History & Curiosities
Sitges history and curiosities
From the Neanderthals of the Cova del Gegant to the modernista artists and the “americanos”: articles to understand how Sitges came to be.
Sitges is much more than beaches and festivals. Behind its white streets lie centuries of history: a walled town on the rock of La Punta, generations of fishermen, sailors and winegrowers, emigrants who made their fortune in the Americas and came back to build their houses, and a group of artists who, led by Santiago Rusiñol, turned the town into a landmark of Catalan Modernisme.
This section brings together accessible articles on the history, notable figures, traditions, buildings and curiosities of Sitges. They are based on official and specialist sources (Museus de Sitges, the Town Council, heritage inventories and published research), separate documented facts from tradition, and always end with their sources.
Explore the articles
Artists, collectors and entrepreneurs who left their mark on Sitges.
6 articles
Notable figures
Santiago Rusiñol and Sitges
How Santiago Rusiñol discovered Sitges in 1891, led the Modernista Festivals from 1892 to 1899 and left his Cau Ferrat to the town when he died in 1931.
Notable figures
Ramon Casas and the Modernista artists in Sitges
Ramon Casas, the Luminist painters and the circle of musicians and writers who, alongside Rusiñol, made Sitges a centre of Catalan Modernisme.
Notable figures
Miquel Utrillo and the creation of Maricel
Engineer, painter and cultural promoter: the life of Miquel Utrillo and his role as artistic director of the Maricel complex in Sitges from 1910 to 1918.
Notable figures
Charles Deering, the collector who transformed Sitges
Who was Charles Deering, the Chicago industrialist who created Maricel in Sitges? How he built his art collection and what became of it after 1921.
Notable figures
Facundo Bacardí and his Sitges roots
Facundo Bacardí was born in Sitges and founded Bacardí in Santiago de Cuba in 1862. What is known about his life, his birthplace and his traces in town.
Notable figures
Joaquim Sunyer and Mediterranean painting
Joaquim Sunyer (Sitges, 1874) was the leading painter of Noucentisme. His years in Paris, Mediterrània, Pastoral, Cala Forn and his ties to Sitges.
See it for yourself
Museums, monuments and festivals where this history is still on view.
Museum
Museu del Cau Ferrat
Santiago Rusiñol’s house and studio, with his collection of wrought iron, painting and ceramics.
Museum
Museu de Maricel
Art from the Romanesque to the 20th century, in the Maricel complex by the sea.
Monument
Church of Sant Bartomeu i Santa Tecla
The Baroque church on La Punta, the best-known image of Sitges.
Tradition
Sitges Festa Major
Giants, folk dances and fireworks in honour of Sant Bartomeu, every August.