Barcelona City Council has activated the plan to convert the historic property on Carrer Muntaner into a multipurpose cultural center. The Government Commission has given initial approval to a project that will open Julio Muñoz Ramonet’s controversial legacy to the public almost 40 years after his death.
The project will require a total investment of €7.5 million. The budget will cover the complete renovation of the main residence and the Avenir tower. Work on the latter structure will begin next September and continue until 2027.
An artistic treasure in Sant Gervasi
Source: Julio Muñoz Ramonet Foundation
The future center will not function as a conventional museum. The Muñoz Ramonet Foundation defines it as a “mixed and flexible” space that will combine art exhibitions with venues for cultural entities. The art gallery will display a selection of 268 pieces, including paintings by Goya, El Greco, Fortuny, and Titian.
The original collection comprised more than a thousand works, although legal disputes with the industrialist’s heirs are making it difficult to recover the entire collection. In fact, technical reports confirm that 77 valuable paintings are still missing.
The refuge of the post-war bourgeoisie
The renovation will keep the noble rooms on the ground floor intact. Visitors will be able to tour the dining room, music room, and hall, which serve as a unique testimony to Barcelona’s high society in the 1940s. These spaces reflect the power of a social class that forged its fortune during the dictatorship.
The buildings are in excellent condition, so the renovation will be respectful of Enric Sagnier’s architecture. Workers will repair isolated damp patches and cracks, as well as updating the air conditioning and electrical systems to comply with visitor regulations.
Meanwhile, the Avenir tower will become the official headquarters of the Acadèmia del Cinema Català. The cost of adapting this specific building will amount to €2.8 million. The city council and the Catalan government will each contribute €1 million, while the magnate’s foundation will cover the remaining €800,000.
According to the updated schedule, work will formally begin in September and continue until 2027, while the pending legal agreements are finalized to ensure the stable exhibition of the Julio Muñoz Ramonet Foundation’s collection.
The bulk of the renovation of the mansion will be carried out during the next municipal term, with the aim of inaugurating the final complex between 2027 and 2031, with a hybrid model that will combine an art gallery, cultural programming, and spaces for entities in the sector.Until then, citizens will be able to continue enjoying the garden, which has been free to access for a decade.
With this, Barcelona will add another mansion open to the public that hides secrets, such as the Palau de les Heures (and its LLuís Companys bunker) or the Casa Gralla, the unknown palace in Portaferrissa that became a giant second-hand market.