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The Blue Tower is an old fort located on the beach of Ribes Roges in Vilanova i la Geltrú, on the Garraf coast. Built during the third Carlist war, in the last third of the 19th century, it was rebuilt and is currently an artistic space. It has been considered a Cultural Property of National Interest since 1949.
In the year 2000, it was the artist Josep Guinovart (1927-2007) who turned the old watchtower on the promenade into a space to pay homage to the Mediterranean Sea and its people. In fact, the painter had already created a similar installation dedicated to the land a few years earlier in the town of Agramunt.
On the first floor, Guinovart reinterprets the legends of pirates and shipwrecks, whose setting is the region and the Garraf cliffs, and other facts that have survived to this day thanks to popular memory.
The second floor is presided over by a rope structure from which a set of fishing knots hang, a symbol of the effort and hard work of fishermen and sailors.
The third floor is dedicated to some of the artists who have been inspired by the sea. Names of universal painters, musicians and writers such as Dalí, Matisse and Picasso mix with those of other local artists linked to the city such as Manuel de Cabanyes and Armand Cardona.
Finally, a spiral staircase gives access to the roof terrace. A ship-shaped weather vane with engravings of marine constellations crowns the Torre Blava, from where Guinovart invites visitors to enjoy the sea, the promenade and the Vilanova lighthouse.
