The Maritime Museum’s collections are extremely rich and varied. They include pieces ranging from a ship that still sails to a postal stamp, or from a steam engine to a 14th-century manuscript. Of course, they also include everything you expect to find in a maritime museum: binnacles, anchors, model ships, navigational tools, etc. In other words, all sorts of documents and objects from the miniscule to the huge, from all different periods and made of all sorts of materials. For decades, the Museum has gathered examples of the maritime past, a heritage that reminds us of the lives of seafarers, the histories of ships and maritime activities in peacetime or war.
We would like to offer a selection of objects and documents that are notable for their historical interest, their rarity or their aesthetic value. These can give you a general idea of the content of the Museum’s collection. However, do not forget that there is a great deal beyond this selection, with thousands of artefacts and documents that you can discover using our search engine or other resources.
We encourage you to take a stroll through some of the key pieces in our Museum’s collection, grouped into twelve categories to help you keep your bearings.
Map of El Masnou, by Miquel Garriga i Roca
DocumentsThis shows the town in the Maresme region and its coastline in 1840, when El Masnou was one of the most dynamic and active towns in Catalonia, with notable shipyards and a significant seafaring population.
The map is signed by the architect and urban planner Miquel Garriga i Roca (1804 – Barcelona 1888), who is also the author of one of the proposals for the Eixample of Barcelona (1857). Garriga’s proposal was approved but not carried out, as Ildefons Cerdà’s was finally chosen. As municipal architect of Barcelona, in 1858 Miquel Garriga i Roca prepared a topographical map of the city of Barcelona on a scale of 1: 250, known popularly as Quarterons Garriga i Roca. He also prepared two topographic maps of El Masnou. As an architect, his works include the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, begun by Francesc d’A. Soler.
