History of the museum

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

XVII CENTURY - 1975: BACKGROUND OF THE MUSEUM

The Gathering of Saint Dominic (17th-19th centuries)

During the 17th century, a "people's vote" to Sant Domènec, patron saint of the waters, was beneficial in protecting the town of Argentona from a serious plague that struck Catalonia, which led to a traditional gathering held on August 4, St. Dominic's Day. The old gathering ended up becoming the town's main festival, and all that remained of the feast of Saint Dominic was the blessing of the waters of the fountain of Saint Dominic.

1951: The Pitcher Festival

The gathering was revived in 1951 as the Festa del Càntir thanks to the interest of the "Friends of Argentona", with the personality of Jaume Clavell i Nogueras (Creu de Sant Jordi of the Generalitat de Catalunya) at the head. Since then, every August 4, St. Dominic's Day and Argentona's Festa Major, the Festa del Càntir is celebrated, in which the càntir is its main center of interest.

On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Festa del Càntir, in 1975, it was decided to open the first monographic museum on jugs in Argentona. The museum was installed in a beautiful late Gothic house donated to the town hall by the children of Joan Rectoret i Rigola.

1975: INAUGURATION OF THE MUSEUM

The Càntir Museum was inaugurated in 1975, thanks to the initial donation of its promoter, Jaume Clavell i Nogueras. Over time, the museum has grown its collections thanks to the continuous purchases of new copies and also thanks to generous donations received. The museum's collection currently has more than 4,000 copies, the most important of which can be seen in the museum's new rooms.

In its early years, the museum was run by the organization "Friends of the Pitcher Museum", although it is currently managed by the Municipal Board of the Pitcher Museum of Argentona, an autonomous body of the City of Argentona created l In 1985, the museum's collaborators, local cultural figures and representatives of municipal political groups were present. The work of the board of trustees has been wide and diverse, but its main objective during these years has been to provide the museum with new museographic facilities and to stimulate the cultural activity of the institution.

In 1997, the museum had to close to the public due to serious structural deficiencies in the Gothic house building. After several arrangements, it was decided to install the museum in the house of culture, a newly built building, much larger and more prepared than the previous one to house the museum. The new museum would be of a completely new design and in line with current museology techniques.

YEAR 2000: INAUGURATION OF THE NEW HEADQUARTERS

Finally, after three years of projects, budgets and works, on July 20, 2000 the new headquarters of the Museu del Càntir d'Argentona was inaugurated, a facility with more than 800 m2 of surface with very good services to the public and , above all, modern exhibition halls, with a great didactic sense and with a rigorous and attractive exhibition for all audiences. A museum that will not be static, but changing, thanks to the fact that it has dedicated a large part of its rooms to thematic and temporary exhibitions that will change successively.

The new museum has been very well received by the public who have already visited it. We now have the challenge of turning it into a great center that radiates culture, dynamism and appeal to new audiences. If you haven't been there yet, you can get to know him a little better through these pages.