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Towers of people in spain. Monument in Tarragona: bronze tower made of people Tarragona monument pyramid made of people

100 km from Barcelona on the Mediterranean coast, the city of Tarragona is comfortably located - ancient capital Catalonia. This place was chosen by the Romans because of the strategically convenient position to found a city here.
In the third century BC, on a hill above the sea, they erected a fortress wall and built the city of Tarraco. Subsequently, the city became the residence of the Roman emperors Augustus and Andrian, as well as the main naval base and capital of the Roman Empire on the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula. Thanks to the well-preserved Roman architectural ensemble, Tarragona is included in the official list of the most important world monuments "Protection of Humanity", approved by UNESCO.
My walk around the city started from the central New Rambla. It starts from the bus station and ends with the Mediterranean Balcony, which offers a magnificent view of the sea.

I stand in front of the amazing sculptural composition, V life size depicting a pyramid of people. The composition was erected right in the middle of the street and it seems that the once living participants simply turned to stone in a moment. Very impressive!

Competition "Tarragona Castells" - building a pyramid of people - is a long-standing Catalan tradition. Participants must build a complex structure, showing outstanding skill. people of different age groups prepare for the competition very seriously. Every two years, Tarragona arranges the championship of castellers - the builders of pyramids from people.

This mansion is considered the most interesting example of Tarragona Art Nouveau. Casa Salas was one of the first houses built on the New Rambla. Then, after Ramon Salas, other wealthy Tarragona families followed (however, Salas himself had no family, and he left no heirs).

This is the official building of the Rambla.

This is the bank building.

A little further on the New Rambla is unusual monument grandfather Virgil This monument is dedicated to the memory of Josep Virgil (1895-1993), the legendary Tarragona publisher and bibliographer, popularly known as "grandfather Virgil". The monument is made of bronze in natural size. It appeared on the New Rambla in 1995. Grandpa is depicted as cute and casual as usual old man watching over everyday life that flows on the boulevard.

In this part of the New Rambla, almost by the sea, there is a monument to the Aragonese admiral Ruggiero di Lauria (1245-1305). bronze statue admiral by the sculptor Felix Ferrer Galceran was made in 1886. The monument, along with a pedestal designed by Ramon Salas, was inaugurated in 1889.

And I saw the original of this sculpture in the Vatican Museum.

The old city stands on the site of the ancient Roman Tarraco, and still has many traces of that era. Starting from the walls and ending with the amphitheater.

What is it - sport or art? Even the castells themselves, the participants, the builders and the building material of the "living structures" cannot say this for sure. Pyramids built from living people have not surprised anyone for a long time. But when these "living towers" become a national craze, a part of the national color, a tradition and a pretext for the pride of Catalonia, this is suggestive. (It is good that the traditional tug-of-war in Rus' remained only folk fun) And indeed, almost every village, village, not to mention the city, has its own colla - a group of castellers (castellers). And every self-respecting Spanish TV and radio channel or newspaper considers it their duty to highlight the moments of what is happening.

This aesthetic sport was formed on the basis of folk dance muixeranga, who came to Catalonia from neighboring Valencia. Dancing villagers made figures to the drumming sounds folk instruments, and at the moment when the music stopped, the participants in the dancing extravaganza lined up in a small “ living pyramid". But time passed. Dancing has become not a popular phenomenon, unlike live geometric shapes. And so this Spanish wonder was born.

Builders' uniforms are not just a badge, they are strategically important meaning. Each item of equipment carries a functional load. There is not a single superfluous detail in the casteller's clothes, and the safety of one's life or a friend depends on how tightly the bandana or belt is tied.

Traditionally, the trousers of castellers are always white, but for those who climb higher than the rest, they are rolled up to the knee. The same goes for shirt sleeves. It is interesting that an experienced builder clamps the ends of the collar in his mouth so that the shirt does not slip off the legs of the superior and does not accidentally damage the bones of the collarbone or neck. The colors of the shirts distinguish belonging to any colla. Priority are red, blue, green or yellow, orange or black. And no stripes, cells or flowers. Other than the chest pocket, nothing else is allowed with the band emblem.

