Thanks to volcanoes, vegetables can be kept fresher. Yes, those that make it possible are the vents, small openings between volcanic rocks through which a slight current of air at around 12°C flows all year round, but with more force during the summer. The farmhouses, and the farmers who worked all day in the garden, used the vents as cool storage.

"How has the Catalan character influenced the country's architecture?", asks architect Joan Roig in front of a good twenty subscribers of ARA, members of the Club Prèmium, at the entrance of the exhibition "Seny i rauxa. Notícia de l’arquitectura catalana" (Sense and passion. News of Catalan architecture), which takes place at Disseny Hub Barcelona until the beginning of September. It is precisely the dichotomy "seny i rauxa" (sense and passion), prudence and passion, that defines Catalans, which also defines Catalan architecture, in the opinion of Joan Roig, curator of the exhibition, together with Victòria Garriga and Carme Ribas."Seny i rauxa. Notícia de l’arquitectura catalana" reviews the last 150 years of Catalan architecture, since the founding of the School of Architecture until today, through a wide variety of pieces, both architectural material – sketches, plans, models and photographs – and artistic and design works – paintings, sculptures and furniture – with an innovative approach that links the artistic and architectural legacy with expressive movements and social dynamics. All of this is not exhibited chronologically or by style. And what order does it have? Go see it! In addition, one of the attractions is that there is a lot of "unpublished" material, which was kept and is very difficult to show.

"In the sixties, when I was a child, I lived in a house located in the lower part of Mataró, very close to the sea. I really liked going to the beach after storms. There was everything: logs, small rounded pieces of colored glass... and shells and small snails. I used to collect shells and snails," explains Alfons Palau. "When I spent a few days in Galicia, I took the opportunity to go to the beaches and collect sand brought by the waves, which contained many small snails. Since it took time to find them, I decided to take that sand from the Atlantic home, to the Mediterranean, and thus observe it calmly and sort out snails and shells. I could spend months observing a bag of sand. I did it with a binocular magnifying glass, and the result was very effective." The collection is composed of approximately 93,000 items. They are saltwater snails and shells, freshwater (from rivers, lakes, and ponds), land snails, and fossil snails and shells. "When we had covid-19, I took advantage of the confinement to review and inventory the entire collection," she recalls.Alfons decided to donate the collection to a museum, as no one in the family intended to continue it. He didn't want it to be lost. "I looked for natural science museums nearby and found the one in Granollers. They came to see the collection and confirmed that they would keep it. They took it away recently." It is now at the Granollers Museum of Natural Sciences, well documented: for each piece, its name, the family it belongs to, the place where it was found, and the date are written.

