The Building
The Public Foundation of the Institut d’Estudis Ilerdencs of the Diputació of Lleida is located at the former Hospital Santa Maria, at the historical and commercial centre of the city of Lleida. This building is one of the best example of the Catalan civil gothic (XV-XVI).
The Hospital Santa Maria was created in 1454 to gather the seven private hospitals that existed in the Medieval period of the city of Lleida, under the protection of the mayor of the city and Queen Maria, wife of Alfons the Magnanimous.
From the building it is interesting to pay attention to the central patio, with its square structure, balanced proportions and two floors. Inside the patio we find the noble staircase and the gallery of pointed archs.
At the façades, noble and austere, there are large rectangular windows that illuminate both floors of the building.
The only decoration that exists is a gothic Virgin Mary, at the main façade. The sculpture incorporates the three Catalan coat of arms, made by Bertran de la Borda (1462-1485).
At the central patio, the covered stoned staircase and the gallery of pointed archs are interesting from the architectural point of view.
The Hospital suffered the consequences of the Succession War: it was created as a public and civil hospital but Philip V used half of it as military hospital and it remained like this until 1845 when became again a civil hospital.
In 1915, the building was the property of the Diputació of Lleida that began to use it only for cultural purposes: in 1942, the Public Foundation Institut d’Estudis Ilerdencs is created and it will be located in the former Hospital Santa Maria.
Diary 07/02/2012
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