The most important part professional casteller's wardrobe - faixa. This is a black wide, incredibly long, dense belt. It can only be tied with the help of a friend who will help wrap it tightly around the waist. This procedure is so important that it even got its name enfaixar-se. Dressing faixa does not tolerate any fuss and promptness. A neatly and tightly tied belt acts as a bandage protecting the back of the casteller during the performance. It also serves as a stepping stone for climbing to the top. Those who stand at the base of the pyramid have the longest belts, because they bear the main load and the weight of the entire “structure”.

An amazing accessory is the casteller bandana, called mocador. The location of the casteller in the “living pyramid” depends on where it is tied. If the bandana is on the head, then in front of you is a representative of the lower tier. They need a bandana in order to hide their hair, and to keep sweat from filling their eyes. If the bandana is tied around the leg, then these are the top walkers, the inhabitants of the upper floors. For them, a tied bandana is a kind of stepping stone. Well, if the bandana is tied over the belt - everything is clear here - this is the strongest person on the team, its base and the "needle" of the tower.

There are absolutely no restrictions in this sporting art (well, except for the physical ones, of course). It doesn't matter what gender, age or political prejudices you are.

By the way, castellers accept children into their ranks with great pleasure. In addition to the fact that children's competitions and festivals are held during the holiday, children participate directly in the construction of the tower. And it is they who are destined for the most difficult and risky mission - to complete living buildings, climbing to their very tops.

How is the construction going? It all starts with the release of the musicians. They are the first to enter the square, playing the familiar "Toc d'entrada a plasa" and, as it were, inviting, inviting the builders. And when “Toc del castell” begins to sound, the castellers begin their action. Manages the actions of the cap de colla team, he appoints the base of the pyramid, the people who are popularly called the "bump" - pinya. He also appoints the "needle" - the agulla of the pyramid, usually the strong man in a team. The "bump" is surrounded by baixos - representatives of the lower layers of the pyramid. The stability of the entire structure depends on these people.

The outer part of the pyramid can be incredibly large.

The first tier of the "trunk" is erected on the "bump". Barefoot athletes line up on each other's shoulders, clasping their hands. The following rows are built according to the same scheme. Now the main thing is not to rush, focus and find a foothold and balance. The slightest mistake will lead to total collapse and multiple injuries.

The upper layers of the tower are made up of the youngest members of the team. The structure of the "trunk" completes the "fruit", consisting of three parts. Dosos - two teenagers personifying the stem, l'acetxador - a kind of bridge, usually this role is given to a child up to 8-9 years old (thank God, he is always put on a helmet on his head) But the main actor is the smallest casteller. He is a “flower”, for the sake of which this whole “trunk” “grew up”. The “flower” has the most important task ahead of it: climbing onto the squatting l’acetxador, he must wave his hand, which will mean the long-awaited end of construction, and then carefully get off. The stroke must be made clearly in the middle of the top of the pyramid.

The monument in Tarragona The tower of people is original, as is national art which it symbolizes. Only in Catalonia there is a tradition in the construction of acrobatic "towers", when more than a hundred people are involved in the performance. Castells is the name of this type of sports and cultural activity. A monument was erected in Tarragona, which accurately reflects the entire process of building the tower in its climax.

Monument als Castellers appeared not so long ago, but has become one of the most popular objects among the many.

History of the monument

The monument in the form of a pyramid of people was created by the Catalan sculptor Francesc Angles. The master initially sculpted a plaster sculptural group, which became a model for a monument cast in bronze. A plaster monument was temporarily installed in a small town in the northeast of the province of Tarragona.

And while the bronze version was being reproduced, the Tarragons decided where in their city the most suitable place for a new monument. Four of the proposed places were discussed, and each resident had the opportunity to vote where he would like to see a monument to national art.