After the pandemic, there has been a lot of "desire for nature," of going on excursions (which is why there are more rescues than ever) and a boom in searching for fossils, as if they were mushrooms. But there is a state law – from 1985 – that establishes that fossils cannot be taken from nature without permission from the administration.There are fossils that are very valuable. Most of them. "How can you know their value?", I ask Àngel Lujàn, head of the Museum of the Miquel Crusafont Catalan Institute of Paleontology. "It is not easy at all if you are not an expert. If you find one, you must report it immediately. As if it were a fire". You must note its location. And report it to the ICP Museum (Catalan Institute of Paleontology), which has gathered thousands and thousands of them for many years. They arrive in many ways: through accidental discoveries, through paleontological interventions related to research (mostly) or preventive ones (to a lesser extent) related to excavations. "If outdoor works are carried out on land where there may be fossils, they must notify us," he tells me. "And do they?" "Almost always. They have the obligation to do so!", remarks Josep Maria Robles, head of the Collections Management Area of the ICP Museum.We are at the ICP Museum, named after Miquel Crusafont, the father of the Catalan school of vertebrate paleontology. Crusafont founded the Provincial Institute of Paleontology, where he worked until his death. He was a hard worker – and a heavy smoker (sometimes he would fall asleep with his cigarette lit and leave a burn mark on the sheets), which affected his health and cost him his life–. He enjoyed searching for fossils, not to collect them, but for collective research, in Catalonia and beyond (he took part in paleontological expeditions in Tunisia and Morocco). Fossils also reached him thanks to friendships. For example, on one occasion a shepherd picked up a stone to throw it to guide the flock, but he realized that it was not like the others, but rather a fossilized jawbone. He kept it and later it ended up in Crusafont's hands. It turned out to be of great interest: it was the jawbone of a primate.The museum, located in the heart of Sabadell, is very educational: there are well-made panels with explanations of aspects of paleontology and some interactive element. But it has few "real" pieces on display. I notice a photograph of a titanosaur dinosaur. "Here, in Catalonia, there has been a lot of tectonic movement. That's why dinosaur fossils are not whole at all, unlike in the United States," comments Àngel. "Besides, in general, the dinosaurs here are smaller."We go down to the basement, where the storage rooms are, and enter a T room (for Typotheca). It is the space designated for preserving type fossils, that is, specimens used to define new species. There are fossils from all parts of the vertebrate skeleton. The teeth are especially important. They tell us a lot about the animal. I visit next, by car, the headquarters of the ICP Museum, the Miquel Crusafont Catalan Institute of Paleontology, at the UAB Campus. David M. Alba, the director, receives me. And he introduces me to several researchers. One of them, Isaac Casanovas-Vilar. So he opens the door to his workspace and offers me a wide smile, I notice some bags behind the door, on the floor. "They are full of sediment, and mixed in the sediment are rodent fossils, which I will sort out with a sieve," comments Isaac, for whom rodents have a special attraction because they evolve very quickly.In another office, a team of researchers is dedicated to carrying out computational studies of biomechanics. "Engineers, when determining if trucks can cross a bridge, perform a computer calculation," he says. "Similarly, we can calculate the strength of jaws, for example; this allows us to know more or less what the animals ate," he tells me."And what is the use of all these researches?", I say. "Research does not have to be useful, the generation of knowledge is a good in itself", David tells me when we enter the large warehouse, full of fossils of land turtles. I have the impression of being inside the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark. I finish the visit to the fossil preparation laboratory, where its head, Xènia Aymerich, receives me. "You can't take photos of this!", Xènia warns me. She is referring to a fossil of great interest that they have not yet made public. Xènia is concentrated separating a rather large fossil from the matrix (the sediment that surrounds the fossil and fills its cavities). She does it with a micro-percussor. "Everything here is manual," she says. Many tools from other disciplines are used: tweezers, scalpels... Once the fossil is separated from the earth, she will consolidate it with synthetic resins. The criterion, always, is minimal intervention.Xènia shows me a drawing with the twelve months of the year. It is a representation of Earth's history compressed into one year. On January 1st, Earth is formed. It is not until March that the first simple forms of life appear. In November, the first vertebrates arrive. On December 19th, the first dinosaurs arrive, and on Saint Stephen's Day they become extinct. On December 31st, we already have the Roman Empire. And we – humans – arrive practically at the last instant of December 31st.A great diversity of fossilsThe ICP Museum has a great diversity of fossils, mainly from Catalonia, but also from all continents. They are well preserved and classified. From a compact cabinet, they show me a box full of plastic bags, each with its catalog number. The code is on a label with radio frequency. A gun similar to those of cashiers (and cashiers) in supermarkets allows to locate the fossils easily.

