When Sant Cugat del Vallès took advantage of Igualada

"They took us for fools when we opened the studio in the Rec neighborhood," says Lluís Jubert, a graphic designer from Igualada who, in the late 1990s, with the painter Ramon Enrich, acquired and renovated the old Cal Segall tannery, one of the oldest in Igualada, to set up the office. Now it's a coworking space (as they call it). coworking), Rec. Spaces. "Many of the tanneries and industrial buildings had been empty for years. There were, for example, some operating tanneries," Lluís tells me. We are in the basement of Cal Segall, where the hides were treated. The space retains its original vaulted structure. We are at a lower level than the irrigation ditch: this is how the water from this open-air canal that runs right next to it could reach.

"The neighborhood is five minutes from the city center, but we Igualada residents didn't come down," he explains. "Several professionals have settled in the Rec neighborhood in recent years. Currently, there are about fifty of us. But there are still empty buildings. Some things have been moved, but it's still a neighborhood with limited uses [currently, only industrial uses are allowed] and opportunities. We would like a vibrant neighborhood. It takes courage on the part of the politicians, and so does January."

Right next to Cal Segall is Cal Miret. I look out from the truck exit of this active tannery and see two workers, wearing gloves and a long apron that covers their feet. They are handling hides that will end up at Louis Vuitton. Next, I take a tour of a section of the irrigation ditch with Glòria Escala, director of the Igualada Leather Museum.

Today the irrigation ditch is dry. It only fills with water on rare occasions, when the river flow allows. The irrigation ditch is no longer used.

"Look, a pastry shop," Gloria points out. It's a word I didn't know. It's an essential element of the ditch: a round hole located at the lowest part of the ditch wall that allows water to enter the tannery. Other architectural elements we see are the buttresses attached to the tanneries' facades, with an arch at the bottom, through which the water from the ditch passes, and the lattices, a framework of tiles or bricks laid edge-on to form triangular holes (they let air through the rays, depriving the rays of light, and altering the color).

"Tanning has been documented in Igualada since the 13th century. It was a manual craft carried out in small workshops, initially in the city, within the walls, until it took off in the 18th century. The stench and the movement of goods annoyed the locals, and in the 18th century, the tanners ended up becoming a basic element for fertilizing and washing hides," says the active director of the Igualada Leather Museum, who is always up to date. She now intends to renovate the dilapidated blood wheel next to the museum. "We've asked for a grant to get it running again," she tells me. Let's see if it comes.

Then Glòria stops for a moment to tell me: "You know that the name Igualada has the word water incorporated? Igualada comes fromcanned water, which means "where the river widens." Indeed, here the Anoia River runs through a large plain, the Òdena basin, surrounded by ancient castles. This plain has allowed for the development of an airfield, built during the Civil War, and the practice of gliding.

When it was artisanal, the tanning activity It was complementary to the work in the fields. It was done mainly by farmers in winter, when they restedThere were days when they had to break the ice in the irrigation ditch. Lime and plant products, such as pine bark and roldor leaves, which provided the tannin, were used to fertilize the skin, along with, of course, plenty of water.

Some of the key moments in the tanning industry were the introduction of the drum (thanks to which the leather went from taking a year to three months to pay for) and the First World War (the Igualada tanners made money: they sold leather for boots, leather goods for soldiers, and for their workshops). Probably the other great moment for the Igualada tanners was when, at the beginning of the 21st century, they decided to make quality leather. They now supply leather goods to major luxury brands.

We arrived at the Abbey Mill, a rather abandoned building. The irrigation ditch was built in the 12th century to operate this flour mill, where the water reached a rapids. The irrigation ditch ended at the pond of this mill, which no longer exists today.

In the Middle Ages, the monastery of Sant Cugat del Vallès owned the entire estate of the Anoia irrigation ditch and mills. The lord of Montbui claimed half of the mills' tithes, since the water used came from the Anoia River, half of which was his domain. The monastery of Sant Cugat won the lawsuit. For many years, the monastery of Sant Cugat and the king shared ownership.

The irrigation ditch was dug where the ducks used to nest—and where they still do—because it was known that the water wouldn't reach it even if the river rose. And yet there were more than a few scares.

On a wall of the mill, which has a variety of stones that show it has been rebuilt many times, I read: "Here came the riverbank on August 24, 1842, when Joan Soler was the miller."