As a result, the choice was made in favor of the main street, from which it is a stone's throw to the arena, where it systematically takes place. Once every two years, on the first weekend of October, the castellers gather for their "Olympiad", which is held in Tarragona.

On May 29, 1999, the monument in honor of the castells was unveiled. The object reaches 11 m in height and weighs 12 tons.

The composition of the monument

The author faithfully depicted the Catalan tower of people at the moment when it is considered completed. IN highest point pyramid depicts a young participant who waves his hand - this means that the tower has been built.

The composition is formed by a set bronze sculptures made in human height and reflecting the expression experienced by the participants of the event.

The monument is made up of 219 sculptures. In the lower part, which in the construction of the towers is called "piña", there are sculptures dedicated to individual famous people Spain. In particular, connoisseurs can find the bronze Pablo Picasso or Juan Samaranch.

In addition to the main composition of the castells, four more images of participants are installed nearby, who perform the roles assigned to them in the process of building the tower. Separately, there is a sculpture of the leader, and on the other side of the tower there are three musicians beating drums and playing gralles on horns.

The third review article from the series "Pyramids of the World". I’ll make a reservation right away that some structures are not strictly pyramids, rather, they are pyramid-shaped structures.

Bosnia

About the pyramids in Bosnia, this portal already has a good, complete article, so briefly.

In 2005, researcher Semir Osmanagic suggested that Mount Visoko, located about 20 km from the Bosnian capital, is in fact not a mountain at all, but a 220-meter-high pyramid built from blocks 2-3 meters long. The result of the excavations was the Pyramid of the Sun with a truncated top, as oriented to the cardinal points as its Egyptian sisters.
And if the "main" pyramid is considered artificial, then during the construction of its lower companions, discovered in May 2006, unknown architects took the path of least resistance: they simply overlaid natural hills with slabs and hung terraces. Osmanagich is sure that the age of his finds exceeds 10 thousand years. In total, together with the main pyramid, the Bosnian valley has five monuments.
An interesting fact: tunnels have been found leading under smaller pyramids, but there are no traces of either small animals or insects in them. But there was a smooth manuscript with rune-like writing. However, for most scientists, neither masonry and cladding, nor correct form pyramids have not become weighty arguments - the discovery is considered pseudoscientific.

Italy

Compared with the great pyramids of Egypt, the structure erected for the Roman Gaius Cestius Epulon in the period from 18 to 12 BC looks like a real kitten: its height is “only” 36.4 meters, and the length of the base is 30 meters. Unlike the others, this pyramid is wrong; in fact, it does not have that mysterious component that forces the layman to look at such monuments with the expectation of a miracle. The pyramid is a mausoleum, it is believed that Rem, one of the founders of Rome, is buried in it. His brother, Romulus, rested in the Vatican pyramid, which has not survived to this day. The Cestian pyramid is made of concrete, the exterior is marble and brick. It was officially allowed to print its entrance only in 1660, but before that the pyramid was opened by unknown profit hunters and plundered.

The ancient people who taught the Romans to build roads and subsequently absorbed by the Romans are the Etruscans.
They did not leave a lot of information about themselves, and what they have is very scarce. The more significant was the find of Italian archaeologists, who in literally dug up several pyramids dating from around the 5th century BC. Most of them are hidden underground, so nothing can be said about the height (depth?) or the length of the base: now the researchers have penetrated only 3 meters. The top of the first of the found pyramids was rebuilt already in modern times, and was used as a wine cellar. A medieval floor was hidden under the modern floor, they dug deeper - they found many antique artifacts and tunnels that are supposed to lead to other hidden pyramids. Archaeologists say that one can unequivocally judge the religious purpose of the Etruscan structures, or their use as a tomb. What the Etruscans really wanted to achieve with their pyramids, no one will ever tell us.

