Sitges Tourism

Jardines de Terramar Centenary

The noucentisme-style gardens celebrate their birthday

In 1919, a group of businessmen set out to transform Sitges into one of the most glamorous beach sites in the Mediterranean and build an urban complex with all of the cutting-edge facilities of the time, with lush gardens and attractions for the touristic elite of the era.
One hundred years after the ‘noucentista’ project, Sitges Town Hall wants to commemorate this radical project which, while it was never finished, gave the Terramar project its own identity and artistic language, which created a unique skyline.

 

We’re celebrating 100 years of Terramar
The aim of the celebration is to put the 1919 project in the spotlight, emphasising the uniqueness expressed in its original plans which convey an unconventional level of drive and motivation as well as an advanced understanding of the concept of urbanisation, all of which came from visionaries such as Francesc Armengol, Josep Maria Martino and Miquel Utrillo.

The setting for the centenary celebrations goes beyond focusing strictly on culture: sports and town planning are key protagonists along with art and literature, the tourism and hospitality sector and the surrounding natural environment.

The format for the centenary celebrations and its contents will have strong links between each other, with an underlying message behind it all. In this way, form and content strengthen each other.

 

A brushstroke on the garden city’s design
The plan for the Ciudad - Jardín de Terramar (Terramar Garden City), was envisioned and pioneered by Francesc Armengol y Duran (Sabadell 1886 - Barcelona 1931), Josep Maria Martino y Arroyo (Barcelona 1891 -1957) and Miquel Utrillo (Barcelona 1862 - Sitges 1934), among others. They wanted to transform Sitges into one of the most glamorous beach sites in the Mediterranean and build an urban complex with all of the cutting-edge facilities of the time, with lush gardens and attractions for the touristic elite of the era.

The project comprised the construction of a casino suspended above the sea on a jetty, which was never built; a grand hotel on the waterfront, with plans to create enormous gardens in front of it, designed by Josep Maria Martino; and a garden, the Jardín de Terramar (Terramar Gardens). Due to financial difficulties, it wasn’t opened until 1933.

There were also proposals for the construction of a society meeting hall and library; an auditorium and exhibition halls; shops; headquarters, boardrooms and reading rooms; postal and telegram services; garages; and an airfield for touristic aircraft. The project also included plans for a racetrack, which was opened in 1923; and a golf course, inaugurated in 1927.

However, in 1920, a major setback occurred during the construction process. The Banco de Barcelona, where the funds owned by ‘Parques y Edificaciones S.A.’ were stored, went bust. They were unable to recover from this economic setback and the project found itself frozen. It wouldn’t be until 1929 that ‘Playas y Balnearios del Mediterraneo S.A.’, under Salvador Casacuberta, offered up funds to bring construction back on track. However, the project would never be carried out in full.

The grand hotel, Hotel Terramar Palace, was completed and opened in 1933, the urbanisation process for the Terramar and El Vinyet seafront area was furnished, trees and plants were dotted along the esplanade and main streets, a public transport service was launched between the town centre and Terrmar, operated by the Tomás Matas agency, among others.

While Hotel Terramar Palace continued to operate throughout the 20th century, the gardens were abandoned almost up until the 1990s. It wouldn’t be until 1998 that Sitges Town Hall would recover them, working on them and adapting them for the public as a park, keeping the layout of the original structures, artificial lakes and green spaces.

 

  • CCJT-Cartell-Mockup

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