A narrative by Elvira Mata i Enrich, former director of the Barcelona Maritime Museum, in Montfort Infocenter

On Thursday, 2 March 2023, Mrs Elvira Mata i Enrich, held a narrative at the Monfort Infocenter in Portorož. As the long-time Director of the Maritime Museum in Barcelona, she presented the ancient - historic vessels in maritime museums around the world. During her narrative entitled "Preservation and protection of historic vessels in Catalonia", she focused particularly on the presentation of the Maritime Museum Barcelona as well as on the acquisition, conservation and reconstruction of historic vessels, making of replicas of historic vessels and their exhibiting.

 

Historic vessels, which are reconstructed (in their original form) or exhibited as replicas (made on the basis of multidisciplinary research), are presented in museum buildings and outdoors both on land and  water, while some are presented as still actively sailing vessels. The strategy of the Barcelona Museum for the reconstruction of historic vessels was adopted in the early 1990s. To implement this in practice, sufficiently large premises were provided for them, including a small shipyard and regular employment of adequate professional personnel.

 

Mrs Mata i Enrich devoted a special part of her narrative to the presentation of the schooner Santa Eulalia, the sailing vessel which after its purchase (then called Carmen Flores) and reconstruction became the most recognizable vessel of the Barcelona Maritime Museum and even sailed twice to Piran in the recent past. The Santa Eulalia is not merely a technical maritime heritage, but also part of historical, ethnological and anthropological inherited tradition. With it, as with an instrument of maritime heritage, museological, pedagogical, promotional and socially responsible activities are carried out. It was built in 1918, its reconstruction began in 1997, and was completed in May 2000.
A day earlier, our guest held a narrative at the Muzeoforum in the Museum of Recent and Contemporary History of Slovenia in Ljubljana. She travelled to Slovenia at the invitation of  the Slovenian Museum Association and its President Dr Flavio Bonin.