The things that were Temporary exhibition

What do the objects in the museum tell us, what do they conceal, what do they symbolise? What do they tell us of the city's past? What and who are they symbols of? How do the different people and different languages that coexist in Girona talk to us about the city and how do they perceive it?

Through extraordinary and curious objects, this exhibition tells the stories of the city, its heritage and its people. From a headless angel to a set of 18th-century ceramic utensils, a reliquary bust of Saint Narcissus, a portrait of a 'Santa Bàrbara' woman, a gynaecological examination table from the early 20th century, ceramic tiles depicting a medieval lady's coat of arms, a raffle drum for assigning final examination questions, a warping machine from the Grober factory, an accordion that accompanied the 'gegants' (giants), a 1960s camera, a painted silk fan, a work of conceptual art and an unreal portrait of a dead gypsy woman -all of these can be seen in the exhibition.

The objects tell stories, preserve memories, and maintain dialogues with each other and with the past. They speak of things and people that time has hidden and that memory has pushed aside. A new reading from different perspectives creates new narratives that, from the sidelines of conventional history, highlight some of the little big things that have made Girona what it is today.

All these objects have heritage value and all suggest stories. Some are true and others are only imagined, but all are plausible. Because they are the fruit of reflections by people who have viewed the objects through the lens of the times, spaces and lives in which they existed.

The exhibition proposes a journey through the stories that make up the history of Girona, inviting us to experience -borrowing the expression used by Carles Rahola- the feeling of noble curiosity for the things that were.