All That It Was Built Up To Be?

Today was, as you can guess from last night, a rather mellow day. Or, at least, that’s how I intended it.  The plan was to get up at around 10, go on a guided tour of the Hospital de Sant Pau at noon, devour baked goods, and perhaps go paddleboating.  That did not happen.

To start things off, I slept through my alarm and was awakened by the Feast of Sant Pau festivities of my neighbors.  I was cursing their break of dawn enthusiasm until I realized that it was actually 11:35 AM.  Undeterred, I threw on clothes and bolted out the door to make my 12 PM tour.  Two perfectly timed Metro rides later, I arrived, victorious, on the stoop of the hospital at 12:02.  I can’t make this stuff up.  I strutted in, as much as a half-comatose intrepid tourist can strut, only to discover that I was at the opposite corner of the complex.  A complex that spans 9 city blocks.  But I also discovered that there was another tour at 1 pm, so I took the chance to meander around the various buildings and explore a bit before going to buy my ticket.

The tour was 10 euros and, in my opinion, terrible.  While that little ticket opened some doors (literally), the guide was terrible, almost no information was provided beyond what was blatantly obvious, and due to restorations, only 3 of the pavilions were open and the rest were covered in scaffolding and tarps.

Best part of the tour: the required safety outfit

I had read on the website that they adjusted the price according to what was available, to be fair, but I highly doubt that the normal tour costs 50 euros, and I definitely didn’t get more than 20% of what I deserved.

The reason I’m so bummed is because the Hospital de Sant Pau is a marvel.  It’s majestic, it’s functionality and beauty melded together at their best.  The architect who designed the hospital was Domenech i Montaner, the same Moderniste architect responsible for La Palau deLa Musica Catalana, so you know he’s good.  The hospital is equally wonderful, given the photos that I’ve seen.  If I was an early-20^th century hospital patient (not that I’d ever want to be), I would want to convalesce there.  Montaner uses the Moderniste elements of nature, light, and color in a more subdued but equally beautiful way.  Rich greens decorate most of the hospital, as do the circularized initials of the hospital’s financial backer, Pau Gil (The font reminded me of the one used on the Park Guell mosaic signs).  Natural light streams in through tunnels.  And OCD reigns supreme: everything is symmetrical and every detail has been considered.  The different pavilions are surrounded by enough gardens that each patient could see some greenery from the windows.  The ceramic roof tiles provided natural insulation and temperature regulation.  Underground tunnels connected the various pavilions (the original plan included 48), particularly to the surgical centers positioned in the middle of the grouped pavilions.  Each pavilion was named after a saint, and the sex of the saint corresponded to the sex of the patients inside, back when the patient population was divided by sex rather than ailment/department.  It’s quite a piece of work, and if you can go after most of the renovations are done (many are scheduled to be finished by 2014), you will marvel.  Even more incredible? This was used as a fully functional hospital until 2009.

Interesting parts of the tour included getting to see the underground tunnels and walk through one or two buildings, but everything has been gutted and more than half the tour was spent in a little information building looking at printed boards with pictures of other Moderniste architecture and walking through the unrenovated tunnels, which had little to no decoration beside a thrown-together exhibit of a few ceramics in need of work and some old photographs.

Some pictures of the buildings:

Part of the L-shaped main entrance

The entrance from the side

Since La Sagrada Familia construction began before the Hospital de Sant Pau was built, Montaner positioned the entrance to look directly out on the basilica.  This is the view through the gates of the main entrance.  Many Moderniste architects were devoutly religious, and it shows in their work.

Montaner planned a large church for the hospital premises, due to the influence of his deep faith.

 The interesting "rose window"

Since the Old Hospital isn't currently in use, neither is the church.  So, we got a little bit touristy with the pictures.

Beautiful mosaic work on the side of a building.

Me in front of the surgical center... obviously.  Of note: the first heart transplant in all of Spain was performed here!

The old pharmacy.  Look at all the bottles on the shelves and the pharmacists hard at work.  I love this photo.

One of the large halls used to house patients.  That was then...

... And this is now!  Note: the splotches on the ceiling are patches of tile work covered in plastic, not part of the design (as far as I can tell).  Note the large windows that bring in natural light, the green to evoke nature (our guide claimed that green is also the color of hope and relaxation), and the use of tiles and mosaic work.

This is apparently the Montserrat building.

The statue here, claims our guide, is supposed to evoke La Moreneta (The Black Virgin) of Montserrat.  I'm not sure I believe him.  She doesn't even have an orb, as far as I could tell.  See my post on Montserrat to make your own comparison.

This is one side of the giant kitchen building that provided food for the entire hospital complex.  You might say, hmmm... that looks like a church, and you would be right.  This stone facade was stolen from the Santa Maria Church in another part of the city and was moved, stone by stone, to be incorporated into this building.  Why go to all that trouble?  Our guide claims that Santa Maria is the patron saint of cooks.

An outside view of the church

 After a long nap, Naaman and I rallied for a walk around town.  We hit up Parc de Ciutadella, then wandered (as always) to the Gothic district.  For the past month, we have wanted to try this fruit pop place, but we always pass it with desserts already in hand and lament our forgetfulness.  Tonight, we finally succeeded.  The fruit pops are made on the premises of smashed up fruit and a little bit of water.  Naaman got pineapple dipped in chocolate, which was yummy, and I got kiwi, which was absolutely divine.  We were a bit worried, because we couldn't try the flavors before purchasing a pop, but they were wonderful.  Just the thing for a warm summer night.

Since I was terrible and forgot to put a Spotted in my last post, here are two:

Yesterday's Spotted: Casa Comalat.  I pass this building, which is across the street from my tiny street, every day and marvel at its Moderniste architecture.  I finally figured out what building it is: Casa Comalat.  Built by Salvadore Valerili Pupurull from 1909-1911, this building is practically a tribute to Gaudi and incorporates many of his characteristic elements.  It is a beautiful building with two facades.  Atop the building sits a turret in the shape of a harlequin's hat, glazed in green ceramics.

Today's Spotted: Dreadlocks.  This hairstyle is very common in Spain, which is not surprising given the prevalence of piercings, tattoos, and many other stereotypical "rebellious" elements of personal style that get lumped together.  You know that dreadlocks have gone mainstream when the Chanel mannequin wearing a several thousand dollar jacket has them.