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The Jardins del Doctor Pla i Armengol offer beautiful views of Barcelona. Photo by Ajuntament de Barcelona (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) via Flickr.
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Jardins del Doctor Pla i Armengol, photo by Teresa Grau Ros (CC BY-SA 2.0) via Flickr.
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Jardins del Doctor Pla i Armengol, photo courtesy of Ajuntament de Barcelona (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) via Flickr.
Horta-Guinardó is proudly the greenest district in the city; it boasts more public parks and gardens than any other. The Jardins del Doctor Pla i Armengol is one of these spaces, and one with some of the most interesting history.
The gardens—which cover a space of 36,718 square meters—are located on the former site of the Ravetllat-Pla Institute, a tuberculosis research center founded by Dr. Ramon Pla i Armengol and veterinarian Joaquim Ravetllat i Estech in 1919. At the time, it was one of the first and most important pharmaceutical laboratories in Spain. The gardens as we know them today were opened to the public in 2019, exactly one century after this historic laboratory was founded.
History: The Gardens’ Founder
Ramon Pla i Armengol, image courtesy of Brazilian National Archives, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Doctor Ramon Pla i Armengol was born in the tiny Catalan town of Alentorn in 1880. He grew up to fulfill his dream of going to medical school, first in Barcelona and then in Madrid, and later specialized in infectious diseases and bacteriology. His main focus would be the study of tuberculous, which still posed a major health threat in the 18th century. He worked at the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau in Barcelona, which was an innovative institution for its time. In 1910, Ramon Pla i Armengol published his book Early Diagnosis of Tuberculosis, the first medical book published in Catalan. In 1912, he presented several papers at the seventh International Tuberculosis Congress in Rome.
Pla was approached by a veterinarian named Joaquim Ravetllat i Estech, who proposed alternative theories as to the potential causes and treatments of the disease. This was the start of a partnership that eventually resulted in the invention of two tuberculosis treatments: one was a serum, and the other a hemo-antitoxin derived from the blood of previously treated horses. Neither of their inventions ever received official support or approval from the medical community at first, though both became widely used in Spain and its former colonies in the following decades.
The pair founded the Ravetllat-Pla Institute, which initially had its headquarters in the town of Salt; it moved to Barcelona in 1923, after Ravetllat’s death that same year. In 1927, Dr. Pla purchased an estate known as Casa Fitona, and hired architect Adolf Florensa i Ferrer to build a three-story noucentista-style palace and gardens.
Jardins del Doctor Pla i Armengol, photo by Teresa Grau Ros (CC BY-SA 2.0) via Flickr.
The project was completed in 1930. The white façade, terracotta tiled roof, gallery of arches flanked by Doric columns and the wrought-iron gate all combine to create an effect of imposing, stately elegance. During the Spanish Civil War, the estate was the refuge of the Basque leaders, who used it as a base from which to govern in exile.
Dr. Pla was also involved in politics during his lifetime; he started out as a member of the Partit Socialista Obrer Español (PSOE), but moved to the Unió Socialista de Catalunya (USC) in 1932. He was elected a deputy of that party in 1936. However, he and his family went into exile in Mexico after the Civil War ended; they would remain there for two years. After returning to Barcelona, they emigrated back to Mexico, where he founded the Edicions Minerva publishing house, which published mostly works by Catalan authors and Catalan translations of English and French books.
Pla returned to Barcelona in 1948, where the former leftist politician, doctor and scholar would remain largely hidden from public life until his death ten years later.
Jardins del Doctor Pla i Armengol, photo courtesy of Ajuntament de Barcelona (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) via Flickr.
The Gardens Today: From Legal Battles to a Museum and Park
In 1940, the reins of the institution were taken up by Dr. Pla’s daughter: Núria Pla Montseny. She founded the Ramon Pla i Armengol Foundation, and continued her father’s tradition of research by keeping the laboratory running until 1980. Meanwhile, starting in the 1970s, the neighbors living near the estate petitioned the city and the foundation to open the space to the public, but it would take some time before their wishes were to be granted.
In 1989, Montseny donated the estate to the Barcelona City Council, stipulating that the transfer would occur after her death. And in 2009, she donated the Institute’s archive to the Autonomous University of Barcelona; specifically, to the History of Medicine Department.
Jardins del Doctor Pla i Armengol, photo courtesy of Ajuntament de Barcelona (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) via Flickr.
However, shortly before she died in 2011, Montseny drafted a new last will and testament, leaving her property—including the large house and its gardens—to the Ramon Pla i Armengol Foundation. As a result of the confusion generated by this “double” bequeathment, the foundation and the local government battled for four years over who had the right to do what with the estate.