In front of the Palau Mercader, in Cornellà, a large group of smiling ESO youngsters are spinning a dome made of about 250 wooden sticks – all identical – measuring about four meters in diameter and one and a half meters in height. Suddenly, one of the girls pulls out a stick and instantly a part of the dome collapses. They have been building it collectively and joyfully in about twenty minutes.The sticks are supported by leaning against each other: if one is removed, the dome collapses. Like a castle that is being dismantled. One of the singularities of this dome is that no connecting element is necessary: the weight of the pieces is sufficient to maintain its stability. "While building the dome, many facets are worked on: computational thinking, geometric shapes, dimensions, proportions, architecture...", Sergio Belmonte, vice-president of the Museum of Mathematics of Catalonia, tells me. "This three-dimensional structure appears in two small drawings in the Atlantic Code by the brilliant Leonardo da Vinci," Sergio explains to me. The Dutch sculptor Rinus Roelofs discovered them and from these drawings he created a series of sculptures. Inspired by this, the Museum of Mathematics of Catalonia designed the dome to make a workshop. This dome can be obtained by downloading it (for free) from the museum's website. Universities and various associations download it quite often.Mercader Park is an extension of the museum. In addition to the dome workshop, it is also the setting for a mathematical scavenger hunt that includes questions such as how many sides does Mercader Palace have (keeping in mind that it has four octagonal towers) or how many four-digit numbers can be formed with the digits 1, 2, 3, and 4: 1234,1243,1324,1342,1423,1432... Mathematics gives us tools to do it quickly.One of our mottos is Forbidden not to touch", Sergio tells me as we walk through the park. The museum offers enigmas, questions, and challenges, such as discovering how a vehicle can move with different "wheels" that are not circles (it can do so with the so-called Reuleaux triangle: find out what type of triangle it is!)."This is not a museum to look at but to do," Sergio, a headline-making machine, tells me. "We don't teach at the museum, but the public does learn," he adds. We now enter one of the rooms of the museum, located within the Palau Mercader, which was built in the 19th century by order of Joaquim de Mercader i Belloch. I spend a good while making a chessboard with eight fragments that have to fit together. Sergio suggests I study the pieces well, and gives me more recommendations that I won't reveal. However, I can't manage! Suddenly a boy appears who helps me. It's a usual scene in this museum: if you find yourself stuck trying to solve a challenge, sometimes a spontaneous helper appears.Initially, the Museum of Mathematics was itinerant. It was an exhibition that was temporarily set up in other museums, cultural centers, libraries... throughout the territory, especially Catalonia. Until a few years ago it became permanent and was installed in this headquarters, in Cornellà de Llobregat. It is a good place, I think: well connected with the rest of the metropolitan area, and with this magnificent park with many trees, which generate generous shade, so appreciated these days, and a little train, which you can ride (on Sundays and other holidays in the morning).Nevertheless, the museum continues to tour schools to offer mini-exhibitions or workshops on geometry, statistics, or mathematical magic. In addition, it goes around the world: "We have been to Serbia, Ireland, the United States, France, Italy, at the Congress of Art and Mathematics (Bridges)... and we have hosted the international congress of mathematics museums (MATRIX)", stresses Sergio.If you come alone, it's more than likely you'll find people to play with. It's always better to play with someone. In a short while, I see a pair of girls very focused playing Guess Who, but instead of faces, they are fractions, and three children building a semicircular arch with a series of cushions, the most used arch in Roman architecture and Romanesque art.Before saying goodbye, Sergio looks at me intently, as if he has something important to tell me. I tell him "thank you", but I can already see that he still wants my attention. He gifts me with another headline: "There are two types of people in the world: those who like mathematics and those who don't know yet that they like them". "Wow, I wouldn't know what group I belong to", I tell him. "Maybe the second one", I decide. "That's our target!", he replies.120,000 VISITS PER YEARThe Museum of Mathematics of Catalonia is not very large, but it offers a stack of activities to enjoy and "lose the fear" of mathematics. That's why many visitors return: even if you go for work, there isn't enough time to complete all the challenges in one day.The pieces for the games or challenges are made with simple materials: ropes, fabrics, glass, plastic... and especially wood. The museum receives around 95,000 visits a year. But if we add the Tarragona headquarters (located in the old convent of Santa Clara), about 120,000 visits. The waiting list for activities is long. On weekday mornings, the museum receives school groups, and on Wednesday afternoons, Sunday mornings, and some holidays, also in the morning, it is open to the general public.

