Monastery of Sant Cugat

This site had previously been occupied by a Roman settlement (the Castrum Octavianum), where from the 4th century an intense religious activity began to develop, centred on the martyrium dedicated to Saint Cugat (Cucuphas). According to tradition, he had died there, a victim of Diocletian's persecutions. Several buildings and perhaps a first community grew up around his tomb until it was destroyed by the Saracen invasion in 717. It is known that the site was recovered in 801 and possibly the community was re-established, a fact that cannot be determined with certainty until 878. At that time the Visigoth constructions were used, some of which can still be seen in the cloister.

However, the place quickly became a religious and power centre of the first order. Its properties extended over the whole bishopric and were considerable. The monastery played an important role in the defence and repopulation of the territory, and the abbot Odó (986-1010) even took part personally in a military expedition, in which he died. This abbot initiated the construction of a new Romanesque church. In 986 it is recorded that the cell of Sant Genís and Santa Eulàlia de Tapioles depended on it. In 1079 there is evidence of the discovery of the body of Saint Cugat. The presence of the relics intensified his devotion.

This period of prosperity lasted, with few periods of decadence, until the end of the 13th century. The 14th century was marked by a crisis, which even had such singular episodes as the murder of Abbot Arnau Ramon de Biure (1348- 1350) in the altar itself, due to a testamentary dispute. The Catalan Civil War hit the monastery hard, and the abbot Antoni Alemany (1461-1471) was imprisoned and died while being sent into exile. The decline in income was also very important. The monks lost the power to elect the abbots and in 1471 an era of commendatory abbots began, with little interest in monastic life and the development of the place. From 1561 the abbots were elected by royal appointment.

The oldest structures are the archaeological remains of the cloister courtyard, from the pre-Romanesque era. Subsequently, new buildings were erected (11th century) of which there are no apparent remains. The monastery was renovated in the second half of the 12th century, when the current cloister was erected, and the construction of a new church began. The work was carried out very slowly, starting with the chancel. Then the renovation stopped and did not continue until the end of the 13th century and the beginning of the 14th century, at the height of the Gothic period. The splendid rose window on the façade dates from 1340.

The cloister
The cloister is quadrangular in plan, each of its four wings is divided into three bays by two pilasters. Each section consists of six pairs of columns with capitals, those at the ends of which are attached to the pillars.