On the outskirts of Sitges
The Celler Güell is in the little village of Garraf, still within the Sitges municipality and just a short drive away along the C-246 coastal corniche-like road between Sitges and Barcelona.
This collection of Modernista buildings includes a cellar, a house and a chapel. It was built towards the end of the nineteenth century, commissioned by industrialist Eusebi Güell who owned a number of vineyards in the Garraf area.
There had been controversy surrounding the authorship of this group of buildings. On the one hand it had been suggested that Francesc Berenguer i Mestres, a disciple of Antoni Gaudí was responsible for the design and on the other hand that it was a project created by Gaudí himself.
The original plan is kept in the Sitges Historical Archive (located in the building adjacent to the Santiago Rusiñol library). It is signed by Antonio Gaudí and thus put an end to the controversy.
The buildings are asymmetric and make many references to medieval structures. The parabolic arches are remarkable as too are the wrought iron and brickwork. The cellar is currently managed as a restaurant.
After visiting the Güell Cellar, why not visit the Garraf beach with its quirky racing-green and white wooden beach huts, unique to this little village. (The beach can get quite busy in the summer months.)
Hospital de Sant Joan de Sitges
The Sant Joan Hospital is on Calle Cardenal Vidal i Barraquer, 2 in a Sitges neighbourhood called Poble Sec located on the other side of the train tracks, away from the sea and town centre proper. Its origins go back to 1324 when Bernat de Fonollar, feudal lord of Sitges, founded a hospital for the needy on the site of what is today the Palau Maricel de Mar. The current hospital building, designed by Josep Font i Gumà and opened in 1912, is considered one of the most important examples of Modernist architecture in Sitges.
The building consists of two symmetrical side wings and a middle section that supports a dome lantern, which has become a visual symbol for the hospital. The chapel attached to the building houses a 17th century altarpiece.