The Vila-seca Celler Noucentista (Winery) is located right next to the Vila-seca Castle and has been deemed a Cultural Asset of Local Interest. The building was constructed in 1919, a work by architect Pere Domènech i Roure (son of architect Lluís Domènech i Muntaner).
The Celler Noucentista was acquired by the Vila-seca Town Council in 2014. Restoration works are currently underway and the winery is being converted into a museum, an initiative with funding from the European Regional Development Funds (ERDF).
This project will convert the Celler into a space for cultural activities, for propagating history on the municipality and as a tourist attraction. The overhaul of the former cooperative into this multifunctional facility is being done with a threefold purpose: the museum space, sociocultural events and as a tourist landmark. The new Celler Noucentista facility will be extraordinarily spacious, with an area of 3,150m2 covering two storeys.
The future Celler will be founded on experience and new technologies: mappings, augmented reality and items in different dimensions, always with the unifying thread of the culture of wine and wineries, in which concerts, exhibitions, theatre and conferences will be held, as well as other events.
The overall project will entail the creation of a cultural park between the two large facilities on the eastern side: Vila-seca Castle, recently restored along with its gardens, and the Celler Noucentista complex.
The Celler Noucentista is one of the items included on the route to get to know the historic centre via the heritage monuments with QR codes.
The Vila-seca Agricultural Union, founded in 1917, purchased the lands to build the Celler that same year from the Count of Sicart. Works started on 10 March 1919, with the first harvest of grapes arriving in 1920.
The construction of the winery was done by local builders, apart from the clearing of the land for the foundation and the construction of the wine presses, which was done by the members themselves, and the tubs, a job awarded to the company Victor Greusad.
It is a large building, crafted quite like a basilica, with a rectangular main floor area. It is comprised of three attached rectangular naves with ashlars at all corners: a higher central body and two lower side bodies. The main façade has a large open semicircular arch that floods the entire building with natural sunlight. The winery’s austere stone block masonry contrasts with the abundant crushed stone employed in the angles, windows, buttresses, door and window keystones, in the lines of the modillions—ornate brackets—along the perimeter of the façade and in the inside pilasters. The structure that supports the roof also adds a striking aspect to the overall building, with brick formerets—wall ribs—in the side naves and brick openwork diaphragm arches in the central nave.
