The palace of a collector in the neighbourhood of El Putxet
Visit to Manuel Rocamora's house.
We warn you already that, in this house, you could possibly stay to live. And not only because it has a garden as spectacular as the one you see in the photograph, but also because it houses a whole range of collections that would keep you entertained for a lifetime. On 30 March (and on 6, 13, 20 and 27 April, among many other dates) Casa Rocamora opens for visits. Buy your ticket if you want to come.
The visit is organised by Cases Singulars, an organisation dedicated to making accessible to visitors, by paying an entrance fee, some of the city's buildings that are sometimes better known and sometimes more secret, but which always constitute an architectural surprise.
This time, the surprise comes in the form of a palace from the second half of the 19th century, on the border between the Putxet and Farró neighbourhoods. Manuel Rocamora lived there from 1892 to 1976, the son of Marcos Rocamora, an industrialist dedicated to the manufacture of candles and soaps. His mother, Ana Vidal, was a restless and culture-loving woman who took her four children to museums and introduced them to the world of collecting.
Manuel Rocamora studied Fine Arts at the Llotja de Barcelona and had many friends who were artists, but like his mother, he soon devoted himself to collecting. Every year Ana Vidal kept one of the haute couture models she bought in a box. This allowed her to build up a collection which, inherited and completed by Manel Rocamora, was eventually ceded to the city and became the origin of the Textile Museum, now part of the DHub.
In addition to these collections, Rocamora also brought in many others: of ceramics, of cardboard, of fans signed by the personalities of the moment...
All these works, as well as some impressive paintings, such as a painting by Rusiñol that occupies a whole wall or almost a whole wall, can be seen in this house.
Do you know the work of Ismael Smith? He is an artist who was a close friend of Manel Rocamora, which is why the house also has a very interesting collection of bookplates created by the sculptor, engraver and drawer.
If you want to get to know the delightful house of a collector located in the Putxet neighbourhood, come and see Casa Rocamora, but first check the Cases Singulars website for all the information on visits.