Casa Martí

The building of the Museum of Modern Art of the Diputació de Tarragona, in its current state, is the result of the union of three old houses in the upper part of the city. The first had been owned by the Jesuit College of Sants Reis, in Tarragona. Confiscated by the Crown from the Company after the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1767, it was bought by Antoni Martí i Gatell, in 1772, from the Municipal Board in charge of selling the property of the aforementioned religious in Tarragona. The new owner, after having improved it, established his residence there in 1781. The illustrious Altafullenc scientist Antoni Martí i Franquès, son of Martí i Gatell, also lived in this house, who lived in our city from 1798 until he died in 1832. In the nineteenth century, the grandson of Martí i Gatell, Gaietà Martí i Veciana, bought two neighboring houses, in 1838 and 1857, and then expanded and restored the primitive house .

In 1951, the Art School of the Diputació de Tarragona was established in Casa Martí until 1976, when it moved to its current location, in the Sant Pere Sescelades area.

From 1976, and taking advantage of the usable space offered by the house, the first activities began with a view to the creation of a new museum for the city. First of all, it was necessary to take inventory of everything that was available, select the most interesting pieces and display them.

Due to lack of space, the area dedicated to the permanent exhibition was small; however, a whole series of temporary exhibitions were held there, which also helped to bring visitors closer to the museum.

In 1983, the Diputació acquired the property on Carrer de Santa Anna, and two years later the architect Jaume Mutlló i Pàmies was commissioned with the adaptation project for the building and in 1991 it reopened its doors.

In 2008 the Museum of Modern Art renewed the exhibition of the permanent collection and brought an important didactic character to its presentation.

From the year 2020, with the new direction of the MAMT, the museum's rooms dedicated to the permanent exhibition will take on a new dimension and will be freed from the character of permanence to host temporary exhibitions that respond to the current needs of contemporary languages.