In 2014, the residents of the neighborhoods of Guinardó, Baix Guinardó and Can Baró presented a final petition to the city for the gardens to be community-owned. However, the City Council and the Pla i Armengol Foundation ignored this request, and finally came to an agreement in 2015 to designate the house a museum, whereas the surrounding gardens would be renovated and opened to the public as a park.
Núria Pla Museum, Jardins del Doctor Pla i Armengol. Photo by Roger Ferrer Ibáñez (CC BY-SA 2.0) via Flickr.
The 8.6-million-euro renovation of the gardens would be the responsibility of the City Council. The museum, which would be curated and overseen by the foundation, would showcase the 800+ pieces of art, antique furniture and other rare and valuable items that Dr. Pla had collected during his lifetime.
The gardens were inaugurated in December of 2019. The mayor of Barcelona at the time, Ada Colau, said in her speech that they were intended to be part of a project to construct a “green corridor” connecting the Collserola mountains to the Ciutadella Park, with the aim of facilitating the migration of flora and fauna between the green spaces within the city.
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Jardins del Doctor Pla i Armengol, photo by Vicente Zambrano González courtesy of Ajuntament de Barcelona (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).
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Sculpture in the Jardins del Doctor Pla i Armengol, photo by Vicente Zambrano González courtesy of Ajuntament de Barcelona (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).
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Jardins del Doctor Pla i Armengol, photo by Teresa Grau Ros (CC BY-SA 2.0) via Flickr.
Art and Biodiversity
The pieces of art scattered around the grounds are inspired by classical themes and Greek mythology: the Fountain of the Venus of Fréjus near the park entrance features a copy of the statue of Venus housed in the Louvre Museum, surrounded by a pond. It was made by the company Tallers Lena, which was dedicated to the reproduction of historic and antique statues. The sculpture The Nymph of the Shell of Coysevox—the statue of a woman next to an overflowing jug—is also a reproduction of a classical piece. Another pond features a cherub holding a small dolphin in its hands, which is a copy of a piece by Italian sculptor Andrea de Verrocchio. Baby fauns, horses, Greek-style reliefs on terracotta vases and other idyllic figures peep from behind green foliage.
The renovation of the gardens preserved these original statues, as well as the pergolas, ponds and other decorative elements that had been a part of the gardens since they were first constructed. It also added a number of pieces of sustainable outdoor furniture—benches, chairs, and stones designed to sit on—as well as a vegetable garden, a scenic lookout point, an amphitheater and a children’s play area. (These areas designed for the public are located on the western part of the grounds, where the stables were once located.) There is also a section to the southeast of the complex that is not accessible to the general public, which is intended to promote biodiversity.
Jardins del Doctor Pla i Armengol. Photo by Centre Europeu de Barcelona (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) via Flickr.
The importance of encouraging Mediterranean and local plant and animal life was also taken into account. Wooden pyramids meant to serve as nests for insects were incorporated into the natural flora; nesting areas were also built for birds and bats. Even the naturalized ponds were designed to encourage biodiversity; they were rebuilt with a flow re-circulation system, allowing the ecosystems typical of natural ponds to flourish. As a result, the ponds are populated by native amphibian, bird, insect and invertebrate species. The sustainable drainage systems and permeable pavements used in the remodeling allow rainwater to progressively infiltrate the soil, protecting plant life, even in the case of extreme rains.
The gardens’ foliage includes well over 100 species of plant, including a forest of oak and pine trees; native scrub bushes such as sedge and white yarrow; carob, orange, olive and linden trees; an aromatic herb garden containing lavender, sage, rosemary and mint; and the picturesque noucentista flower garden, which still retains its old-world charm. Bird species such as robins, greenfinches, blackbirds, woodcocks and others populate the gardens, as do bees, butterflies, dragonflies and other insects.
Jardins del Doctor Pla i Armengol, photo by Ajuntament de Barcelona (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) via Flickr.
Today, the gardens represent an important part of the natural ecosystem contained within the urban environment. They are also popular with the local residents; thanks to their privileged position, the gardens offer a panoramic view of Barcelona, looking out to the sea.
How to Get There
The easiest way to get there is to take the yellow line of the metro (L4), and get off at the Guinardó-Hospital de Sant Pau stop. There are also multiple bus lines with stops nearby. The gardens are open to the public from 7:30 until approximately 19:00 in winter, and until approximately 22:00 in summer. The “approximately” has to do with the changing hours of daylight, as the park closes when it gets dark.
The house-turned-museum is located at Avinguda de la Mare de Déu de Montserrat 114, just across from the main entrance to the estate. Its opening hours vary, so it’s best to check the website if you’re planning a visit.