The renovation of the Vilafranca town hall plenary room allowed for the removal and restoration of the portraits that make up the Gallery of Illustrious Sons of the Town, a collection dating back to the early years of the 20th century. The restoration work was completed by the conservation service of the VINSEUM.
This action responds to requests from various municipal groups, including motions by Esquerra Republicana 100xCent Vilafranca, to remove the portrait of Juan Álvarez de Sisternes. He served as mayor during the Primo de Rivera dictatorship, and his portrait was installed in 1947, during the Franco regime. The piece will now become part of the VINSEUM collections.
In its place, the portrait of Isidre Rius i Font (Vilafranca del Penedès, 1856-1919) has been incorporated into the Gallery. Rius was a cooper who excelled in journalistic, social, and political fields. In his journalistic career, he founded and directed three newspapers: El Panadés Federal, Unión, and Lluitem!. The painting is the work of Ricard Clausells.
“"in this way Vilafranca takes another step to vindicate democratic and anti-fascist values, and the plenary hall will stop making fascist apology and defend democratic memory."
The spokesperson for ERC, Pere Sàbat, emphasized that this change is "an important step to reinforce the struggle for the democratic memory of the town and to promote democratic values".
