Rooms in West Wing, Palace of the Generalitat of Catalonia

The Courtyard of the Orange Trees has become the defining feature of the Palace. For many years, in addition to a central courtyard, the town houses of the well-to-do generally had a garden or courtyard where orange trees were planted. The first stage of the building’s expansion was on the north side. Most of the work was supervised by the carpenter and architect Antoni Carbonell, who built two open galleries (half Gothic and half Renaissance in style) and the first courtyard of orange trees. Thanks to the deputies overseeing the work and Carbonell, the expansion was in line with Marc Safont’s approach in the Gothic courtyard. The consequences of this decision were very positive, especially later, when the same style was maintained in the last stage of the Palace’s expansion on the north side.

The continuity of the upper gallery, formally and in terms of its level, effectively integrated the addition of the Sala Nova del Consistori (New Council Hall), the Saló Daurat (Golden Hall), and all of the other sections added until the entire perimeter was completed. The result, as one can still appreciate, is a beautiful space that is bright and full of life.

Surrounding the courtyard are the most important meeting rooms and workspaces used by the Office of the President.

Neo-Gothic Bridge
The neo-Gothic Bridge runs from the Courtyard of the Orange Trees across Carrer del Bisbe, linking the historic building and the presidential residence in the Cases dels Canonges (Canons’ Houses). The opening of the bridge in 1928, at the height of the Primo de Rivera dictatorship, was not without controversy. Its picturesque appearance has made it hugely popular with tourists. The bridge features notable examples of the workmanship of artisans of the Modernista period.

Presidential Staff Offices
The section of the building that faces Carrer de Sant Sever and the Courtyard of the Orange Trees was constructed in the 17th century as a storage area for the Palace’s arsenal. It now houses the workspaces of the Office of the President.

Kings’ Room
In the past, this space has been used as a map room, a press room, a second court chamber, and a second hall of the Courtyard of the Orange Trees.

The Sala dels Reis (Kings’ Room), built around 1585, is one of three grand rooms with access from the Courtyard of the Orange Trees. Between 1603 and1608, these three rooms (floors and lower part of walls) were decorated with glazed ceramic pieces made by the renowned ceramist Lorenzo de Madrid.

From 1716 to 1908, the Royal Court occupied the Palace de la Generalitat, and these rooms were put to different uses, leading to the loss of most of the glazed ceramics. Only the ceramic floor of this room was saved, and it is one of the few examples from this period that is conserved in situ.

Another important element of the room, which gives it its name, is the gallery of portraits of counts and count-kings, by Filippo Ariosto. In 1587, the Generalitat de Catalunya commissioned the Bolognese painter to create a gallery of portraits of the counts and counts-kings of Catalonia and Catalonia-Aragon. This is the oldest royal gallery, with the most conserved portraits, in Spain and probably in all of Europe.

The main part of this series consists of 46 oil paintings on canvas, of which only three have been lost. In 1588, the portraits were hung, in the form of a frieze, around the recently constructed Sala Nova del Consistori (New Council Hall). And there they remained for over 300 years.

Recently, twelve of the portraits restored to date have been put on display.

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Torres-Garcia Hall
The Joaquim Torres-Garcia Hall contains the frescoes that were painted on the walls of Saint George Hall between 1912 and 1916 by the great artist himself. The works were commissioned by Enric Prat de la Riba, the president of the Barcelona Provincial Council, who later became the president of the Mancomunitat de Catalunya (Commonwealth of Catalonia).

Ceremonial and official events, including the signing of agreements, are held in the Torres-Garcia Hall, and it is sometimes used as a dining hall when important public figures visit the Palace.

Executive Council Room
The room was built to hold meetings of the Consistori (Council), the highest body of the Catalan government. The magnificent and spectacular coffered ceiling is the defining feature of this space. A gallery of portraits of Catalan sovereigns, commissioned from the Italian painter Filippo Ariosto was installed in this room. The works are currently being restored and are of great artistic interest.

The room’s current appearance is the result of a provisional restoration to facilitate its use as a meeting space for the Executive Council (its original purpose). The ceiling (yet to be restored) is partially visible through a gold-coloured gauze covering. The large round table was used by the Court of Cassation of the Generalitat during the Second Spanish Republic, and the mural by Antoni Tàpies pays homage to the authors of the four great medieval chronicles of Catalonia’s history

As in the years following its construction, this splendid room is where the president and members of the Executive Council meet and make important decisions.

Cases dels Canonges
The Cases dels Canonges (Canons’ Houses) are a building complex of medieval origin and characteristics, located on the other side of the neo-Gothic bridge that spans Carrer del Bisbe. The buildings were reconstructed in the late 1920s to create new spaces and improve the immediate surroundings of the Palace. A residence was created for President Francesc Macià, and he passed away there in 1933. In addition to the presidential residence, the Cases dels Canonges currently house administrative offices.

Palace of the Generalitat of Catalonia
The Palace de la Generalitat, located in the Gothic quarter of Barcelona, is one of the few buildings of medieval origin in Europe that have been maintained as a seat of Government and for the same institution for which it was built.

The original house, on Carrer Sant Honorat, was acquired in 1400 and during the 15th century it was expanded and converted into a new gothic palace, the work of Marc Safont. Among the best preserved elements from this period are the Gothic Gallery and the Chapel of Sant Jordi.

During the 16th century, the Palace de la Generalitat grew with a new part which respected the previous Gothic style such as the Cambra Daurada (Golden Chamber) and the first Pati dels Tarongers(courtyard planted with orange trees). The most radical changes came with the extension towards the Plaça Sant Jaume (1597-1619): the current main façade was inspired by the Italian Renaissance, and there are four Doric columns of Roman origin dating from the 2nd century.

The last major changes in the building happened in the period of the Mancomunitat de Catalunya, the Catalan Commonwealth, (1914-1925): items such as the staircase of honour and the equestrian statue of Sant Jordi were added. Notable from the 1970s is the acquisition of more than a hundred pieces of modern, avant-garde and contemporary art by artists such as Montserrat Gudiol, Josep Maria Subirachs, Antoni Clavé, Joan Hernández Pizjuán, and Antoni Tàpies.

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