Good doctors treat everyone equally. However, from time to time they receive comments from relatives who use their social status to request special attention. Are there still, distinguished patients? Well yes, at least there are those who consider themselves so. I think about it when I am in one of the "distinguished patients" rooms at the mental health center named after Pere Mata (doctor, politician, professor of forensic medicine... and writer). Mata was the mayor of Reus and held positions of responsibility in Barcelona and Madrid, from which he promoted laws that, years after his death, made it possible to open centers like the one I am visiting today. The room is located on the first floor of the Pere Mata Institute, built in a clearly modernist style by Lluís Domènech i Montaner. It is a large room for a single person, and well decorated (walls, ceiling, and floor included). It has not been used for a long time; it is only visited. The rest of the facilities, on the other hand, are not open to the general public: they continue to be a health center.In this room for distinguished patients, what strikes me most is a blurry mirror: it is made on purpose. This way they could not see their faces and did not "collapse". Next to this room, there is another one, "smaller": much smaller and without windows. It was for the night caretakers. Although, exceptionally, some distinguished patients had their own service, there were "third class" patients who performed service tasks for the "first class" or distinguished ones. And they received remuneration (by the way, the Pere Mata Institute had its own currency). Next door there is a room with a single piece of furniture: a bathtub. Quite a luxury! "Hygiene and hydrotherapy were essential here. Electrotherapy was also practiced. Furthermore, light, ventilation, and contact with nature were considered elements of care," remarks Maria Adzerias, from Còdol Educació, a company that for years has been bringing the heritage of the Tarragona regions closer to citizens. Everything was designed for the emotional well-being of the patients. "Emotional well-being, which contributes to physical well-being, is very important. They were truly advanced here," says my wife, Elisabet, a doctor, who accompanies me.Maria reminds us that one of Pere Mata's illustrious patients was the painter Joaquim Mir. "On a trip to Mallorca with a group of painters, among whom was Picasso, Mir fell off a cliff. When he returned, he hadn't fully recovered. That's why his parents decided to admit him," explains Maria. Elisabet, a painting enthusiast, immediately searches on her mobile for paintings by Mir made when he was here. There are some very beautiful landscapes.Maria tells us all about this during a guided, theatrical tour. She plays the role of a housekeeper who, throughout the entire performance, introduces the Pere Mata Institute project to potential collaborators, and sings its praises, while waiting for Doctor Briansó, the Institute's promoter, to arrive. "Briansó achieved the objective of creating a quality, cheerful, and spacious center, far from the asylum of the painting Casa de locos, by Goya," says Maria. Elisabet immediately searches for it on her mobile and shows it to me – the madmen are crowded and with little light – while Maria reads from a document some words that Briansó pronounced about Pere Mata's project: "Does it not represent a lot, a great deal, in the moral order, the relief that we propose for the most unfortunate beings of humanity?". These are expressions that would now be nuanced, but they denote a way of thinking. Have we improved? "}The excellent guided theatrical tour places the public at the beginning of the 20th century, when the first cars, electricity, the telephone arrived... A time when progress accelerated. The visit has a final musical surprise, recalling the importance given to music therapy: on Sunday afternoons, patients, medical staff, and sometimes some relatives attended the concert.On the upper floor, behind an iron railing covered with colored glass cylinders – a solution that Domènech i Montaner himself would later develop at the Palau de la Música Catalana – a singer, accompanied by a pianist, performs pieces from the era. As I listen to the dancing notes, I notice a chestnut tree – a symbol of strength – etched on the wall. Vegetation is a recurring element in this center. Roses are abundant here, a flower that is also found on the coat of arms of the city of Reus."Domènech i Montaner –who also gave his all in another building in Reus: Casa Navàs–, was the conductor of a group of artisans, who made the furniture, the stained glass windows, the lamps...", emphasizes Maria Adzerias.The prestigious modernist architect designed this complex with pavilions. It is a precedent for the model he would later develop at the Hospital de Sant Pau. The project – unfinished – provided for pavilions differentiated by sex, social class, type of illness... In the interior spaces, he ensured that the furniture and many other elements had rounded shapes; this reduced the risk of bumps or injuries. Furthermore, the main staircase has no railing, so that patients could not grab it and injure themselves, nor a well in the staircase, to avoid the temptation to jump.As with Casa Navàs –Reus's other Modernist jewel, also by Domènech i Montaner–, construction costs were high: the architect had no budget limits. "Domènech i Montaner erects buildings with the same speed as he demolishes fortunes," it was said.We finish the visit to the garden, which is a little elevated. The stone wall surrounding the enclosure seems easy to cross. But if we approach it, a notable drop appears. It is known as the “lob's leap”. In this way, the patients did not have the feeling of being locked up, even though they were. After the visit, the actress shows me documentation that she used to create the script for the theatrical visit. There is a poster with the image of the Institut Pere Mata that says: Manicomio de Reus. Instituto Pere Mata, and then Casa de curación de padecimientos mentales y nerviosos. The two main names are the doctor Emili Briansó and the priest. One healed the body and the other the soul, and everything was sorted. The word asylum has fallen into disuse. This center no longer houses "madmen" or "lunatics", but rather people with mental illnesses. At least in name we have improved.A 14th of April with two kingsKing Alfonso XIII visited the Pere Mata Institute in 1904 and wanted to greet the patients. One of them claimed to be the "king of Spain". When he was presented to the monarch, the patient told him: "With whom does the king of Spain have the honor of speaking?". Alfonso XIII, despite being surprised, improvised: "With another king". "And where are you king of?". Then Alfonso XIII renounced his homeland: "I am the king of England", he let him know. La Vanguardia –monarchist newspaper– collected the anecdote, and not precisely applauding it. Perhaps the fact that there were Catalan flags displeased the chronicler of that act on April 14th... the day that, a few years later, the Republic would be proclaimed.

