Neoclassical Style

The Reial Acadèmia de Medicina de Catalunya‘s headquarters have been housed in the old Col·legi de Cirurgia building since 1929, one of the most important examples of neoclassical architecture in Barcelona which preserves a spectacular anatomy amphitheatre from the 17th century. The building was designed by the architect Ventura Rodríguez and constructed between 1762 and 1763. It was where the army’s surgeons were trained, though it also attended to the civilian population.

Dissection Table

The large anatomy amphitheatre is circular and covered by a spherical dome. Its elaborate stained glass and Baroque-style ornamental details make the hall exceptionally beautiful. And its stone tiers allowed students to follow practical anatomy dissection classes and occasional operations there. What grabs your full attention, though is its central feature: a marble dissection table, one of the few still preserved in Europe. The table is surrounded by two circular rows of carved wooden chairs gilded in the rococo style, for anyone who wished to follow the practical classes close up to avoid missing any detail.

Important lecturers such as Pere Virgili, Antoni de Gimbernat and Santiago Ramon y Cajal taught in these buildings.