting point: Casal Marianao
Route
This route offers an insight into the origins of the Marianao quarter in the early 20th century and the consequent notion of holidaying in summer. As we walk around, we will observe large houses featuring Modernist decorative elements. We will also learn who used to holiday in Sant Boi and what they enjoyed about it. I The Casino for the Rich.
Free Activity
Date 10th September | Time 11 a.m.
Venue Can Castells Art Centre. Carrer de Lluís Castells, 1
Mural installation
With Antoni Gaudí, architecture broke away from the Renaissance vanishing point and ceased to be organised from a single, frontal axis. His spaces no longer converged; instead, they expanded through organic geometries and polycentric structures, some of which were created by Gaudí himself and had never been seen before. He proposed an enveloping and dynamic vision, in which the viewer inhabits the space from within, rather than merely observing from the outside.
Bobb Morris is a master of perspective, a discipline he has studied for many years, acquiring immense expertise. This mural installation is also an invitation to break with the classical understanding of perspective, reinterpreting the spatial revolution that Gaudí’s work represented.
Moreover, the exhibition also has an important educational component: students from the Arts Baccalaureate at the Camps Blancs High School will be involved in each stage of the creative process, in order to improve and further their understanding of perspective and mural techniques.
Date 13th September | Time 11.30 a.m.
Venue Meeting point: Casal Marianao
Route
This route offers an insight into the origins of the Marianao quarter in the early 20th century and the consequent notion of holidaying in summer. As we walk around, we will observe large houses featuring Modernist decorative elements. We will also learn who used to holiday in Sant Boi and what they enjoyed about it. And the Casino for the rich.
Date 19th September | Time 11 a.m.
Venue Can Castells Art Centre. Carrer de Lluís Castells, 16
Workshop for families
We invite you to take part in a family workshop to discover the Sagrada Família as a space not only to be looked at, but also listened to. Inspired by Gaudí’s idea of a temple that should sound like a great symphony of stone, we will create a small sculptural instrument based on the form of one of its towers. The architecture will be transformed into a resonant body, capable of breathing and vibrating. Gaudí considered the human voice the most important instrument of all, and therefore the workshop will conclude with a song performed jointly by the participating families. A creative experience in which architecture can be lived through all the senses.
Date 26th September | Time 11.30 a.m.
Venue Marianao Park (Meeting point: Marianao Palace)
Activitat familiar
Activitat fotogràfica familiar i dinàmica al Parc de Marianao de Sant Boi, amb joc de pistes per descobrir bancs, fonts i estructures dissenyades per Fontserè. L’objectiu és identificar estils com medievalisme, eclecticisme i influències colonials, i comprendre com l’arquitectura expressa poder, identitat i memòria històrica del territori.
Cal que les famílies portin un telèfon mòbil amb càmera per participar.
Date 27th September | Time 11.30 a.m.
Venue Marianao Park (Meeting point: Marianao Palace)
Family activity
Observation of insects, birds and plants using field notebooks and drawings. A handson family activity
Date 3rd October | Time 11.30 a.m.
Venue Marianao Park (Meeting point: Marianao Palace)
Family activity
A dynamic, familyfriendly photography activity in Sant Boi’s Parc de Marianao, featuring a treasure trail that reveals benches, fountains and structures designed by Fontserè. The aim is to identify styles such as Medievalism, Eclecticism and colonial influences, and to understand how architecture expresses power, identity and the historical memory of a site.
To participate, families must bring a mobile phone with a camera.
Dia 4 d’octubre | Hora 11.30 h
Lloc Punt de trobada: Cambra Agrària
Route
To mark Gaudí Year, we have created a route that reveals another side of Modernism: one that grew out of labour, production, and the transformation of the landscape. It explores buildings and spaces that illustrate how Sant Boi evolved from an agricultural town into a city undergoing a process of modernisation during the first third of the 20th century.
The visit explores significant examples such as the Cambra Agrària, linked to cooperativism and the modernisation of agriculture, and Can Massallera, a testimony to productive architecture that was later transformed into a cultural venue. Through these and other points along the route, we will speak not only about architecture, but also about farmers, labourers, infrastructure and social change.
An activity that invites us to understand that Modernism is not just a style, but a way of imagining progress, the city and collective life.
Date 7th October | Time 10.30 a.m.
Venue Dr. Antoni Pujadas Auditorium. Sant Joan de Déu Healthcare Complex
A round-table debate on Architecture and Health (included in the programme for the Mental Health Week at the SDJ Healthcare Complex).