When he was little, Aleix Roig was fascinated by observing the night sky. In the library of the Sabadell Astronomical Association, he found – and devoured – a book about how to build a telescope with simple materials. He didn't think twice: with a long drainpipe and some mirrors, he built his first window to the universe. Aleix began to study physical sciences, but he left it half-finished: "I wasn't motivated to spend my whole life in front of a computer," he says. Then he studied teaching. He worked for a few years as a primary school teacher. With his students, he often did practical astronomy exercises.Aleix didn't dislike taking classes in Catalan, Spanish, Art... In addition to science classes. All this stole his time to cultivate his hobby. Until he thought that hobby and profession could not only be compatible, but also add up.Then he began to search with his partner for the best night skies in Catalonia to set up an observatory. "One of the areas we liked the most is the Prades mountain range," explains Georgina Serven, Aleix's professional and romantic partner. "Here we are at almost 1,000 meters altitude and there are no other elevated points around. We are on a kind of plateau, which provides good image stability (seeing), day and night. Imagine you are inside a swimming pool and looking out with glasses. If the water is dirty or disturbed, you see nothing. Here, in Prades, it's as if we have clear and calm water," explains Aleix Roig, who is a Starlight auditor, of dark skies, that is, skies with no light pollution. What a beautiful job, to travel the world certifying the best night skies!Aleix and Georgina didn't have it easy to make the Muntanyes de Prades Astronomical Park a reality. Just when they were about to open it, the world stopped: the pandemic arrived. This was not the only setback: the town was illuminated with white lights, which are the ones that cause more light pollution. They managed to get the City Council to replace them with less polluting ones. The council also supported them with the proposal "Prades turns off the lights and turns on the stars". This idea of turning off the streetlights (how beautiful they are with hanging flowers!) in the Plaça Major so that it would be very dark... the mayor, of course, saw it as a dark prospect. But in the end, she decided to go ahead with it. And it was a great success. Seeing the starry sky (with telescopes) from the Plaça Major in Prades is a real privilege. "Prades turns off the lights and turns on the stars" is an activity that is still carried out from time to time.The promoters of the Muntanyes de Prades Astronomical Park have also set up a sky brightness measuring device, SQM (Sky Quality Meter), at the Tossal de la Baltasana – the highest point in the region – and at the Prades center, at the Astrocat Observatory, a meteor detection station, which studies, among other things, comet tails.Furthermore, they organize a lot of courses in astronomy, astrophotography, trips to different points on the planet to see auroras borealis or dark skies, dinners with stars – with a waiting list of three or four months–,a night photography contest, observations with telescopes and sessions in a 360° planetarium. Today I was able to get to know the sky of Prades from this modest planetarium, located in the center of the village (they also have two inflatable ones that travel around Catalonia). Right after, we headed towards a sky observation point. It's getting dark, and just as we pass by a dirt road, some little lights magically turn on on either side. As we advance, the houses disappear and we enter the darkness. At the observation point, we lie down on some loungers and enjoy a very starry sky.Finally, with Aleix we take a walk through the town, quite lively. The element stellar is the main square. It is certainly large, this arcaded square, considering the dimensions of the municipality. It shows that the market and cattle fairs were important. Of course, Prades was located at a crossroads of trade routes. Celestial elements are very present here: the fountain with four spouts – the most characteristic of the Catalan Renaissance, made of red stone, popularly known as the "grinding stone" – is a terrestrial globe. And next to the square, on Sant Martí street, which opens onto it, there is a magnificent drawing of a telescope, made by Pilarín. It is one of the main attractions of Prades, and of course, the telescope is not missing. Yes, Prades and astrotourism make an excellent tandem.10,000 visitors per yearThe set of activities at the Muntanyes de Prades Astronomical Park attracts around 10,000 visitors a year. "Of the visitors, I imagine there are quite a few foreigners, right?", I ask Aleix. "Well, not many," he replies. "Almost all are Catalans... and some Basques, who usually come for Easter and in the summer. There are also French people." When the Muntanyes de Prades Astronomical Park enters the international tourism circuit, this small town could have a crowd for a good part of the year.Prades is a charming town situated on one tip of the Baix Camp region, which has little in common with Cambrils and Reus, from the same region, and more with some from Priorat.In addition to the astronomical park and the valuable cultural heritage of the village of Prades, there are two heritage elements that I consider essential to visit: the hermitage of l'Abellera, located under a rock, and the Roca Foradada, next to a lake.

