National Art Museum of Catalonia

The National Museum of Art of Catalonia, also known by its acronym MNAC, houses a magnificent collection that include all the artistic disciplines. The objective of the museum is to display a global vision of the evolution of artistic expression in Catalonia throughout history, from the 10th century to the mid 20th century. Among its collections stands out the impressive collection of Romanesque mural painting, considered the most complete in the world.

The current museum is the result of the merger in 1990 of the collections coming from the Art Museum of Catalonia, inaugurated in 1934, the Modern Art Museum, the Numismatic Cabinet of Catalonia, the Cabinet of Drawings and Engravings and the General Library of Art History. The almost 250,000 artworks make the MNAC the most important museum in Catalonia.

Permanent exhibitions: the Romanesque Art Collection, with objects brought from churches of the Pyrenees; the Gothic Art Collection; the Renaissance and Baroque Art Collection; the Modern Art Collection; the Photographic Collection; the Cabinet of Drawings and Prints; the Numismatic Cabinet of Catalonia.

Palau Nacional

The museum is housed in the National Palace (Palau Nacional in Catalan), a huge building located on the Montjuïc mountain, built between 1926 and 1929 for the International Exhibition of 1929. It is classicist in style inspired by the Spanish Renaissance and Baroque. The facade is crowned by a large dome that reminds the Vatican's St. Peter's Basilica, with two smaller domes on either side. Behind there are four towers of baroque inspiration. In the interior decorated in Noucentista style the attention is drawn to the Great Hall and the Hall of the Throne.