Lourdes To Ribalta, a former caretaker, recently revisited the Món Sant Benet monastery in Sant Fruitós de Bages, sharing memories of her life there between the 1950s and 1970s. During that period, the monastic complex served as a summer residence for an aristocratic family who had acquired it. To Ribalta described a time when the monastery had a much more agricultural essence than its current form as a major tourist and cultural centre.
To Ribalta moved to the monastery in 1958 with her parents, Josep To and Carme Ribalta, two siblings, and an aunt. The family had previously worked as caretakers in other areas, including Solsonès, Montmajor, and Balsareny. According to To Ribalta, her father heard that Sant Benet needed caretakers and decided to move the family there. Joan Montraveta, a distant nephew who spent seasons helping with the grape harvest, added that the move also aimed to secure a future for the children, as a textile factory was nearby where To Ribalta and her younger sister, Glòria, later worked.
Life Among Vineyards and Weavers
Her family's duties included looking after the monastery and accompanying visitors. To Ribalta recalled the area being much more secluded, dominated by vineyards, forests, and the textile factory. She remembered long walks in the woods after finishing work at the factory. The family also maintained chickens, rabbits, and a vegetable garden for their own consumption, alongside the vineyards surrounding the monastery. Her father bought land specifically for growing grapes, despite the significant work involved, according to To Ribalta. She still remembers ploughing the land with a mule and treading grapes in a vat during harvest to produce must.
Even then, people interested in Romanesque architecture visited the monastery. To Ribalta's mother often guided these tourists through the cloisters and convent buildings, though the church remained in ruins. Her mother knew the history by heart, To Ribalta said. Visitors often asked about a supposed underground mine leading to Montserrat, which To Ribalta doubted, saying with a smile, "There must be many holes, but I doubt they reach Montserrat."
The family slept on the monastery's ground floor, which is now the visitor information point. Montraveta, who stayed there occasionally, described it as a very dark place with little light. They were often alone for much of the year, but the owners arrived in summer. To Ribalta recalled lighting fires in their rooms. She also remembered Enric Rocamora, a relative of the painter Ramon Casas, who would leave large plates of chocolates on the table. "When he came up, they would give us some, but when he wasn't there, I didn't dare take any," she said, laughing.
A Painter's Legacy and Factory Life
To Ribalta spent ten years at the monastery before marrying and moving to Navarcles. After her father died at the monastery in 1966, her mother remained until the 1970s, when another caretaker family took over. Caretakers continued to live there until the rehabilitation of Sant Benet, when it stopped being a summer residence and became the cultural and tourist complex it is today.
The prolific painter and draughtsman Ramon Casas, an heir of the family who acquired the monastery, immortalised the first caretaker, Pere Corbella Tudó (1862-1924), in his charcoal portraits. Corbella lived with his wife, Maria Vila, and daughter Magdalena in the textile factory workers' flats before becoming caretakers of Sant Benet. According to various sources, Casas was instrumental in his mother's decision to buy Sant Benet, which increased his contact with the Navarcles area. This led him to create portraits of local figures, including the textile factory director, builders, masons, and the caretakers themselves. Pere Corbella died in 1924, but his family stayed at Sant Benet until 1930, when they moved to Navarcles. Magdalena Corbella later met Ramon Casas at the Codina spa in Tona in the early 1930s and showed her father's portrait to Llorenç Ferrer, former mayor of Navarcles and historian, who arranged for its donation to the Manresa Regional Museum.
When To Ribalta moved to the monastery in 1958, the textile factory, which opened in the mid-19th century, was fully operational. This cotton spinning industry used hydroelectric power from the Llobregat river and employed nearly 400 people. The factory's presence next to the monastery was a key factor in the To family's decision to move to Sant Benet as caretakers, offering employment opportunities for the children.