"There have been five major extinction crises on the planet so far. The last one was caused by a meteorite that fell to Earth. That's when the dinosaurs went extinct. Now we are immersed in the sixth: animals are going extinct at a faster rate than usual due to climate change and human action," explains Carles Lalueza-Fox, director of the Natural Sciences Museum of Barcelona, an expert in ancient DNA recovery techniques and evolutionary genetics. Lalueza holds a doctorate in biology and is a world authority in paleogenetics (the science that studies past genomes). This extinction, the current one, is the first that is our fault, humanity's. It is due to a few factors: habitat destruction, pollution, invasive species, climate change... It is estimated that there are currently about 47,000 species in danger of extinction. Yes, it's an outrage.This is why this museum, which should become the National Museum of Natural Sciences of Catalonia – something that is advancing at a snail's pace – has promoted several biobanks, facilities in which biological samples and even stem cells of endangered species are kept cold. For example, samples of amphibians currently threatened in Catalonia are being collected. The DNA is preserved in the biobank, and thus they can be the subject of genetic studies later, in the next century, for example."Furthermore, we collaborate with CrioZoo, where cell cultures and stem cells of animals are kept in liquid nitrogen", Carles explains to me. "We also work on biodiversity conservation, in collaboration mainly with the Generalitat. When a road is built that affects endangered native plants, they call us and we take them to the botanical garden of Barcelona, where we replant them or keep the seeds in our germplasm bank"."We are now in the process of genetically 'understanding' living beings in the context of the current biodiversity crisis," Carles explains to me while walking through the Biography of the Earth area of the "Planet Life" exhibition. "Endangered species must be able to be preserved for future generations," he adds.We enter a very well-made recreation of a collector's cabinet, the Salvador Collection. It is one of the so-called "islands of science". This collection contained, for both collecting and curative purposes, animals, herbaria, soils, minerals... and quite a few fossils. Since evolution or past life was not conceived of before, there were people who thought that fossils were "copies" that nature "made", and thus God tested believers. "God deceives the disbelievers, they thought", comments Carles while touching a pyrite (golden in color, cube-shaped). Museums have long not only "allowed" touching but "invite" touching, and this one is no exception.Some time ago, in museums everything was protected with display cases. Here there are indeed display cases, with taxidermied animals. But they are display cases "in the open air". In front of me there is a taxidermied lion, inside a display case, which shares the space with many other predatory beasts. Next to the lion is Urko – in this case in a display case for him alone –, a gorilla, son of the mythical Snowflake and Ndengue from the Barcelona Zoo. He died at 25 years of age as a consequence of peritonitis. "Shouldn't he be white?", I ask Carles. "No. What causes albinism is a recessive gene. I participated in the study that obtained the complete genome of Snowflake. We discovered that the parents were consanguineous, that is, they were related", he explains.The architects Herzog and De Meuron took charge of the museography, and designed these display cases "to the four winds". In addition, they adapted the building, which had been built for the Forum of Cultures and which after its celebration was left empty. "This is one of the curses of natural science museums: they are installed in buildings that were not designed to house them. It is a strange building for a museum: labyrinthine, with changes in levels... and dark: you have to illuminate the pieces; this makes the visit an immersive experience," says Carles. Herzog and De Meuron, authors of the renovation of London's Tate Modern and Beijing's Olympic Stadium, had to squeeze their knowledge to adapt it into a museum. One of the unique features of this museum is that it has a visitable green roof, with species from the Mediterranean area.Another "science island" that catches my attention at the museum is the one dedicated to how living beings are classified. To introduce it, it talks about the different ways we can classify buttons. "Now living beings are classified according to their evolutionary context. Without evolution, the natural world cannot be understood," emphasizes Carles. That is why the museum does not display living beings ordered as we did in school (birds, mammals...) but by concepts such as flying or avoiding being eaten. In other words, taking into account everything that has allowed them to survive throughout evolution. Lalueza's head is buzzing with projects. "I would like one day to hold an exhibition of historical meteorites in Catalonia." The Natural Sciences Museum has samples of four meteorites that fell in Catalonia between the 18th and 19th centuries. They are small fragments that explain characteristics of the origin of the solar system. One is officially known as the "Barcelona meteorite," which fell in... Terrassa!, on Christmas Day in 1704, in the midst of the War of Succession. Some said it predicted great misfortunes. In short, Catalonia lost the war.A third exhibition that Lalueza would like to carry out – this one is indeed underway – is about a mammoth found in 1920. "Our paleontologists are studying it (they want to determine its sex, age, and they are also reconstructing the missing bones)". It will take place in 2028. The mammoth was found in the Barcelona neighborhood of Pedralbes. Yes, long before building high-standing houses, mammoths roamed there.A spectacular 19th-century whale skeleton I remember seeing it at the Castle of the Three Dragons, in Ciutadella Park, where the Museum of Zoology was located, from which part of the pieces of the Museum of Natural Sciences of Barcelona originate. Fortunately, it has been preserved. It is a spectacular whale skeleton. The visitor entering the museum passes underneath it: it is located above the entrance stairs. This skeleton belongs to a cetacean that ran aground on the beach of Llançà in 1862. It weighs one ton – the skeleton alone! – and is almost twenty meters long.

