Monument in tarragona tower of people. Towers of people in spain

The construction of human towers is one of the most important Catalan traditions. Everyone does it, old and young. Tourists are watching the construction of the towers with surprise and interest, you can read about this in more detail in the article, but for now, pay attention to the monument to this wonderful fun.

The monument is extremely original, as is the tradition to which it is dedicated. It is important that this leisure option - the construction of human towers, exists only in Catalonia. This is an interesting action, several hundred people are involved in the construction. It is precisely this process that the Castells monument is dedicated to, which fully reflects the process of building the tower and shows the main people.

The monument appeared not so long ago, but has already won the love of local residents and guests of the city. Surprisingly, this is one of the few monuments that everyone liked.

History of monument als Castells

The author of this composition is Francesc Angles. Initially, a plaster sculptural group was made, which served as a model for the modern monument. The finished composition itself is cast in bronze.

While the sculpture was being made, an open vote was held among the inhabitants of the city, at which it was necessary to decide in which place (out of the proposed four) the monument could be placed. Where would it look best? As a result, according to the results, a place was chosen on the main Rambla Nova, probably because this point is very close to the Tarraco Square Arena stadium, where the Castells competition is held, and the street is touristy, popular, an additional monument will only increase its attractiveness.

By the way, in Tarragona, once every 2 years, the official competition of Castells groups, the best teams from all over the province come here to compete in skill and show their skills. An unforgettable sight.

Exterior view of the Castells monument

The monument depicts a composition of 219 people who make up the construction of a quatre de vuit (four people per level in a tower consisting of 8 levels). At the top is a child completing the construction, a wave of the hand means that the tower is built. In fact, this is an image of the Catalan tower of people at the moment when it is considered completed.

In the main composition there are sculptures dedicated to famous personalities, for example, at the bottom of the building you can find Pablo Picasso (artist) or Juan Samaranch (Spanish politician), as well as the artist depicted himself.

In addition to the tower itself, there are 4 sculptures nearby - these are images of participants performing certain roles in a real formation. There is a leader who oversees the formation of the tower and gives recommendations, as well as three musicians who beat the rhythm.

Monument height- 11 meters, weight 12 tons.

Location: intersection of Rambla Nova and Carrer del Pare Palau; Rambla Nova 129

Living pyramids of Tarragona.

I've always wondered why the Spaniards are so fond of all sorts of holidays?

This is a mystery, inaccessible to my mind, but it was there and probably always will be ... They are relaxed, they are not in a hurry ...

"Come tomorrow and everything will be fine!" is their most common response... They work slowly, sleep and take a siesta, but generally they manage to do everything... How is it? It's a national secret!

Therefore, acquaintance with the new cultural features of Spain always arouses our burning interest.

The city of Tarragona is nestled on a mountain near the coast, between La Pineda and Barcelona...

This ancient Roman settlement then grew and turned into a whole city, where the remains of an ancient civilization, many archaeological sites are well preserved: an amphitheater, the ruins of temples and palaces, part of the ancient city with a mosaic pavement ...

You walk through a modern city and suddenly, around the corner, you are met by a piece of a majestic arch, or a failure with an ancient mosaic on the floor of an ancient house...

But modern Tarragona is famous for its "living pyramids"... Dangerous and unusual festival... Every year people are injured and even die, but the tradition does not die...

The tradition of "Castellers" goes back to the Valencian dance "muisaranga", which became popular in Catalonia in the 17th century. The dance ended with the construction of a "living tower".

At present, the erection of the tower is not preceded by a dance, but the tradition of musical accompaniment has been preserved.

Now the construction of living pyramids is a Spanish tradition that accompanies the harvest festival. In Tarragona there is even a monument to Castelleros.

Castellers - Castellers, the participants, try to build a tower with as many levels as possible, and then "take apart" it so as not to collapse into a crowd of people watching the performance.

The tower, "dismantled" successfully, deserves admiration.

This pyramid collapsed, there were no injuries ...

At the intersection of the New Rambla with Carrer del Pare Palau, there is a bronze monument to the builders of human towers-castells(Monument als Castells) (one of the most important Catalan traditions). The author of this interesting monument is a modern Catalan sculptor Francesc Angles(Francesc Anglès) (b. 1938), whose work is characterized by the depiction of diverse human groups in realistic scenes. This particular monument was installed in Tarragona in 1999 and depicts " pyramid”, consisting of 219 full-size human figures that make up the construction square de vuit(that is, four people per level in a tower consisting of eight levels). At the top of the tower, a child waves his hand, enshanet(enxaneta), which completes the construction. Next to the tower, the sculptor depicted other traditional participants in the action: the group manager (cap de colla), who directs the process of building the tower from the ground, as well as musicians - oboists-gravlers (grallers). An interesting fact: among the figures, you can recognize images of specific personalities - famous Catalans, including artists João Miro and Pablo Picasso, cellist Pau Casals and figure of the Olympic Movement Juan Antonio Samaranch. In one of the figures, the sculptor depicted himself. The composition is 11 meters high and weighs 12 tons.

