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Passeig de Santa Madrona, Jardins de Laribal. Photo by Txllxt TxllxT (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Wikimedia Commons.
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Jardins de Laribal, photo by Jorge Franganillo (CC BY 3.0) via Wikimedia Commons.
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Jardins de Laribal, photo courtesy of Ajuntament de Barcelona (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).
The Jardins de Laribal, also known as the Colla de l’Arròs (“Rice Group”) gardens, were the first public rose gardens ever to be created in Barcelona, and the first public park established on Montjuïc mountain. And while it’s not nearly as famous as some of the other parks in Barcelona, it’s one of the highlights on Montjuïc—if you know where to find it. The quiet, artfully arranged green space with its bird’s-eye view of the city offers a welcome relief from the urban crush of the city center. Its design contains a distinctly Hispano-Arabic influence, which sets it apart from Barcelona’s other gardens.
History
Several plans to landscape the mountain of Montjuïc had been proposed to the City Council by various urban planners and landscape architects since the end of the previous century, but none of these plans were adopted. In 1914, the first steps were taken to reshape the face of the mountain: an avenue leading from the Miramar overlook down to Gran Vía was designed by Josep Amargós, one of the architects whose previous ideas had been rejected.
The Jardins de Laribal were part of the second step in this landscaping process, which began in earnest in 1917 when the city was selected to host the International Exhibition of 1929. The City Coucil was suddenly galvanized by the desire to showcase Barcelona as a beautiful, modern place. As a part of this plan, the gardens were constructed in 1922 by two designers: French civil engineer and landscape artist Jean-Claude Nicolas Forestier, and his Catalan assistant Nicolau M. Rubió i Tudurí, who was the Director of Parks and Gardens at the time. The duo also designed the gardens of the Teatre Grec (the Greek Theater), the Miramar and the Umbráculo, all located on Montjuïc.
Passeig de Santa Madrona, Jardins de Laribal. Photo by Txllxt TxllxT (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Wikimedia Commons.
The land now occupied by the gardens was formerly a space where both public and private meetings were held throughout the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, most notably those organized by a group called the Colla de l’Arròs. They were a culinary club with political influence who would often cook rice dishes in the open air while they discussed the current political landscape. They met at the building that now houses Barcelona’s Museu Etnològic (Ethnology Museum).
The upper part of the gardens once belonged to the estate of respected lawyer and journalist Josep Laribal, who was also the co-director of the left-leaning, independent and often satirical newspaper, El Diluvio.
The Barcelona City Council acquired the space in the year 1908, and established the Escola del Bosc (School of the Forest), a school with a student-centric curriculum that was considered to be pedagogically advanced for that era. The outdoor classroom was led by Rosa Sensat, a teacher who was known for having contributed greatly to the shape of the Catalan education system during the first part of the 20th century.
"La noia de la trena" (“The Girl with the Braid,” 1928) by Josep Viladomat in Jardins de Laribal. Photo by Txllxt TxllxT (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Wikimedia Commons.
Design and Art
The gardens’ designers were influenced by traditional Arabic gardens and the Hispano-Arabic cármenes—gorgeous, airy villas with a central patio—of the old city of Granada. Like both of these types of spaces, the Jardins de Laribal are ornamented by mosaic tiles, ceramic pots filled with flowers on railings, ledges and walls, hanging vines, climbing trellises and decorative fountains and waterfalls.
The most famous staircase in the gardens was also inspired by Granada, or more specifically, by the summer palace of its ancient Nasrid rulers, the Generalife. These stairs feature ponds, a waterfall spilling from the railing and stone benches, and connect the Jardins de Laribal to the Teatre Grec. The gardens include a number of stairs, as the entire space is actually a composite of stacked terraces linked by shaded paths and hidden shortcuts; these are decorated by cascading fountains, pillars, pergolas and sculptures. Some of the most notable of these works of art include La noia de la trena (“The girl with the braid,” 1928) a bronze female nude by Josep Viladomat; a marble female nude titled Estival (“Summertime,” 1929) by Jaume Otero; Repòs (“Rest,” 1925), is a life-size female nude carved from stone. This last sculpture is situated in a small square close to the entrance next to the Fundació Joan Miró.
The gardens are also home to several famous fountains, including the Fuente del Sátiro (“Satyr’s Fountain”) on the Paseo de Santa Madrona, and a colorful ceramic fountain by Llorens Artigas. The fountains, pools, waterfalls and canals are an integral part of the gardens’ tranquil atmosphere; the types of gardens and patios they were modeled after all incorporate water as a central theme.
The highest point in the gardens is marked by the Font del Gat—“Cat Fountain,” featuring a spout in the shape of a cat’s head—which was once a meeting place for some of Barcelona’s most important popular social events. It sits next to the building that was once Josep Laribal’s primary residence; today, it has been converted into a restaurant offering Catalan cuisine.
Jardins de Laribal, photo by Jorge Franganillo (CC BY 3.0) via Wikimedia Commons.
Flora and Fauna
The vegetation that the two designers planted in the gardens incorporated pre-existing species, such as fruit trees from the old Montjuïc orchards, as well as other Mediterranean plants, including cypress, Aleppo pine, stone pine, fig, palm, bitter orange, acacia, laurel, oleander, sweet bay, eucalyptus, cedar and plane trees. The three massive plane trees in the Plaça del Claustre were already growing there when the gardens were being built; Forestier decided to leave them in place, and build around them.
Close to the center of the gardens is a circle of cypress trees that marks the beginning of a path, which leads to an oval-shaped courtyard that is also encircled by cypresses. This is the garden’s famous Colla de l’Aròs rose garden, where old varieties of roses are planted in rectangular beds around a rectangular pool, and shaded by the tall trees. Lavender, rosemary, wisteria, climbing ivy and Japanese spindle are some of the other plant species that populate the gardens, as do butterflies and any number of small birds.
Visit the Gardens
The Jardins de Laribal are located at Passeig de Santa Madron, 2, in the neighborhood of el Poble-sec, just behind the Fundació de Joan Miró. They are open to the public every day of the week, free of charge, 10:00 to 21:00 from April 1st to October 31st and 10:00 to 19:00 from November 1st to March 31st. You can reach the gardens by taking the Line 3 metro to the Paral·lel stop, or via various bus lines.