We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our colleague Manuel Medarde Sagrera, which occurred on April 7, 2026, at the age of 91. Born in Blanes on November 19, 1934, he was a descendant of the Tejada lineage (Baldosera) and an eminent industrial engineer, archaeologist, and historian.
He served as secretary of the international and episcopal commissions of the Colònia Güell, professor at the International Center for Studies of Built Heritage at the School of Civil Engineering of the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, professor of specialized courses at the Egyptian Museum of Barcelona, and head of the Seminar Department at the Can Batlló Adult Education Center of the Barcelona Provincial Council.
He spent his professional life at the technology company Olivetti and in the Architectural Heritage Service of the Barcelona Provincial Council. He is the author of the inventory and study of the entire collection of jewelry and the metalwork of the Romanesque altar frontals and images in the Episcopal Museum of Vic. Author of numerous publications on Antoni Gaudí, he has participated in the restoration of such preeminent Gaudí works as the Palau Güell and the Crypt of the Colònia Güell. He created and directed the Research Group on Gaudí’s Torre Bellesguard. As the media highlighted in 2013: “This expert’s work has been crucial to the successful completion of the project to open Barcelona’s Torre Bellesguard to the public, a work by Antoni Gaudí, but inaccessible until now.”
Thanks to his intervention, along with priest Joan Rosell Taberner, the unfortunate work being carried out in the Crypt of the Colònia Güell was halted, saving numerous pieces from being destroyed, such as the wrought iron altarpiece by Josep Maria Jujol and the bell tower’s ratchet. He was recently awarded the first Gaudí Research and Dissemination Prize by the Madrid Gaudí Centre.
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