Spain

Official science considers the pyramids of Guimar, discovered on the island of Tenerife, to be the buildings of farmers. Like, the farmer was digging a field, and he piled the stones found at its edge. And so he folded, folded, and accidentally piled up a stepped pyramid with a rectangular base and a height of up to 12 meters. And nothing at all that the length of the faces is 15-80 meters. Well, farmers are farmers. on the conscience of historians.

According to local residents, in total there were nine pyramids on the island, but three of them were dismantled, as they were considered useless and allowed for free building materials. Reminiscent of the fate of the lining of the Egyptian pyramids. Apparently, this is a common scourge for such structures.
During excavations under the pyramids, ceramics, bones, artifacts and utensils were found. The finds date back to 680-1020 AD, more precisely, radiocarbon analysis could not say, just as scientists could not accurately determine the time of construction of the pyramids themselves.
Thor Heyerdahl smashed to smithereens official version his conclusions, but no one listened to him. According to him, before the construction of the pyramids, the ground under their base was carefully leveled, and the corners of the steps were processed. This is not just a chaotic heap of stones, this is the construction of a monument of a certain shape. Moreover, the stones are not boulders from the fields, but solidified lava. Heyerdahl also could not say when the pyramids were built, but suggested their astronomical purpose: on the day of the summer solstice, from the top of the largest of the pyramids, you can watch the sunset twice, since it first hides behind one of the peaks, appears again and finally disappears behind the next . And on the day of the winter solstice, the stairs on the western side of the pyramids point exactly to the rising sun.
Under one of the pyramids there is a cave in which the natives of the Canary Islands, the Guanches, lived. Traces of their culture were discovered during excavations.

Greece

There is no established opinion about the number of pyramids in Greece. Some sources claim that there are only three of them, others number more than two dozen. I'll tell you about the most popular. Of course, they are not so high and noticeable, but their importance does not become less because of this.

On the outskirts of the Argolic plain, in Elliniko, there is a pyramid with a rectangular base, built of limestone.
Its height is only 3.5 meters, the sides of the base slightly exceed 7 and 9 meters. The entrance, located on the east side, leads to a square room inside the pyramid. Pausanias, a geographer, lived in the 2nd century AD. In his notes, he left references to two structures similar in description, which were common graves: in one they buried those who fell in civil war for the throne of Argos, in another - also the Argives who died in the battle with the Spartans in 668-669. The researchers are sure that the graves have not survived to this day, and have suggested that the Elliniko pyramid was built as a fort to defend the valley. However, there is no evidence. Various options analysis of the blocks gave a strong scatter of results, 2000-3000 years, but this may also indicate that old material was used for construction, so it is impossible to say the exact date of the pyramid's construction.

The four-stage pyramid of Amphion is called the Great Greek Pyramid: the height of the truncated cone is 4 meters. Its construction is accompanied by a legend about the construction of Thebes: two brothers, Amphion and Zeph, built ancient city. Amphion played the magic lyre that Hermes gave him - thanks to a wonderful game, the stones themselves fit in the right order, and soon the city was completed. However, due to the slander of the daughter of the titans, Leto, the gods sent a plague on the entire family of brothers, and they died. Their common grave and became a pyramid. Inside it, archaeologists have found many passages and branches, some of which end in rooms. Researchers believe that the brothers are buried in one of these rooms. At the same time, there is an opinion that they were not Greeks, but came from Egypt: this is evidenced by the typical Egyptian arrangement of the pyramid. Floral motifs of the ornament and lily pendants, the direction of the main tunnel is strictly on polar star(in the Cheops pyramid exactly the same location), and other signs known only to archaeologists: everything points to the Egyptian roots of the brothers. Unfortunately, this pyramid has not retained its treasures to this day: it was plundered long ago; only three gold jewelry dating back to 2700-2400 BC, and an unnamed skeleton remained to scientists. The study of the hill was stopped in 1973. There is a bold suggestion that the Greek pyramid is older than the Egyptian sisters; if this were confirmed, then just imagine the scale of the "disaster" for the scientific world: how many degrees and awards will fly into the furnace when you have to rewrite a significant piece of the annals of mankind! Maybe that's why no further excavations are being carried out, or maybe the Greeks simply blocked the financial flow to this area.

