History of the Institut Cambó

Founded on 16 November 1999 by Helena Cambó and Ramon Guardans, the Fundació Institut Cambó was created with the aim of becoming an information and, where appropriate, management centre for the various cultural initiatives supported by Francesc Cambó (1876-1947) during his life and which were continued for more than half a century afterwards through the efforts of the Guardans-Cambó husband and wife team and their family.

The Spanish Civil War and post-war period, particularly its initial phase, led to such a degree of social upheaval that it became almost impossible to sustain the continuity of the cultural projects championed by Francesc Cambó during the 1920s with his visionary enthusiasm and the team of people he had gathered around him, which included high profile figures, such as Joan Estelrich and Carles Riba. On his death in 1947, while in exile in Argentina, Cambó left behind the beginnings of an important project and clear instructions regarding its direction but, following more than 10 years of enforced paralysis, the stock of published work was, in reality, relatively limited.

From the 1950s onwards, the group of initiatives supported by Cambó, particularly those related to publishing within the Alpha publishing house framework, was to be restored to its former glory thanks to the unwavering drive and dedication of his daughter, Helena, and her husband Ramon Guardans. New objectives were set for the Col·lecció Bernat Metge, the number of volumes that needed to be released on an annual basis was maintained and new distribution initiatives were implemented, all of which was well received by society. Thus, with ongoing financial and technical support, we come to the point at which Ramon Guardans and Helena Cambó decided to concentrate all these efforts under the umbrella of the Fundació Institut Cambó, which would continue the work of assuring the survival of all those publications for a further 17 years.

In 2016, it was decided there was a need to adapt the Foundation’s activities to its available resources and seek a solution that would ensure the continuity and viability of the Col·lecció Bernat Metge. At the end of that same year, and after numerous actions, both institutional and involving private entities, an agreement was reached for the transfer of the publishing initiative to the Som Editorial Group, which expressed its clear commitment to continuing the very relevant work done up until that time.

From then on, from 2017 to 2024, the Fundació Institut Cambó went on to focus its activities on providing a comprehensive information and consultation service in relation to the archives documenting the cultural and patronage initiatives championed by Francesc Cambó and later sustained for many years by his family, together with an extensive group of collaborators. In 2024, the Institute’s Board of Trustees and Francesc Cambó’s family donated these archives to the Biblioteca de Catalunya (Library of Catalonia), which is the institution that currenty houses them.

Institute Board of Trustees

Chair:

Francesc Guardans Cambó

Vice president:

Lluís Guardans Cambó

Secretary:

Maria Dolors Giner Junquera

Board members:

Ramon Guardans Cambó

Ignasi Guardans Cambó