2nd Modernista Fair 2006 with 3rd Street Trade Festival

The second edition of our Fair will this year, 2006, be held in the same location as last year’s edition, in Carrer Girona between València and Mallorca, where visitors will find stands from various organisations related to Modernisme.

One will feature the Modernisme Route of Barcelona City Council’s Municipal Institute of Urban Landscape (IMPU), the organisers of the Fair, displaying all their Modernista publications. Newcomers this year include Casa Batlló, one of Antoni Gaudí’s most emblematic works; Casa Asia, whose headquarters are housed in a Modernista building, Palau Baró de Quadras, designed by Josep Puig i Cadafalch; Barcelona Provincial Council, promoting Modernisme outside the city with its “9 Modernista Routes near Barcelona” campaign, representing 13 municipalities with a Modernista heritage; Cemeteries of Barcelona Funeral Services and its Cemeteries Route, where you can discover pantheons and sculptures by renowned authors, authentic Modernista works of art; Zoology Museum of the Institute of Culture’s Museum of Natural Sciences, housed in the Castell dels Tres Dragons (Castle of the Three Dragons), designed by Lluís Domènech i Montaner as a restaurant for the 1888 Universal Exposition, and a visit by the people in charge of the Comillas Modernisme Route in Cantabria.

The Fair’s magazine, which Coreixample and the IMPU will be distributing to Eixample shops and tourist information offices, will contain an article by the journalist Lluís Permanyer about the neighbourhood where he lives, and another by the IMPU about the Barcelona Modernisme Route.

You will also be able to enjoy two cultural itineraries on Thursday and Friday: “The architectural route 1860-1920” and “Arts and crafts”. And a talk by Dolors Junyent, president of the Catalan Association of Art Galleries, will be given at Hotel Habana on Friday entitled “The Eixample and the art world”. Several caricaturists will be present throughout the three days of the Fair to draw some of the people attending.

Another novelty this year is the visit from the Genoveva, a 1920s fire engine from the city’s Fire Prevention, Extinction and Rescue Service, to be parked on the corner of Girona and València. There will always be a fireman on hand to explain the history and mechanics of the car to visitors, and children will be able to hop aboard and ring its bell, not to warn of a fire but to remember how these vehicles worked during the Modernista period.

So head out onto the streets and enjoy the celebrations of the Modernista Fair!