The pyramid in Crete has been better preserved than its "comrades", but it has also been studied many times less.
There were no excavations and no serious research, so most of the information about the pyramid in Chania is speculation. It is known that it does not consist of many separate blocks, but is entirely carved into the rock at an altitude of 290 meters above sea level. Base - circumference 29 meters, height - 8.5 meters. A chamber was carved into the pyramid, the length and height are about 2 meters, the width is 1.4 meters. In addition to the method of construction, the pyramid differs from the rest in the location of the entrance: if for the majority it is located on the east side, then in this one it is cut through from the west. There is a similar design in the southern pyramid of Pharaoh Snefru, located in Dahshur. It is possible that the cone-shaped structure is a trace of the Minoan civilization.

The Greeks also have their own Kailash - the mountain-pyramid Taygetos. To be honest, this is a whole backbone. Not to say that he was considered sacred, but named after the Pleiades Taygety. On the eastern slopes of the ridge stood the city of Sparta; Taygeta was the mother of its founder Lacedaemon. According to legend, the Spartans threw crippled and frail boys into one of the gorges of the ridge, but the researchers did not confirm this information. Disputes continue about the origin of the pyramids: whether they are natural or artificial. In any case, the mountain passes very sharply into a clear, smooth base of the pyramid. It remains only to wait for an enthusiastic archaeologist to conduct a series of studies there.

Another pyramid, from which only a small pile of stones remained, is the Ligurian. It was discovered in 1936 and dated to 2100 BC. However, excavations revealed stone ax the Neolithic era. Now you can only roughly name the size of the base: 12 and 14 meters. Most of the monument was regarded as an ownerless building material, and used "for its intended purpose" in the village of Liguriu and the church of St. Marina.

To be continued.

The Spanish city of Tarragona hosted the 25th competition for the construction of "living towers" - castel. More than 30 teams from all over the country took part in the event. The goal of the competition is to build the highest human tower. A colorful spectacle is held every two years and gathers hundreds of thousands of spectators. It is worth noting that four years ago, UNESCO added the "living towers" to the list of intangible cultural heritage humanity.

This tradition originated somewhere in the 18th century, in the province Tarragona. The "living" towers were used in celebrations in honor of the grape harvest. This aesthetic sport was formed on the basis of the folk dance muixeranga, which came to Catalonia from neighboring Valencia. Dancing villagers made figures to the drumming sounds of folk instruments, and at the moment when the music stopped, the participants of the dancing extravaganza lined up in a small “living pyramid”. But time passed. Dancing has become an unpopular phenomenon, unlike living geometric shapes. And so this Spanish wonder was born.

Later this holiday became widespread throughout Catalonia. Today, each village has its own colla-group of castellers. They train all year round, and the competitions themselves begin in March, namely on the feast of St. Julia.

The tallest and most difficult tower to build was built in 1998 by Castellers de Vilafranca. This tower consisted of 10 tiers, and there were three people in each tier.

At the base of the "burning" structure are the strongest members of the team - men, however, and their knees and shoulders are shaking, on which several "floors" of girls and a children's "top" are perched, the lightest and monkey-like dexterous (all the kids are in protective helmets). There can be up to ten levels in total - this is the most difficult composition, the standard is 7-8.

It is very exciting to watch the process of the “growth” of the tower, if not to say exciting, because one wrong move, one slightest advantage in the wrong direction, and the whole gigantic structure will collapse in a moment. That is why the winners of the competition are the team that will not only build the tower to the delight of the public, to the envy of competitors, but also be able to keep it during the reverse process - parsing the structure into “bricks”, which are the participants of the competition themselves, one at a time, starting from the top going down.

