In the second half of the XIX century, Catalan landscape painting acquired an importance and personality previously unknown to this genre. Among the landscape artists of the moment were Josep Armet and Josep Berga, however it was Joaquim Vayreda who became the foremost Catalan landscape painter. In his work, the landscape took centre stage.
Vayreda was the founder of the Olot School of countryside painting, a movement characterised by the taste for painting from nature and directly inspired by the works of the French artists of Barbizon School. Their canvases, which enjoyed wide exposure and considerable success, influenced numerous Catalan landscape painters.
The Museu de la Garrotxa has an extensive collection of paintings by the Olot School, and the Museu dels Sants has a collection centred on one of Olot's traditional industries: religious imagery. And it is Olot's saints' workshops that make virtually all the religious sculptures that are found around the world. The museum shows the whole process of making these pieces and allows you to see, first hand, the inside of a workshop (on week days).
Olot School
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Routes and excursions TOP
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Sant Miquel de Coma-de-Roure route
In a small pass between the Borró valley and the Espinau valley, stands the small church Sant Miquel de Coma-de-Roure, located on top of the mountain of the same name with magnificent views.
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Healthy itinerary Sant Ferriol short hike
This route will take us through a mosaic of landscapes formed by fields and holm oak forests, in Sant Ferriol, right next to Besalú.
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Itinéraire masos de ponent. Ruta 6 Beuda
Easy walk around the most rural area of Beuda.
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Fageda Fosca route. Route 5 Santa Pau
Hiking excursion to a beech tree hidden in the shadow of the Finestres mountain range.
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The Romanesque churches of La Vall de Bianya
The traces of the history of La Vall de Bianya can be followed in this itinerary that visits the 15 Romanesque churches that decorate this peaceful corner of La Garrotxa.
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GR 1 - Sendero Transversal
This GR crosses the whole Iberian Peninsula along the southern flanks of the Pyrenees and Cantabrian mountains. It runs from Empuries in the east to Finisterre in the west, passing through the Catalan pre-Pyrenees from the Costa Brava to Aragon.
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La Plana bathing pool. Route 3 Les Planes d'Hostoles
Les Planes d’Hostoles is well known for its natural bathing pools that have been used in numerous films and adverts. This is one of four suggestions.
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Across the Collsacabra plateau. Route 4 Garrotxa
This route follows part of the old ‘Royal Road’, a medieval trail joining these two cities that was probably paved to be able to transport timber to Barcelona to construct a fleet for the king.
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Olot and its volcanoes
Rediscover nature in the heart of the city. The urban layout of Olot is set around one of the most famous volcanoes: Montsacopa.
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Vayreda’s Alta Garrotxa. Route 8 Garrotxa
Marian Vayreda’s novel La Punyalada provides one of the best ways of discovering the Alta Garrotxa. The places depicted by this 19th century author in the scenes from his famous novel have been joined in a discovery route.