The Benissanet Music Museum, located in the Ribera d’Ebre region, is considered the second most important center in Catalonia after the one in Barcelona, thanks to the collection started by Josep Serra Castellví (1907-1998). Currently, the siblings Josep Maria and Mercè Serra i Ripoll, who care for it, regret that the museum remains closed to the public due to a lack of municipal resources and their advanced age.
The Serra lineage has been deeply connected to music. The father, Josep Serra Castellví, was a professional musician, an expert in slide trombone, and founded several orchestras such as the Orquestra Serralta in Gandesa and the Orquestra Riber’s. He also taught over 500 students. The collection began as a personal enjoyment, but its importance grew to become a cultural benchmark.
“"The director of the Barcelona Museum itself, a member of the Historical-Archaeological Section of the Institut d’Estudis Catalans, classifies the collection as first-rate for the musical history of the Terres de l’Ebre and Catalonia."
The museum's collection includes about three hundred instruments, in addition to thousands of musical scores. Among the notable pieces is a two-hundred-year-old Austrian zither, found in the Serra de Cavalls, possibly abandoned during the Battle of the Ebro. The variety includes French euphoniums, three-piston trombones, saxophones, and exotic instruments like a shawm from Tunis.
Although it was open for a few years thanks to a subsidy from the European Common Market and the collaboration of the Town Council, the museum closed when the sister Mercè retired and the local corporation could not cover the costs. Recently, however, there has been renewed interest from the Culture Councillor of the Town Council, Carlota, and the Head of the Culture Area of the Terres de l’Ebre, Manel Zaera, who have visited the center to seek solutions for its reopening.
