First conference on cloisters and cloistered gardens in Catalonia

The first conferences on cloistered gardens in Catalonia took place on November 24 and 25, 2022, at the Royal Monastery of Santa Maria de Pedralbes, Barcelona, organized by the managers of the Pedralbes Museum (Institute of Culture of Barcelona City Council), in collaboration with the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage of the Generalitat of Catalonia. Cloisters offer a framework that integrates art (architecture), nature (the garden) and a serene and silent beauty, which fosters an integrative approach to dimensions of reality that remain too separate in our societies.

The Silene Association assumed the technical and scientific secretariat. The conference aroused a lot of interest and attracted a large attendance (nearly a hundred people registered), with the participation of a dozen experts in the topics covered. Each day ended with a participatory session, with the aim of debating and agreeing on the conclusions and proposals.

The six presentations on the first day focused on cloister gardens, and covered everything from the state of medieval cloister gardens to specific examples of research and intervention in medieval and later cloister gardens throughout Catalonia, and some examples from Occitania. The presentations were complemented by a guided tour of the garden of the Pedralbes cloister itself.

The five presentations on the second day examined the activities that are offered in the cloistered spaces of the country, distinguishing those that are ecclesiastically managed from those that are secular (public or private), with an emphasis on the activities and practices of contemplative or meditative. The presentations were accompanied by a practice of silent meditation walking in the supercloister during the morning and a beautiful interpretation of songs by Hildegard of Bingen in the garden during the sunset.

Currently, the Silene Association is preparing the volume of the proceedings, which will gather all the presentations, conclusions and proposals. It is expected to be published next year, with the support of the organizing entities.

More information: here: