In Ripoll, the Scriptorium has reopened in a new accessible location on the upper floor of Sant Pere church, with the aim of strengthening cultural activity for residents and visitors across Catalonia.
The permanent exhibition, dedicated to medieval monastic copyists, reopened on 8 June after a redesign that includes new physical displays, updated audiovisual systems and a relocated calligraphy workshop space with interactive scenography. The Ethnographic Museum is now planning visits and activities for the public.
The project cost €315,826.94. Of that total, €130,507 came from the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER), Girona Provincial Council contributed €65,253.50, and Ripoll Town Council covered the remaining €120,066.44. Raül Duque and Jose Navio were responsible for the new museographic design.
The Scriptorium project began nearly 30 years ago and gained momentum in 2000 during the millennium commemoration of Pope Sylvester II, Gerbert d'Orlhac, a Benedictine monk linked to the Ripoll Monastery. Ramon Sargatal initially conceived and directed the project, and the first Scriptorium opened in 2003 in the chapel of the old hospital, next to the current Comarcal Archive.
Roser Vilardell, director of the Ethnographic Museum, said the old space did not have access for people with reduced mobility, which is why the exhibition was moved. She said the new site gives the museum more room for schools and also allows it to organise activities for visitors and families. Ripoll’s mayor, Sílvia Orriols, described the project as a clear commitment to culture and said the current government wants to preserve and promote it.
The Scriptorium of Ripoll is an interactive and educational exhibition on the town’s medieval past and the role of the Monastery of Santa Maria de Ripoll between the 10th and 12th centuries, when it was a major centre for manuscript production and copying. Visitors can learn how parchment was made, how a quill pen writes and how medieval codices were bound, then try the work of a copyist monk themselves. For group visits and reservations, contact the Ethnographic Museum of Ripoll at 972 70 31 44 or [email protected]. More local coverage is available on our news page.