The sculpture "Wind", created in 1989 by one of the most famous sculptors of Catalonia - Josep Zhassans, is an unusual monument located next to the central city church of Sant Pere.

The unusualness of such a neighborhood lies in the fact that the sculpture is a naked woman, whose hands resemble the branches of a tree bent by the wind, and whose pose is a dance step of a ballerina.

This sculpture is one of Jassance's most famous works and his first public work for Reus.

Sculpture Els Castellers

The sculpture of Els Castellers is one of the unusual sculptures, which is a tower built from people.

It was erected in 1999. At first glance, this creation may seem strange. In fact, the construction of towers, in which people themselves act as building elements, is a Catalan tradition that appeared back in the 18th century.

Usually such constructions take place in the form of competitions between several teams and are arranged at the end of September - on religious holidays in front of the Misericordia temple and on the Market Square.

The sculptural composition, 11 meters high and weighing about 12 tons, is made up of 219 bronze figures. Outwardly, it is a seven-story fortress, the first floor of which forms a whole circle of people. For the first time such a living pyramid was built here in the city in 1770.

Sculpture Als Castells

Monument Als Castells is a bronze monument depicting a "pyramid" of 219 human figures.

The author of this unique monument is the contemporary sculptor Francesc Angles, whose work is characterized by the depiction of human groups in various scenes. The monument was erected in 1999 and has become one of the main attractions of Tarragona. The height of the composition is 11 meters, and its weight is 12 tons.

At the top of the sculpture is a child waving his hand, and next to the tower, the creator installed a leader in the process of building a composition from the ground and musicians. What is unique is that among the figures you can see images of real people - Pablo Picasso, João Miro, Juan Antonio Samaranch, Pau Casals and many others. In one of the figures, you can see the sculptor himself.

100 km from Barcelona on the Mediterranean coast, the city of Tarragona, the ancient capital of Catalonia, is comfortably located. This place was chosen by the Romans because of the strategically convenient position to found a city here.
In the third century BC, on a hill above the sea, they erected a fortress wall and built the city of Tarraco. Subsequently, the city became the residence of the Roman emperors Augustus and Andrian, as well as the main naval base and capital of the Roman Empire on the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula. Thanks to the well-preserved Roman architectural ensemble, Tarragona is included in the official list of the most important world monuments "Protection of Humanity", approved by UNESCO.
My walk around the city started from the central New Rambla. It starts from the bus station and ends with the Mediterranean Balcony, which offers a magnificent view of the sea.

I am standing in front of an amazing sculptural composition depicting a life-size pyramid of people. The composition was erected right in the middle of the street and it seems that the once living participants simply turned to stone in a moment. Very impressive!

Competition "Tarragona Castells" - building a pyramid of people - is a long-standing Catalan tradition. Participants must build a complex structure, showing outstanding skill. People of different age groups prepare for the competition very seriously. Every two years, Tarragona arranges the championship of castellers - the builders of pyramids from people.

This mansion is considered the most interesting example of Tarragona Art Nouveau. Casa Salas was one of the first houses built on the New Rambla. Then, after Ramon Salas, other wealthy Tarragona families followed (however, Salas himself had no family, and he left no heirs).

This is the official building of the Rambla.

This is the bank building.

A little further on the New Rambla is an unusual monument to Grandpa Virgil. This monument is dedicated to the memory of Josep Virgil (1895-1993), the legendary Tarragona publisher and bibliographer, popularly known as "grandfather Virgil". The monument is made of bronze in natural size. It appeared on the New Rambla in 1995. Grandfather is depicted so sweetly and naturally, like an ordinary old man, watching the daily life that takes place on the boulevard.

In this part of the New Rambla, almost by the sea, there is a monument to the Aragonese admiral Ruggiero di Lauria (1245-1305). The bronze statue of Admiral by the sculptor Félix Ferrer Galceran was made in 1886. The monument, along with a pedestal designed by Ramon Salas, was inaugurated in 1889.

And I saw the original of this sculpture in the Vatican Museum.

The old city stands on the site of the ancient Roman Tarraco, and still has many traces of that era. Starting from the walls and ending with the amphitheater.