On Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 November we carried out an artistic intervention with the residents of the Pont Trencat neighbourhood, painting several spaces: the footbridge crossing the C-35 road and the walls of the local school. Rebobinart coordinated the participatory process with the neighbourhood to make the project possible.

The history of Pont Trencat: past and present

The Pont Trencat neighbourhood, in Santa Maria de Palautordera, takes its name from the Gothic bridge built between the 14th and 15th centuries, which followed the route of the old Roman Via Augusta and the medieval royal road. During the Peninsular War, in the early 19th century, the bridge was destroyed to block the advance of the invading Napoleonic troops. Its restoration was completed in 2003, an architectural project that has since received numerous international awards.

Through the 1960s and 1970s, Pont Trencat was a destination for migrants from southern Spain who came to work in the textile industry. The newcomers built houses, drainage and public facilities in this part of Santa Maria de Palautordera, which was beginning to take on its present shape. Because they built their own neighbourhood with their own hands, its residents have a strong sense of cohesion and a deep attachment to the area, while keeping the ties to their cultural origins. The neighbourhood has a very active residents’ association that liaises with the town council, looks after the upkeep of the area and its facilities, and organises events such as the Pont Trencat festival.

A project that empowers the neighbourhood

For years, residents of Pont Trencat had campaigned for a footbridge that would let them cross the C-35 safely and easily. The overpass was completed in 2016, answering that need. Given the neighbourhood’s strong cohesion, the Santa Maria de Palautordera town council decided to launch a participatory project: an artistic intervention on the new overpass and on the primary school. The initiative empowers the community precisely because it was the community that decided how the more than 500 square metres of surface would be treated and what would be depicted on them. Rebobinart coordinated the various interventions, the selection of artists and the participatory process that shaped the final result.