A visit to the Laribal Gardens
17/07/2006 08:00 h.
Text: Maria Rosa Salvadó
Photos: Dani García
The park of Montjuïc is, without doubt, one of the largest open spaces in Barcelona to wander round and enjoy. By the museums and sports areas, there are a number of gardens, many of which date back to the International Exposition of Barcelona in 1929.
At the start of the last century, what is now occupied by the Laribal Gardens, was a place people went to meet, for public reunions, particularly at the fountains of Gat, and for individual groups such as that of the "Colla de l'Arròs", a gastronomy-political group which had a certain amount of influence in Barcelona from the end of the 19th to the early 20th century.
Part of the gardens belonged to the estate of the prestigious lawyer, Josep Laribal, who the gardens are named after. There was a neo-Arab chalet, surrounded by gardens of many different styles, with massive trees.
After Laribal's death, Barcelona City Council acquired the estate in 1908, and founded the Escola de Bosc of Montjuïc, which is still there. Plans were made to urbanise and plant the mountain area, with Josep Amargós in charge of the overall project.
The Laribal Gardens
This is the original centre of the project and is in the old estate of Josep Laribal, which had gardens in a style characteristic of the late 19th - early 20th century: a line of raised flower beds, crossed with straight paths.
The French designer, J.C.N. Forestier, maintained many of the original plants in the design of the gardens. He modernised the layout, and incorporated characteristic elements of Arabian gardens found around the Iberian Peninsula; ceramic tiles, ornamental water fountains and pools, plants and trees, and flowers in pots by the railings and on the walls.
The mature Mediterranean plants are also an important feature: there are still olive trees growing by the steps.
Inspired by the Generalife gardens
To link the Laribel Gardens with those around the Teatre Grec, Forestier built a stairway inspired by those in the gardens of the Generalife, in Granada, with water by the handrails, small pools with fountains in the breaks of the stairway, and benches where you can rest and enjoy the open air and the sound of the water.
Pergolas link the gardens, with ramps, stairways and waterfalls leading to the Font del Gat, from where there are magnificent views of Barcelona.
The gardens of the Font del Gat
These are on the slope down from the Laribal Gardens to Passeig de Santa Madrona, and include the fountains of Gat and a 19th century building. The gardens have paths, terraces and little corners, following the slope of the land with stairways, ramps and there is also a monumental waterfall, with four sections separated by paths and channels, which connect the different sections.
From Passeig de Santa Madrona you can see some very tall cypress trees right by the waterfall, accentuating the height. Everything is covered by Mediterranean vegetation, and there are ancient fruit trees such as medlars and fig trees.
The rose gardens of the Colla de l'Arròs
A circle of cypress trees, with a small fountain at the centre, marks the start of the path which, beneath a pergola with terracotta pillars, leads to an oval patio, surrounded by cypress. These are the rose gardens designed by Forestier in 1918, commissioned by the Colla de l'Arròs, alongside the Casa Balaguer where the group met. The building was later knocked down to build what is now the Museu Etnològic.
The gardens have an air of an outdoor patio, also surrounded by cypress trees, as well as privet hedges. There are rectangular flowerbeds with old rose varieties. In the middle there is a small, square pool with ceramic tiles, with a marble sculpture as the centrepiece; Estival, a female nude by Jaume Otero.
Plaça del Claustre
This is by the Passeig de Santa Madrona, now part of the Sant Miquel Gardens, where one of the highlights is the three banana trees, there before Forestier designed the gardens. The walls, which are of the old stone quarry, give this part of the Laribal an air of a secluded cloister - which gives it its name. On the right, a path connects it with the Amargós Gardens.
Did you know...
The project begun in 1905 to set up an exhibition on the electric industry in Montjuïc, culminated, after a few years in the International Exposition of Barcelona, in 1929.
Francesc Cambó was one of those involved in organising the Expo, and commissioned the French engineer and garden designer Jean Claude Nicolas Forestier. The young architect who was one of his helpers, Nicolau M. Rubió i Tudurí, became the director of Public Parks in Barcelona in 1917.
The Laribal Gardens, on the Expo site, achieved great fame. Forestier and Rubió used a new style, based on a Mediterranean style, retaining the plants already there, adding native fruit trees and plants from the agricultural past of the zone, but integrating a new and original concept of garden design, openly inspired by the old Arabian-style gardens.
FICHA TÉCNICA
Distrito: Sants-Montjuïc
Superficie: 3,1 ha
Situació: a la muntanya de Montjuïc, delimitat per l’av. de l’estadi, l’av. Miramar i el pg. de Santa Madrona
Catalogación: jardí històric
Inauguración: 1922
Rehabilitación integral: 2002, Àrea de Projectes de Parcs i Jardins de Barcelona, Institut Municipal
Horario: des de les 10 fins al capvespre
Accesos: av. de l’estadi, l’av. Miramar i pg. de Santa Madrona
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