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Antic Hospital de la Santa Creu Review

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Antic Hospital de la Santa Creu

  • Address: Carrer del Carme 45, or Carrer Hospital 56, Raval, Barcelona, Catalonia, 08001

Fodor's Review:

The 15th-century medieval hospital, now housing the Biblioteca de Catalunya (the "Library of Catalunya") cultural institutions, and the Escola Massana art school, is one of the four finest Gothic spaces in Barcelona (along with Drassanes, Santa Maria del Mar, and La Llotja). Approach it from the back door of the Boqueria, starting at the Carrer del Carme end where, across from the Reial Acadèmia de Cirurgia i Medecina, the courtyard of the Casa de Convalescència leads in past scenes from the life of St. Paul portrayed in lovely blue-and-white ceramic tiles hand-painted by master craftsman Llorenç Passolas in 1680-81. The green-and-white-tiled patio houses the Institut d'Estudis Catalans. The second-floor garden behind the clock is dedicated to Catalan novelist Mercé Rodoreda. Turn right as you leave the entryway, take a look into the beautifully vaulted reading rooms on either side down the stairs, and continue through the orange grove in the hospital patio to the stairs leading up to the right for a look at the wide Gothic arches inside the Biblioteca de Catalunya. Out on Carrer Hospital to the left is La Capella, once the hospital chapel and now a gallery with contemporary art.

  • Metro: Catalunya, Liceu
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