With just one light bulb, how do you light up the whole house?

One of the things that most catches my attention about the Ter, the longest river in the so-called inland basins, is its sudden change of course relative to the Vic plain. A little above Vic, it abandons the north-south direction it has had since its source in Ulldeter and instead takes on a west-east direction. It seems as though it should flow into Barcelona, or the metropolitan area, but instead it ends up in the Empordà! Water has its secrets. Thanks to this change of direction, several Girona regions enjoy the Ter. And, of course, they take advantage of it.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Vilanna and Bescanó diverted the waters of the Ter River through a canal to power hydroelectric plants, each of which is well worth a visit. The Vilanna hydroelectric plant (1905) is simpler (it was supposed to have many more architectural elements, but the budget—as always—didn't allow it). It's a precursor and more simplified version of the Bescanó hydroelectric plant (1916). Both are still in operation, and they feature the original "Planas Flaquer" turbines.

The plans for the Bescanó and Vilanna power plants are unsigned. However, it is known that the architect was Joan Roca i Pinet, who reflected a clear modernist style in both buildings.

These twin plants have the same three-story structure: the underground or lower level houses the waterfall and turbines; the ground floor houses the generators, the power production control panels, the canal's sluice gate and sluice system, and the office; and the upper floor is—and used to be; now everything is done remotely—housed by the small home of the plant manager and his family.

The interior of the Bescanó plant has all the elements of a hydroelectric power plant, although it is of modest size. The most unusual features are found on the outside. These are curious sculptures of plant and animal motifs, made of concrete, brick, and ceramic (the animal ones are about the height of a person). The figures decorate the waterfall of the spillway channel and also a stream called Ses Valls (or Ses Valls de los Caballos).

I have a hard time saying what the beasts are. Lluís Solé, from Bescanó, who's with me, is "identifying" them for me, but it must be said that he's not sure about some of them. I'm even less so. He says there are dragons, proto-dinosaurs... He also sees a basilisk, a frog, a lizard, or a salamander... I'd say some of the beasts are a mix of these.

"At the beginning of the 20th century, these beasts were a scientific novelty, and they should have fascinated the modernist architect," says Lluís Solé, who is passionate about things from the past... and not so much about some of the present (it was hard to find him: he resisted having a mobile phone until a year ago).

"All these figures were made with reinforced concrete; it's said that the same bricklayers on the construction site made them with leftover cement; they used it, and they were very creative!" Lluís Solé tells me. As a child, he used to come and contemplate this terrifying depths filled with ferocious monsters by the foaming water. Over the years, he has thoroughly explored the history of the power plant that houses them.

"Both the Vilanna and Bescanó power plants were the initiative of the "Count" Berenguer," Lluís tells me. He brought me a book that gives details about who the "Count" Berenguer was. They are the memoirs of Miquel de Palol ("Girona and I"), a poet, playwright, and short story writer who worked for the "Count" for many years: "Reluctantly heeding the traditional advice of his people, packaged in the style of that Terrassa nobility who considered any industrial or bourgeois business degrading, he had launched himself, with his youth, with his soul, with his youth, without knowledge or desire to make money." He says he was fascinated by everything modern, like the automobile and electricity. The early 20th century was a key period of expansion for these two elements of progress.

We end up taking a walk along the path that runs alongside the river as dusk falls, watching the trees reflected with photographic perfection in the calm waters. Lluís tells me details about the lineage of "Count" Ramon de Berenguer. They were rural landowners who held a papal noble title, granted by the Pope, and who had become related to the Marchioness of Garcillán, a member of the "new minor Spanish nobility."

"Did you know that the "Count" himself went from house to house asking if they needed electricity and wanted to connect it? He had to make the business profitable!" Lluís tells me. "Besides, there was already competition. The people of Bescanó contracted electricity from the "Count" or the Bonmatís." "The most austere houses had only one light bulb. Even if they had different floors. If the kitchen-dining room was downstairs and the bedrooms were upstairs, no problem: they would pull the light bulb's wire through a hole in the ceiling, and they could turn it on wherever they lived. And they didn't need a switch: they could loosen the bulb by moving its screw!