As if it were the work of some kind of divine law or universal order, the great geniuses of many disciplines are often accompanied by tragic stories. Mossèn Jacint Verdaguer, one of the most talented and influential poets in Catalan literature, is another example of this “natural law”: he died at the age of just 57 from tuberculosis and was questioned by the Church for his exorcism practices.
Despite his success, the writer ended up bankrupt and was taken in by friends to save him from dying on the streets. He spent his last 24 days at Vil·la Joana, a massive 18th-century neoclassical farmhouse located in what is now the Vallvidrera neighborhood, surrounded by the natural beauty of Collserola Park.
Verdaguer arrived at this residential tower thanks to Ramon Miralles, the former mayor of Sarrià and owner of the mansion. Miralles, a personal friend of the writer, invited him to his residence to breathe the clean mountain air as a therapeutic measure. Three and a half weeks later, the leading figure of the Catalan Renaixença passed away, and a funeral was held that drew nearly 300,000 people (in a city of about 500,000 inhabitants).
From a bourgeois mansion to a public school
After the poet’s death, the estate continued to serve as its owner’s summer retreat (he named it Vil·la Joana in honor of his wife) until the mayor’s death in 1909. His children preserved the room where Mossèn Cinto died and sold the house to the Barcelona City Council eleven years later, in 1920.
Since then, and for more than 50 years, the building served as a public school and a special education center for the deaf and mute. Beginning in 1963, it was also used as a house-museum, part of the Museu d’Història de Barcelona, and ten years later it began to be dedicated exclusively to this purpose.
In 2014, the building closed for three years and underwent a comprehensive renovation with a budget of more than 5 million euros. It reopened as it is today, the MUHBA Vil·la Joana, restoring its historic architecture and incorporating an exhibition about the poet.
Vil·la Joana today: a museum surrounded by nature
Today, you can visit it for €2.10 (or for free on the first Sunday of every month), and inside you can tour three rooms that have been preserved exactly as they were when Verdaguer died: the bedroom (with the original bed), the private chapel where he celebrated Mass, and his study with his desk and numerous personal belongings.
In addition, the exhibition traces Verdaguer’s life, explains his work, and connects his legacy to Barcelona’s cultural transformation through manuscripts, original books, and historical documents from the period that have been preserved to this day.
Its location, in the heart of the Collserola Natural Park and surrounded by historic gardens and forest trails, makes it an ideal destination for a weekend getaway to enjoy nature and culture.
