April 23 is Catalonia’s Valentine’s Day. Catalans celebrate the day of their patron saint, Saint George (Sant Jordi in Catalan), a mysterious brave knight who saved a princess from being devoured by a ferocious dragon. Sant Jordi is an opportunity for couples to celebrate their love, and friends their friendship. Traditionally, men offered a rose to their loved ones while women gave them a book. 

The streets and squares are filled with people strolling among the flower and book stalls. Sant Jordi is a nice day to experience the tradition of Catalonia and the festivities are intensely lived in the city of Girona. 

You will discover the city by yourself through another light thanks to the many outdoor activities, concerts, performans, human towers, etc.

Within the Castell de Peralada property there are two historic buildings: the Castle and the Convent of Carme, both dating from the 14th century. It is in the latter space where we can enjoy the incomparable artistic heritage owned by the Suqué-Mateu family.

By means of a guided tour you will visit the spectacular library with more than 100,000 volumes, the ceramics collection, the glass museum, considered one of the most important in the world, the wine museum, and the Gothic church and cloister.

Albert Guinovart is a Catalan composer and pianist. He will present his new album ‘Poems without words’. 

Albert Guinovart is the exceptional heir of the extraordinary cultural renaissance that emerged so powerfully in early twentieth-century Catalonia. It led to the birth of new aesthetic foundations, firmly built upon great European culture and drawing upon popular sources and inherited tradition.

His prolific work includes the composition of two operas, Atzar and Alba Eterna, a ballet, Terra Baixa, an extensive catalogue of symphonic works and a no less important production of chamber repertoire, the piano being a constant feature of his work from the beginning of his career to the present. His works have been premiered in prestigious concert halls around the world by leading performers, orchestras and conductors of recognised international prestige.

More info: albertguinovart.com

We will start the Walk and Talk at the Municipal Theatre of Girona to meet the Director. You will then split into small groups to visit the beautiful city of Girona. We will finish the tour at the Auditorium of Girona to meet the Director.

You will listen to the concert of Cantoría at Sant Pere Galligants. Sant Pere Galligants is a Monastery from 12th century that is representative of Catalan Romanesque art and that you will get to visit too.

Cantoría is a vocal ensemble specialised in the performance of vocal poliphony from the Spanish Golden Age repertoire. The repertoire of Cantoría explores and takes full advantage of the theatrical and communicative character of Renaissance vocal music, and investigates the Iberian vocal technique of the Renaissance. The freshness, the youthness and closeness have become in the distinctive traits of this ensemble, that begins to build a notable national and international career.

Cantoría is a vocal ensemble led by Jorge Losana, founded in the summer of 2016 at the International Festival of Early Music in Sierra Espuña and originated at the Early Music Department of the Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya (High School of Music of Catalonia). It is formed by Inés Alonso (soprano), Samuel Tapia (countertenor), Jorge Losana (tenor and director) and Valentín Miralles (bass). Since they were selected for the EEEmerging 2018 (Emerging European Ensembles) programme and won the Audience Award, a cooperation project supported by the European Union and organised by the Cultural Meeting Center of Ambronay (France), they are building an international career.

More info: Cantoria Ensemble & Monastery of Sant Pere de Galligants

During this sigthseeing tour, you will get to explore the beautiful region of Catalonia and visit the Dalí Museum in Figueres considered as the world's largest surrealist object.

Inaugurated in 1974, the Dalí Theatre-Museum rises on the remains of the former Municipal Theatre of Figueres and is considered to be the last great work of Salvador Dalí. Everything in it was conceived and designed by the artist so as to offer visitors a real experience and draw them into his unique and captivating world.

The Dalí Theatre-Museum's collection allows the visitors to capture the artistic journey of Salvador Dalí (1904-1989) through a broadspectrum of works. The route around the rooms allows visitors to capture his first artistic experiences, surrealism, nuclear mysticism and his passion for science, guiding them to the works of the last part of his life.

A visit to the museum is a unique experience, allowing visitors to experience and enjoy the genius's works and thoughts. In the words of Dalí himself: "It's obvious that other worlds exist, that's certain; but, as I've already said in many other occasions, these other worlds are inside ours, they reside on earth and are precisely at the centre of the dome of the Dalí Museum, which contains the new, unsuspected and hallucinatory world of Surrealism".

More info: Dalí Theatre-Museum

Good news! Girona City Hall has arranged free entrance for the Summit participants for the following museums between 23 and 26 April. Participants can enter these museums by showing their badge.

• Museu del Cinema
• Museu d’Arqueologia
  
• Casa Masó – Important to pre-book your visit 
• Museu d’Història de Girona  
• Museu d’Història dels Jueus 
• Museu d’Art
  

EFA's Arts Festivals Summit 2023 is hosted and co-organised with Festival Castell de Peralada

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