The sacred, the profane and the festival

This exhibition explores the origins and validity of religion in Catalonia, where there is a dialogue between religious traditions and contemporary identity and festive events. Visitors are guided through various festive traditions, with emphasis on aspects that make it possible to think about the role that religion and rituals have had and still have in our society.

It also shows tradition as a pluralist, changeable reality, a process of cultural accumulation where pre-Roman and pre-Christian elements coexist with the contributions of newcomers and minorities. Religion is also seen as a phenomenon that has configured human geography, while marking emblematic places and giving meaning to landscapes.

The cycle of life is reflected in two aspects: the moments and rites that mark the stages of human life, and the calendar, a quintessential framework representing the annual cycle and the festivals that are associated with it.

The exhibition showcases a major part of the objects kept in the museum, but it also uses other ways of showing us the living dimension of culture, always adapting to modern times.