Dalí's birthplace in Figueres will open to the public on October 20

Salvador Dalí's birthplace in Figueres will open its doors on October 20. After several delays, the equipment where the painter was born turned into an immersive experience where the context, the era and the different sides of the painter will be explained can be visited coinciding with the day that commemorates the granting of the title of city During this weekend - the 21st and 22nd - there will also be an open day for fig trees. The act of announcing the date was made in the presence of all the mayors of the city, who in one way or another have participated to make this new public facility possible 30 years after the procedures began .

Figueres City Council has set a date for the opening of Salvador Dalí's birthplace. It will be on October 20, coinciding with the day that commemorates the granting of the city title. The following day, on the 21st and 22nd, there will be an open day, subject to registration, for Figuerencs and Figuerenques. The goal is for them to "own" this "unique" space in the world where the figure of Dalí and his context will be explained.

A context that, according to the Councilor for Culture, Mariona Seguranyes, is "essential" to understand his work and his life, in addition to the character. Seguranyes has also said that the space will be "the tribute" that the city will pay to the most universal Empordà painter.

For his part, the mayor, Jordi Masquef, highlighted the participation that each of the city's mayors and mayoresses had in making this space a reality and described the meeting that brought them together as a "historical photograph" all: Joan Armangué, Marià Lorca, Santi Vila, Marta Felip and Agnès Lladó.

Once it opens its doors, it will be incorporated into the city's tourist offer in an immersive experience where the context, the era and the different sides of the painter will be explained. It will be done through holograms, mapping and audiovisual projections, in addition to audio guides coordinated with the images and two voices: that of a woman who will be the guiding thread of the visit and that of Dalí himself, through quotes made in interviews and in other contexts. One part of the exhibition will show the life of the genius (his family, the neighborhood, his training in Madrid and his love for Gala) and another, will focus on his more public and media facet.

The different floors will be visited, although the mezzanine is the one that preserves some of the main spaces. Among them, the room where the painter was born and where you can see the original painting he had, as well as a drawing from the time whose authorship is still unknown.

Entry to the facility will cost 12 euros and there will be free entry for school groups, under 18s and retirees. Access will be in groups of a maximum of eight people.

A documentary of the process

On the other hand, coinciding with the inauguration of the space, a documentary directed by the director Alba Cros will be premiered that will retrace the conceptualization and production process of the project.

A process of almost 30 years

The renovation works on the genius's birthplace began in September 2019 and almost four years later they are nearing completion. But the project to reform this space, which saw the birth of the painter in 1904, began much earlier. In 1995, the then mayor, Marià Lorca, bought the Tamaris store - which had been the father's notary - and part of the mezzanine.

In 2001, with Joan Armangué at the head of the council, the missing parts of the ground floor and the mezzanine, the entire first and second floor, were acquired. Between 2005 and 2006, the facade was rehabilitated as a preliminary step to condition the building for future uses.

During these almost 30 years, successive councils have been taking steps to incorporate the equipment into the city and turn it into a visitable space.

At the beginning of 2022, the first phase of works was finished and the second was awarded in the middle. In March, the previous government team announced that work was nearing completion and that the facility would open its doors in July. For fairs, a series of guided tours of the equipment was organized showing one of the parts already museumised.