Laura Casals has professionally enjoyed being an early childhood education teacher, director of the Pràctiques school in the Sants neighborhood of Barcelona, and a trainer of teachers and directors. She has recently retired, but her schedule is very full, especially since last Christmas when she became a member of the ARA's Club Prèmium. "I have been a subscriber to the newspaper for years and from the beginning the activities of Club Prèmium. caught my attention. I was looking at them. "What if I joined?" I thought. But I kept putting it off until later," she explains. "I like culture, staying up to date with the theatre listings, film premieres, and especially the world of dance. I doubted if I could fit the Prèmium proposals into my schedule. But finally, I signed up, with the idea of trying it for a year... I have no doubt that there will be many more!" assures Laura.

“When I was little I lived huddled in a dark street. The sea was humid there, but the sun was cheerful there”. This is how one of Joan Maragall's poems begins, which actor Jep Barceló masterfully recites in the show Maragall at home, a splendid monologue woven from articles, poems, and correspondence by one of the most listened-to voices in Catalonia at the turn of the last century. The show takes place in what was the dining room of Maragall's house, in Barcelona's Sant Gervasi neighborhood. In this room every afternoon, at five o'clock, punctually, the couple had tea (Joan Maragall's wife, Clara Noble, was of English origin on her father's side).

A group from the ARA Premium Club has enjoyed a day in Calonge. The activity began with a walk through the historic center of the town, just as the numerous bookstores were opening ("Calonge, town of books" is a slogan that has become popular) and when the people of Calonge were going to the outdoor market stalls. The participants stopped for a good while in front of a large mural by Pilarín, and reviewed the main elements of Calonge it contains.

They have not toured the entire Barcelona Biomedical Research Park – it occupies a space equivalent to a block in the Eixample! – but only a small part. However, the members of the ARA Premium Club have got a good idea of the intense activity carried out in this prestigious research center specialized in medicine and biomedicine located in Barceloneta, very close to the sea.

"The Montreal Protocol agreed in the late eighties to reduce and eliminate gases that destroyed the ozone layer. All UN member states approved it, and agreed to end the use of these substances, which implied the change or elimination of products such as some aerosols or air conditioners. The result has been very satisfactory: the hole in the ozone layer is closing, and between the years 2040 and 2066 it will close completely. This can reduce global warming by up to 0.5 °C", remarked Xavi Segura, head of Meteorology at ARA, in the talk he gave in the majestic auditorium of the Reial Acadèmia de Ciències i Arts de Barcelona, an activity of Club Prèmium open to all subscribers.