It is noticed that most of the towers collapse during the "dismantling". From the outside, it looks very fun - a kind of fail, but the contestants themselves often have no time for fun: it’s not very pleasant to fly from a 20-meter height, and it’s also not sugar to take the blow of such a colossus for those who are below. So the ambulance is on duty at the stadium, providing first aid to the castellers with the help of tampons that stop nosebleeds and ointment from bruises. For those less fortunate, a stretcher is ready. But despite such a risk of injury, the holiday lived, is alive and will live thanks to the Spaniards' eternal craving for adventure and their own optimism with a fair amount of masochism.

The uniform of builders is not just a distinctive sign, it carries a strategically important meaning. Each item of equipment carries a functional load. There is not a single superfluous detail in the casteller's clothes, and the safety of one's life or a friend depends on how tightly the bandana or belt is tied.

Ispa

Tarragona. Castell. (Ajuntament de Vilanova i la Geltrú)

The most important part of a professional casteller's wardrobe is the faixa. It is a black wide, incredibly long, dense belt. It can only be tied with the help of a friend who will help wrap it tightly around the waist. This procedure is so important that it even got its name enfaixar-se. Dressing faixa does not tolerate any fuss and promptness. A neatly and tightly tied belt acts as a bandage protecting the back of the casteller during the performance. It also serves as a stepping stone for climbing to the top. Those who stand at the base of the pyramid have the longest belts, because they bear the main load and the weight of the entire “structure”.

An amazing accessory is the casteller bandana, called mocador. The location of the casteller in the “living pyramid” depends on where it is tied. If the bandana is on the head, then in front of you is a representative of the lower tier. They need a bandana in order to hide their hair, and to keep sweat from filling their eyes. If the bandana is tied on the leg, then these are the top walkers, the inhabitants of the upper floors. For them, a tied bandana is a kind of stepping stone. Well, if the bandana is tied over the belt - everything is clear here - this is the strongest person in the team, its base and the "needle" of the tower.

There are absolutely no restrictions in this sporting art (well, except for the physical ones, of course). It doesn't matter what gender, age or political prejudices you are.

How is the construction going? It all starts with the release of the musicians. They are the first to enter the square, playing the familiar "Toc d'entrada a plasa" and, as it were, inviting, inviting the builders. And when “Toc del castell” begins to sound, the castellers begin their action. Controls the actions of the cap de colla team, he appoints the base of the pyramid, the people who are popularly called the "bump" - pinya. He also appoints a "needle" - the agulla of the pyramid, usually the strongest person in the team. The "bump" is surrounded by baixos - representatives of the lower layers of the pyramid. The stability of the entire structure depends on these people.

The outer part of the pyramid can be incredibly large.

The upper layers of the tower are made up of the youngest members of the team. The structure of the "trunk" completes the "fruit", consisting of three parts. Dosos are two teenagers personifying the stem, l’acetxador is a kind of bridge, usually this role is given to a child up to 8–9 years old (thank God, he is always put on a helmet) But the main character is the smallest casteller. He is a “flower”, for the sake of which this whole “trunk” “grew up”. The “flower” has the most important task ahead of it: climbing onto the squatting l’acetxador, he must wave his hand, which will mean the long-awaited end of construction, and then carefully get off. The stroke must be made clearly in the middle of the top of the pyramid.

But this is not the end. It is not enough to build a tower, it must also be dismantled without loss. And to break, as they say, do not build! As soon as the last "brick" steps on the ground, the audience begins to applaud, slap on the shoulders of brave athletes, hug and dance to the cheerful songs of the orchestra. The end of the pyramid means the beginning of the festivities.

Castellers train all year round to show their skills in public. Competitions of daredevils begin in March, on the feast of St. Julia.

What is surprising, despite the fact that castellers, as a sport with its own strict rules and regulations, is never regarded as a competition as such.

When the Catalans are asked why they need this risky entertainment, they answer that this is a tradition that tempers the spirit, strengthens the body and faith in unity.