Daughter and father, what a story!

BarcelonaWe are in the Roman wall tower of the Palau Requesens, home to the Royal Academy of Belles Lettres. Eulàlia Duran, a sprightly 91 years old, feels almost like she's coming home. As a child, she lived in another Roman tower in Barcelona, ​​the one belonging to the Casa del Ardiaca. She is the daughter of Agustí Duran Sanpere (1887-1975), the man who reinvented the history of Barcelona and created both the city's archives and museum. Tonight—Thursday evening—he is being honored, somewhat belatedly, on the 50th anniversary of his death. In Barcelona, ​​Duran i Sanpere lends his name to a small passage in the Raval district, where the newspaper ARA is now located. A happy coincidence: with the establishment of the Ardiaca's newspaper archive, Duran i Sanpere did much to preserve the memory of the press. We newspapers have a duty to him. The city does too. Duran i Sanpere, who had preserved Catalan culture from the capital during Primo de Rivera's dictatorship, who had lived with enthusiasm and ambition during the Republican years at the helm of Barcelona's institutions, and who, stubbornly and skillfully, had maintained their continuity during the Franco regime, albeit for a few months. He did, however, witness with deep satisfaction the emergence of one of his daughters, young Eulalia, as a great historian, a true pioneer among women in times still dominated by patriarchal historiography. Eulalia Duran maintains an easy smile and enviable lucidity. Translator of Pierre Vilar, disciple of Jaume Vicens Vives –along with her friends Josep Fontana, Jordi Nadal, and Emili Giralt–, compiler of the work of Miquel Batllori, friend of Joan Fuster, professor to an entire generation of philologists and historians, her work in cultural history has made a decisive contribution to the (16th-18th centuries).

She knows the Academy of Belles Lettres well. Her father certainly saved and promoted it (and presided over it) in difficult times, and she joined with all the merits in 1987 (in 1991 she joined the Institut d'Estudis Catalans). Peaceful and wise, this Thursday evening she returns to the Palau Requesens surrounded by friends and memories. Fortunately, there are still things for her to discover: tonight, the president of the institution, Borja de Riquer; The head of collections at the City History Museum, Ramon Pujades, and his disciple, historian Josep Solervicens, will shed light on some previously unknown and turbulent details of the professional and academic life of his father, a true one-man band.

In 1917, at the age of 30, Duran i Sanpere arrived in Barcelona to work as an archivist. His goal: to construct "historical narratives" using all available sources (papers and parchments, archaeological remains, newspapers, sound recordings, objects) and perspectives (history, archaeology, anthropology, philology, etc.). He had many projects and great drive. The former Casa del Ardiaca, acquired by the city, became the center of his project. But the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera stood in his way. He stood firm and persevered. And in 1929, with the International Exposition, he succeeded in having the Barcelona Pavilion built as a precursor to the future history museum.

With the Republican City Council and Generalitat, the momentum resumes. Councilor Joaquim Ventalló (who in the coming years will be the BBC's Catalan commentator and translator) TintinHe is an ally in turning Casa Padellàs into a museum, but the outbreak of war again disrupts everything. At that time, uncontrolled elements storm the Santa Clara convent in Plaça del Rei, allowing him and the architect Adolf Florensa to discover the old Saló del Tinell, which will eventually become part of the museum complex. With the establishment of the dictatorship, another councilor, the former League member and Catholic Tomàs Carreras i Artau, becomes his political backer. Meanwhile, he continues his academic career. By 1924, he is a full member, and with the advent of the Republic, he takes the reins. He appointed the prestigious Eduard Toda as president and defined a program to save and modernize the institution: to detach it from political life (during the previous dictatorship there had been the controversial expulsion of Valls and Taberner, then for being too Catalanist; over the years it would undergo a radical change with the famous article of 1939 a The Vanguard Regarding the "false path" of Catalanism), he planned to renovate the building, create a library, ensure its economic viability (through agreements with various administrations), and accept Fabrian Catalan, a crucial point for consolidating linguistic unity. At that time, he had the external support of two ministerial friends (Lluís Nicolau de Olwer and Marcel·lí Domingo), a councilor friend (Ventura Gassol), and three members of the Parliament of Catalonia: the aforementioned Valls and Taberner and Carreras Artau, both from the League, and Serra Húnter, from ERC. Duran i Sanpere became a pillar of the Academy of Fine Arts, ensuring its continuity during the Franco regime through various positions, and presiding over it from 1960 to 1963, the year of the snowstorms that ultimately destroyed the building. He remained involved and active until the very end. Months after his death, in June 1975, a posthumous tribute was held in his honor during Martí de Riquer's presidency. And now, five decades later, under the presidency of Borja de Riquer (another family with a long history of erudition), he has been honored once again: him and, with him, Eulalia. Very deservedly. Father and daughter. Daughter and father. What a story!