Urban Planning, Ecological Transition, Urban Services and Housing

The first stage of work to recover the medieval vegetable garden at the Monastery of Pedralbes museum has now been completed. The walled area of nearly 3,000 square metres provided nuns with some of the vegetables, pulses and fruit they cooked with, as well as medicinal herbs used by the community from the time the convent was founded in 1327 through until the end of the 20th century.

The opening of this new museum space helps promote values and attitudes relating to the care of the environment, also providing a boost for culture through cooperative and inclusive work.

The goal is to cultivate species characteristic of medieval Europe, leaving out those which arrived in Europe from America and the rest of the world after 1492, such as potatoes, tomatoes, sweet corn and strawberries. The cultivation patch is also:

• A laboratory: the intention is to experiment with cultivation techniques from medieval Europe, as described in period manuscripts.
• A classroom: visitors have a chance to learn how to sow and to plant things, to water and to harvest, to recognise different vegetable species and to discover the life cycle of plants.
• A space for environmental protection: the goal is to promote environmental culture, boost greenery in Barcelona and cultivate species which are not widely grown or are in danger of disappearing, regaining them and helping to maintain biodiversity.
• A social project: it aims to be an accessible and inclusive space, managed in collaboration with the Municipal Institute for People with Disabilities.

Medieval vegetable garden

The project to regain the original use of this space began in 2017, the goal being to reconstruct a vegetable garden in four plots, just as it might have been in the Middle Ages. To get the best idea possible of what the medieval vegetable garden would have been like, a team was assembled with specialists from the field of history, archaeology, botany, archaeobiology, architecture, museum science, environmental education and social services, who approached the project from different angles.

The recovery of the vegetable garden from a historical perspective involved a thorough study to determine the species to be planted there, consulting medieval documents kept at the monastery itself and agricultural agreements from the time which set out the species and cultivation techniques during the Middle Ages. The garden includes native local species which are no longer planted or which are in danger of disappearing. This first stage includes two plots:

• The first has an area of 283 square metres and will be used to cultivate vegetables. Greens such as spinach and lettuce have been sown here.
• The second plot has an area of 290 square metres and will be used for extensive agriculture, with pulses such as peas, lentils and chickpeas planted here.

Organic medieval agriculture techniques are being used in the vegetable garden. This type of agriculture is one of the cornerstones for what is currently described as eco-agriculture, which is complemented with contemporary science and tech knowledge.

Archaeology work

Archaeology work was carried out at the start of the project, allowing for five clear chronological stages to be established for the use of the space. Thanks to this study, the historical paths in the subsoil in the vegetable garden could be recovered, dating back to the 14^th century, along with the traditional watering infrastructure.

Starting with this knowledge, the design and the different museum elements of the space could be developed, as well as the layout of the plots, ensuring harmony between green space, the architecture and history of the monastery and the museum space.