The Cau Ferrat and Maricel Museum obtain the status of National Interest

The ensemble of the museums of Cau Ferrat and Maricel acquire the condition of Museums of National Interest, as agreed by the Board of Museums of Catalonia, in a meeting held on March 13. This agreement culminates the process initiated in May last year, when the General Council of the Sitges Heritage Consortium - a body that manages both museums - unanimously authorized the director-manager of the entity, Vinyet Panyella, to prepare the report that accompanied the request. The achievement of this agreement is part of the strategic objectives of the Sitges Heritage Consortium for the period 2017-21, with the aim of strengthening the solidity, prestige and positioning of the two museums in the cultural and heritage ecosystem of Catalonia and its international projection.

The Cau Ferrat and the Museu de Maricel add to the seven museums that have this category (Joan Miró Foundation, Museum of Contemporary Art of Barcelona, ​​Episcopal Museum of Vic, Maritime Museum of Barcelona, ​​Museum of Montserrat, Museu Picasso and  Museu Diocesà i Comarcal de Lleida), as well as the National Museum of Art of Catalonia. The condition of National Interest allows these museums to be equipped with a status and a category that opens doors in its projection and in its initiatives, as well as becoming an excellent letter of introduction for its visitors.

The agreement of the Board of Museums of Catalonia specifies that the declaration of the condition of National Interest is for the ensemble that make up Cau Ferrat as the Museum of Maricel, which since its reopening in December 2014 after the Its reform is maintained as two museums but with shared accesses, resources and logistics. That is to say, in its resolution the Board has evaluated the value of the buildings and the collections of both centers together in relation to their patrimonial value.

The appointment approved by the Board will be made effective by the Government of the Generalitat, once it is constituted. The Law of Museums of Catalonia details in his article 25 the capacity of the Government to declare museums as National Interest l: " The Government can declare museums of national interest to museums that, due to the importance and value of the group of cultural assets they collect, due to the general or specific characteristics of their collections or because the interest of their museum heritage beyond its framework, have a special significance for the cultural heritage of Catalonia ".

Both the Cau Ferrat Museum and the Maricel Museum, with Can Rocamora as an annex building to the whole, are part of the Sitges Heritage Consortium, established in 1994. The Consortium also manages the Romantic Museum, the Maricel Palace, the Stämpfli Foundation and the Can Falç Foundation. The Cau Ferrat is owned by the town of Sitges by testamentary legacy of its founder and owner, Santiago Rusiñol; It was opened to the public in 1933 under the direction of Joaquim Folch i Torres, who at the same time completed the preparations for the opening of the Museu d'Art de Catalunya (current MNAC). The Maricel Museum, acquired along with Can Rocamora, by the Diputació de Barcelona, ​​was opened in 1970 with the Art and Antiques Collection of Dr. Jesús Pérez Rosales, donated to this corporation. In 1995, the Art Collection of the City of Sitges was added to its collections. Since the reopening of December 2014, the Maricel Museum presents all collections integrated into a unique discourse, which allows to follow the history of art and aesthetic ideas from the 10th century until the figuration of the forties and fifties

This important category has now been added to the condition of Cau Ferrat as a museum-section of the National Art Museum of Catalonia, in force since 2000.