Notable figures
Joan Vinyoli
Joan Vinyoli (Barcelona, 1914 - 1984) was a Catalan poet who spent his summers while growing up in Santa Coloma de Farners.
The poet was born and died in Barcelona but the summers he spent in Santa Coloma de Farners are reflected through all of his work because for him those summers were days of freedom in which he could enjoy the natural surroundings of the town.
Some of the places in Santa Coloma de Farners related to Vinyoli are:
- Park of Sant Salvador: This park is where Vinyoli liked to spend his time and stroll during his summers in Santa Coloma de Farners. It is the place where he found inspiration for writing his poems.
- You can also enjoy this park and do the Vinyoli itinerary while reading his poems (you can find a brochure to do this itinerary on the Tourist Office or you can click here to download it, although the poems are only written in Catalan)
- Library Joan Vinyoli: It is the current public library of Santa Coloma de Farners.
- Space Joan Vinyoli: In la Casa de la Paraula there is a permanent exhibition in homage to the poet. This space will allow you to discover several elements of his poetic universe like cork, the tennis racket, his cock collection… You will also find the original furniture of his office, a book selection of his personal library as well as the first editions of some of his books.
You can find more information on the following link: joanvinyoli.cat
Salvador Espriu
Salvador Espriu (Santa Coloma de Farners, 1913- Barcelona, 1985) was a catalan poet, playwright and novelist.
He was born in Santa Coloma de Farners but shortly after his birth, his family relocated to Barcelona because of his fathers work, who was a notary. During his childhood he spent his time between Barcelona and Arenys de Mar where his family was originally from. Arenys became an essential element of his literary universe which in his work he dubs as Sinera.
During his life he received many awards like the Premi d’Honor de les Lletres Catalanes or the Premi Lletra d’Or. He was a candidate for the literature Nobel Prizes on two different occasions, and he also received the Medalla d’Or de la Generalitat de Catalunya.
Some of the places in Santa Coloma de Farners related to Espriu are:
- Monument in homage to Salvador Espriu: Sculpture in homage to Espriu, located on the Farners square, in front of the town's church. It was inaugurated in 1986, and it is the work of the sculptor Josep M. Subirachs. It is made out of travertine stone, and it represents a figure of geometric forms, sitting and writing with a concentration attitude.
- Park of Sant Salvador: It is one of the most well known spaces of Salvador Espriu’s life in Santa Coloma de Farners. It is a shadowy and humid space next to which passes the stream of Santa Coloma. Espriu used to describe it like this: “Park of Sant Salvador: logs and branches of naked trees entwine on top of a thick rug of dry leaves with a shade of splendid colors. Autumn must be going along and soon wind will twirl and scatter the litterfall. Today everything stays still, motionless. If trees are going to tell each other the secrets of their mysterious and wonderful lives, it is best if we keep quiet.”
- Birthplace: Santa Coloma de Farners is where Salvador Espriu was born and the town has since declared him illustrious son in recognition to his work. On the house where he was born, located on the number 38 of the Mossèn Jacint Verdaguer street, you can find a commemorative plaque.
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Josep Beulas
Josep Beulas (Santa Coloma de Farners, 1921 - Osca, 2017) was a landscape painter with a really dynamic work which evolved a lot during his artistic career. His work was characterized by desolated sceneries that evolved on to the point of being almost abstract. The fact that he was born in Santa Coloma de Farners meant that his first contact with nature was with the lush forests in the mountains surrounding the town.
While he was doing his military service he was stationed to Huesca where he fell in love with the landscapes of Aragon as well as with his future wife. Even though he didn’t relocate to Huesca permanently until the late 1960s, his work was heavily influenced by the arid landscapes of the Aragon region since then.
Despite the fact that he never lived in Santa Coloma de Farners again, he never forgot his hometown and he returned almost every year. During his trips back to Santa Coloma he gifted several of his works to the local government.
Francesc “Panxo” Fontdevila i Jofré
Francesc “Panxo” Fontdevila (1837-1913) was born in a humble family in Santa Coloma de Farners, and it is one of the most peculiar characters of the towns recent history. He was a shepherd until he emigrated to Cuba from where he returned as an Indiano, but he quickly ran out of the fortune he had made. Because of this he decided to join Ramon Rosquelles, the son of Francesc Rosquelles, the author of some of the oldest ratafia recipes that have been found until now, to run a café casino at the Farners square. Nowadays there is still a restaurant called Restaurant Panxo in the same place.
After having been a member of the local government, he decided to devote himself to the commercialization of his miraculous ointment, the Pomada Panxo. Which he claimed that could cure almost everything, injuries, bruises, burns, eczemas... During this time he used to go to different markets with his white horse and a parrot on his shoulder in order to make demonstrations of the effectiveness of his ointment in animals that were alive.
Josep Martí Sabé
Josep Martí Sabé (Santa Coloma de Farners 1915-2016) was a catalan sculptor and painter who studied in Barcelona and who worked for 8 years on the workshop of the sculptor Enric Monjo.
He exhibited his work in over a hundred exhibitions in both Spain and abroad. He also received multiple distinctions like the honor diploma of the International Exhibition of Religious Art in Rome or the medal of honor of the Diputació de Girona.
Sabé worked specially with plaster, terracotta, stone and iron. His art style was a really simplified figurativism that sought pure forms. His work is very extensive, and he gifted his hometown with several of his sculptures. In fact if you walk around the center of Santa Coloma de Farners you will find many of his pieces:
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The monument on the roundabout in the town entrance.
Saint Sebastia’s statue inside the church with the same name.
The sculpture of an angel on top of the entrance of the Joan Vinyoli library.
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The relief in the entrance of the bank La Caixa.
The sculpture La simbologia located in front of the town hall.
The commemorative plaque located in front of Salvador Espriu’s house (on the 38th of the Mossèn Jacint Verdaguer street).
The monument in homage to La Sardana (a traditional dance) located on the passeig de Sant Salvador.
You can find more information on the following link: https://www.martisabe.com/
The relief in honor of Saint Dalmau Moner which we can find next to the font Picant
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