Date 7th October | Time
Venue To be confirmed
An exhibition that explores the Jardí Invisible’s heritage, artistic, social and healthcare value.
Date 10th October | Time 11 a.m.
Venue Can Castells Art Centre. Carrer de Lluís Castells, 16
Family activity
Modernist architects used ceramics as a decorative resource for their buildings in ways that had never been seen before. However, Antoni Gaudí stands out above the rest, going a step further and creating designs that could be considered almost abstract. Works overflowing with colour, symbolism and forms that make them truly unique.
Together with the artist Nien Boots, we invite families to create a piece inspired by Gaudí’s work. How do you picture your family in shape and colour? Are you a green family made of rounded forms with red flames? Or a white castle with pink clouds? The emotions, colours and forms that define you as a family.
Date 21st October | Time 5 p.m.
Venue Can Masallera Cultural Centre
A creative art workshop where participants experiment with colours, textures and forms inspired by Antoni Gaudí’s Modernist architecture. Using a range of materials and simple creative proposals, the session encourages artistic expression and the enjoyment of handson making.
The session combines the viewing of images, the observation of architectural and natural details, and practical work with accessible techniques (collage, painting, textures), adapted to the abilities of each group. The workshop places emphasis on creativity, experimentation and spontaneous conversation, with no prior knowledge required.
The activity can be adapted for residential homes, community centres and civic facilities, and is conceived as a welcoming space in which to share experiences, stimulate the imagination and create personal or collective pieces inspired by the Gaudian imaginary.
Dia 24 d’octubre | Hora 11 h
Lloc Can Castells Centre d’Art. C. Lluís Castells, 16
Workshop for families
We invite you to take part in a family workshop to discover the Sagrada Família as a space not only to be looked at, but also listened to. Inspired by Gaudí’s idea of a temple that should sound like a great symphony of stone, we will create a small sculptural instrument based on the form of one of its towers. The architecture will be transformed into a resonant body, capable of breathing and vibrating. Gaudí considered the human voice the most important instrument of all, and therefore the workshop will conclude with a song performed jointly by the participating families. A creative experience in which architecture can be lived through all the senses.
Date 1st November | Time 11.30 a.m.
Venue Meeting point: Homenatge a Gaudí Monument. Carrer de Pau Casals, 7
Route
This route proposes a journey through Gaudí’s presence in Sant Boi, from symbolic remembrance to the discovery of one of his most surprising spaces. The walk begins at the Homenatge a Gaudí Monument, a publicart intervention inaugurated in 1999, composed of three pillars and a trencadís mosaic that reinterpret the architect’s most emblematic technique.
From there, the route continues towards the Jardí Invisible, a Modernist ensemble built between 1903 and 1912, featuring grottoes, benches and rockwork structures, recently attributed to Gaudí and now considered essential elements for understanding his formal and symbolic experimentation.
Between these two points, the route traces a narrative that connects memory, architecture and landscape, revealing how Gaudí’s imprint on the city extends beyond the great icons to become a local, human story that is still evolving today.
Date 8th November | Time 11.30 a.m.
Venue Meeting point: Marianao Palace
Family activity
Observation of insects, birds and plants using field notebooks and drawings. A handson family activity
DATE 9th November | Time 5 p.m.
Venue Can Massallera Cultural Centre. Carrer de Mallorca, 30
Adults workshop
A creative art workshop where participants experiment with colours, textures and forms inspired by Antoni Gaudí’s Modernist architecture. Using a range of materials and simple creative proposals, the session encourages artistic expression and the enjoyment of handson making.
The session combines the viewing of images, the observation of architectural and natural details, and practical work with accessible techniques (collage, painting, textures), adapted to the abilities of each group. The workshop places emphasis on creativity, experimentation and spontaneous conversation, with no prior knowledge required.
The activity can be adapted for residential homes, community centres and civic facilities, and is conceived as a welcoming space in which to share experiences, stimulate the imagination and create personal or collective pieces inspired by the Gaudian imaginary.
DATE: 14th November | Time: 11 a.m.
Venue Can Castells Art Centre. Carrer de Lluís Castells, 16
Family activity
Modernist architects used ceramics as a decorative resource for their buildings in ways that had never been seen before. However, Antoni Gaudí stands out above the rest, going a step further and creating designs that could be considered almost abstract. Works overflowing with colour, symbolism and forms that make them truly unique.
Together with the artist Nien Boots, we invite families to create a piece inspired by Gaudí’s work. How do you picture your family in shape and colour? Are you a green family made of rounded forms with red flames? Or a white castle with pink clouds? The emotions, colours and forms that define you as a family.