The Art Nouveau Site of Sant Pau, including the Sant Rafael Pavilion, is an architectural jewel of Catalan Modernism. I arrive here on a cool November morning. I have walked from my Barcelona accommodation near Las Ramblas not really knowing what to expect. I’m both awed and inspired by what I find.
Sant Pau
Built between 1902 and 1930, Sant Pau was home to the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau from 1916 to 2009.
The project was conceived as a city within the city, an exceptional demonstration of the creative genius of Lluis Domènech i Montaner. Montaner is remembered as one of the great European architects. This Art Nouveau Site, which served Barcelona as an innovative, cutting edge hospital, is today a knowledge centre that hosts equally innovative institutions.
See also in this series:
Sant Rafael Pavilion
Pau Gil had left a generous inheritance to buy the plot of land and funding enough for the first ten pavilions built on the site. By 1918, Montaner had designed and overseen the construction of these creations. However, there was more to be done.
In the spirit of the hospital’s status as a type of charity, built on the foundation of Pau Gil’s generosity, the family of Rafael Rabell made a donation. This meant that work could start on what is known as the Sant Rafael Pavilion in 1922.
Nevertheless, the letter worked into the mosaics in the pavilion clearly started out as a P before it became an R.
There are two stories behind the conversion.
The first is that the P for Pau was converted due to the sponsorship of Raphael Raball for the building itself.
The second is because during its construction, on 27 December 1923, Domenech Montaner passed away and his son, Pere, took over as lead architect.
Either way, the letter “R” appears on this building as a ceramic heraldic motif. In closer inspection, it’s quite clear that the “R” started out as a “P”.
There is an exhibition at the front of this pavilion with displays explaining some of the daily life of the hospital as well as pictures of the area before Sant Pau was built.
At the back of the pavilion, there is an intriguing reproduction of a patient room.
The Patient Room
Just imagine being a patient here. On the one hand, each bed had its own little table and a large radiator heated the space. The ceiling is high and the space itself is beautiful.
On the other hand, you would have been recuperating surrounded by up to 27 strangers. There would have been no privacy and the bathrooms are nowhere in sight. I’m also unsure how effective those radiators might have been during a particularly chilly winter when one is bedridden.
Nevetheless, given that it was in this very pavilion that the first bone marrow transplants were performed, I’m sure the lack of heat was better than any alternative available at the time.
The exhibition also provides an overview of the evolution of medicine at the time. From primarily subjective medicine, where the doctor interprets what the patient told them, to instrumentalisation, which meant that the diagnosis was much more accurate. Most of the devices on display date back to the 1920s and the early developments of instumentalisation.
The Altar
There is also a small altar displayed in this space. Each patient pavilion at the Hospital had an altar. Usually dedicated to the saint after which each was named, mass was held there and, when marking the saint’s day, it was decorated with flowers and plants. This practice had been continued from the tradition of the old Hospital de la Santa Creu and was very much a part of the daily practice of the hospital.
Good To Know
The Sant Raphael Pavilion is part of the Sant Pau Art Nouveau complex.
There are limits on capacity so be sure to book tickets and a guided tour early. I missed booking the guided tour and ended up with an audio guide. Failing a real guide, an audio guide is highly recommended. There is a lot of signage and, as it’s a large site, it may prove difficult to take in if you’re relying on reading everything. A guided tour would be even better.
Would I Return?
Yes.