We leave you some cultural proposals for you to enjoy the city to the fullest and live different experiences. Discover the streets of the Aragonese capital, its secrets and stories, its art, its geniuses, exhibitions, exuberant monuments, literature, theater, music… What do you feel like?
Discover Goya’s relationship with Zaragoza
Do you want to see original works by Goya, of great importance, such as the portrait of the Infanta María Teresa de Vallabriga, from the Uffizi Gallery in Florence; the self-portrait of 1824 kept in the Prado Museum, or the portrait of Josefa Bayeu, from the Abelló Collection? Don’t miss the new exhibition at La Lonja, ‘I am Goya. The Zaragoza I lived in, 1746-1775’.
The exhibition presents Goya’s relationship with Zaragoza during the first 29 years of his life. The Aragonese capital is the city where the painter lived his first years and where he was formed as a person and as an artist, and the purpose of this exhibition is to bring the visitor closer to the figure of the most universal Aragonese painter. To this end, it shows the urban spaces where the artist lived, his houses, the importance of his relationship with his grandfather in Fuendetodos (the place where he was born), the great events he experienced in an enlightened city, his hobbies, as well as the Aragonese people he met, from the townspeople to the bourgeois and nobles he portrayed, all of this together with the presence of archival documents that explain the painter’s life in Zaragoza.
An enigmatic “journey” through the Chapter House of Sigena
Can you imagine discovering what one of the wonders of the art of the 1200s was like in all its splendor? Enjoy an impressive immersive experience ‘Magical Sigena. The dream come true’, a journey through the Sigena Chapter House in an emblematic space such as the old Pignatelli Deposits. The Sigena Monastery is recreated in the old Pignatelli Deposits through this exhibition that combines traditional techniques with the most cutting-edge to give an innovative perspective of the Chapter House and contemplate one of the best works of Romanesque art in Europe.
For the first time the paintings and coffered ceilings of the Chapter House of the monastery will be shown, combining manual restoration techniques, using historical and pictorial criteria, and the most modern digital technologies (laser, scanner, 3D modeling and digital painting), bringing a high degree of fidelity and realism to this artistic treasure.
The history of an impressive fortress
If you are passionate about history and heritage, visit the Aljafería Palace. This imposing fortress hides surprising stories. It is considered one of the peaks of Hispano-Muslim art, along with the Alhambra in Granada and the Mosque of Cordoba. And it is the northernmost Islamic palace in Europe, as well as being the most luxurious and best preserved of the Taifa period. It was built as a recreational villa for the kings of Taifas outside the Muslim city, between orchards and irrigation ditches. Do you know the opera ‘Il Trovatore’, by Giuseppe Verdi? Well, the plot is set in the Troubadour Tower of the palace, the oldest part of it.
In addition to housing three palaces: the Taifal Palace of Al-Muqtadir, the Palace of Pedro IV and the Palace of the Catholic Monarchs, it was also the Court of the Holy Office of the Inquisition, and its Mudejar Art was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2001! If you want to know the secrets that keep their rooms, come to the guided tours this Easter at 10:30h, 11.30h, 12. 30h, 16.30h, 17.30h and 18.30h.
The footprint of great geniuses in the city
If art is your thing, two other Aragonese geniuses have also left their mark on the city and you have to discover them. They are Pablo Gargallo and Pablo Serrano. The former was one of the great creators of 20th century sculpture. Pioneer in the introduction of vacuum as a volume, he has his own museum in Zaragoza, the Pablo Gargallo Museum. On a visit to the museum, you can see works such as the iconic The Great Prophet, a total of 170 of the sculptor and enjoy two jewels of the city, the late Renaissance palace Condes de Argillo, which houses the museum, and the Plaza de San Felipe, one of the most charming corners of the city.
The latter was one of the most outstanding Spanish artists of the 20th century. The IAACC Pablo Serrano is the only monographic museum dedicated to his work. Its collection also includes works by Arroyo, Barceló, Saura, Picasso, Miró and Tàpies, as well as international artists such as Michaux, Warhol, Lichtenstein, Beuys, Bacon and Le Corbusier. If you are interested in contemporary art, you have to visit it. Currently, you can visit exhibitions such as ‘Informalism and abstraction. Transversal visions of the Circ collection
The latter was one of the most outstanding Spanish artists of the 20th century. The IAACC Pablo Serrano is the only monographic museum dedicated to his work. Its collection also includes works by Arroyo, Barceló, Saura, Picasso, Miró and Tàpies, as well as international artists such as Michaux, Warhol, Lichtenstein, Beuys, Bacon and Le Corbusier. If you are interested in contemporary art, you have to visit it. Currently, you can visit exhibitions such as ‘Informalism and abstraction. Transversal visions of the Circa XX collection’ or ‘The Phantom Bouquet’, by Marte Sánchez Marco, among others.
In addition, these two museums have initiated a collaboration for the joint dissemination of their spaces and the work they house. Until May they have programmed dramatized visits, called “At home with…” to show the life and environment of both Aragonese sculptors.
A bit of theater
If you feel like some theater, you have to stop by the Teatro Principal. Guillermo Sanjuan, Rebeca Valls, Juan Gea, Jorge Vidal and Paula Braguinsky star in ‘Burundanga’ from April 5 to 16. The play reflects, in an original and absurd way, the end of the terrorist band, with a plot full of intrigue and humor based on a love affair. Three ingredients, well mixed, have achieved the complicated alchemy of becoming one of the great successes of the moment and a benchmark of Spanish theatrical comedy, with 11 seasons on the bill.
Live music
The perfect finishing touch to this Holy Week can be a blues and folk concert at the Rock & Blues hall. Oscar Wolf & Washboard Quico will give a concert on Sunday, April 20 at 8:00 pm. These two passionate blues fans got together to play rural blues songs. Despite their individual careers, in this concert tour they will dedicate themselves exclusively to play this style of music from the 20’s and 30’s with influences such as Broonzy, Washboard Sam or Blind Boy Fuller.
