Just a kilometre north of the Sagrada Família lies the Hospital de Sant Pau, a masterpiece by Lluís Domènech i Montaner, Gaudí’s teacher, and a milestone in Catalan Modernisme. Its origins, however, reach back to the 14th century, when the Black Death prompted Barcelona to merge six small hospitals into a single unified institution. By the late 19th century, population growth and medical advances demanded a modern facility. Banker Pau Gil’s donation funded the creation of this visionary complex, which now bears his name.

Unlike the austere hospitals of its time, Sant Pau was conceived as a modernist experiment. Montaner organised the site on a spacious hillside, with separate pavilions arranged north–south for maximum light and ventilation, all linked by underground corridors to the surgical building. Gardens and tree-lined avenues were designed to aid recovery, turning the hospital into a “spiritual garden” rather than a purely functional space.

Today, most departments have relocated to new facilities, and the historic complex is open to the public. Restored pavilions, like Sant Rafael, recreate the atmosphere of a 1920s ward, prompting reflection on whether contemporary hospitals—often sterile and impersonal—truly represent progress. From its southern offices, the view extends to the Sagrada Família, binding medicine and faith into Barcelona’s collective memory.