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Continuing the walks following the old route of the Via Augusta, when passing through the Baix Penedès region we find this spectacular building, which can be seen from afar, as it is located in a place without buildings next to it: the Giralda de l’Arboç.
This entire complex, the protagonist in La Vanguardia’s Readers’ Photos, is surrounded by a huge natural park closed by a stone fence.
A resident of Arboç, Joan Roquer i Marí, took his wife on a wedding trip through Andalusia. They returned to Catalonia excited by the Arab architecture. They lived in Barcelona, ??from where they ran the family businesses, but they decided to make a summer residence where they could mimetically reproduce the elements that most surprised them about Andalusian Arab architecture.
This is one of the best replicas of the Giralda and, now, one of the best preserved in the world. The Giralda de l’Arboç tower is the most faithful to the original of all the reproductions in the world, although there are some differences. The main one is that the Sevillian measures 94.5 meters and the replica stands 52 meters. The work was completed in 1908, it was directed by Roquer himself and executed by Feliu, Arboçenc master builder.
In the complex there is also a replica of the Court of the Lions of the Alhambra in Granada and the Hall of Ambassadors of the Alcázar of Seville.
Regarding the decoration of the building, horseshoe arches, lobed arches and arabesques predominate. All the decorative elements, as well as the materials used, faithfully follow the original models, based on photographs taken during the trip to Andalusia.
Unfortunately, at the time of taking these photographs, we were not able to visit it inside, as it appears to be under renovation, but we hope that it can be visited again soon. Meanwhile, we can take a walk through the town of l’Arboç, which also contains very beautiful buildings, such as the Palau Gener i Batet or Cal Marquet.