"You have to imagine everything around you without any buildings," says the guide. We're at Casa Vicens, on an exclusive tour for the ARA Premium ClubIt's a jewel of Modernism that attracts visitors from all over the world every day. For many tourists, it's common to visit the Sagrada Família and then this treasure nestled among other buildings. Gaudí had a wonderful time, and he had a large team of artisan collaborators (and workers who probably labored in appalling conditions). When this house was built—in just two years, between 1883 and 1885—Gràcia was still an independent town, not yet annexed to Barcelona. It was built as a summer home for Manel Vicens, a stockbroker, and his wife. When Vicens died, it became their residence. Currently, Casa Vicens is owned by the Andorran bank MoraBanc and is open to the public.

About fifteen subscribers to ARA newspaper's Premium Club They enjoyed a guided tour of Casa Navàs in Reus. Located in the heart of the Baix Camp capital, on Plaça Mercadal, this house designed by Domènech i Montaner is one of Catalonia's modernist gems. Many elements are reminiscent of the Palau de la Música Catalana, also by the same architect.

«How are you? I'm Natàlia Vila, a journalist in charge of the infrastructure and mobility section at ARA. My job mainly consists of explaining and monitoring the management and operation of the commuter rail system in Catalonia." This is how she addressed the Telegram group of ARA Award subscribers“Trains take up about 75% of my time under normal circumstances… but in the last three weeks, the situation has consumed all my hours, as well as those of many colleagues who have joined this team as reinforcements to be able to report everything as accurately as possible,” she added. It was the day of the Renfe and Adif staff strike, which further aggravated the crisis. Natàlia Vila highlighted the main factors: “Many decades of political decisions that have prioritized high-speed rail over commuter rail, a lack of maintenance—experts and train drivers say the methods used are questionable—and, of course, a failure to implement the budgeted investments.” She added that it is an additional difficulty “to make decisions 600 kilometers away.”

The gravestones, mausoleums, sculptures... of Poblenou Cemetery "tell" many stories of Barcelona over the last two centuries. Adrià Terol, a historian of Barcelona's cemeteries, has guided a large group of visitors through the cemetery. Premium Club (The places were sold out) and he revealed a lot of stories related to this necropolis which, when it opened, was not well received by many Barcelonans, because it meant burying their relatives outside the city walls and very far away.

"I'm Carme Colomina, a journalist, columnist for ARA, and researcher at CIDOB, and for the next hour I'm here to answer your questions." With these words, she began her participation in the active Telegram group of ARA Premium ClubNumerous subscribers bombarded her with questions. It was an activity non-stopColomina took it with professionalism and humor – "I've had time to have a drink of water," she said between answers – which highlighted, once again, our concern about the decisions she is making the insurgent who is dismantling the democratic system of the United States. ""Denialism is an important part of Trump's ideological agenda," Colomina pointed out, and reminded everyone that "he still hasn't accepted that he lost the 2020 election."

Anna Ortiz is passionate about Mercè Rodoreda's novels. She's read quite a few. Not all of them, though. "After seeing the Mercè Rodoreda exhibition at the CCCB, I'm really looking forward to reading the ones I haven't read yet," she says. Anna attended the exhibition with about twenty subscribers. ARA Award, on the guided tour of this exhibition, which delves into the creative universe ofauthor of The Diamond Square, Prize of Honor for Catalan Letters in 1980. Rodoreda, a forestCurated by Neus Penalba, the exhibition brings into dialogue the work of the great novelist with plastic and audiovisual works by artists from different eras, and also incorporates original documents from the Mercè Rodoreda Foundation collection and numerous photographs.

One of the main proposals on the cultural agenda of the Catalonia La Pedrera Foundation These are the art exhibitions. Visiting them, in addition to being able to enter this building on Barcelona's Passeig de Gràcia, designed by Gaudí at the height of his career, allows you to get to know great contemporary artists. ARA Premium Club has visited numerous exhibitions of the Catalonia La Pedrera Foundation, such as those dedicated to Miquel Barceló, Antonio López, Jaume Plensa, Stone art (of various artists)... The most recent visit was to the exhibition of Basque sculptor Cristina Iglesias, which sold out. Some of the club's most active members, as well as new members, enjoyed the visit. It was a great discovery for all of them.