It starts with a small figurine, a fridge magnet, a Maneki Neko, the Japanese lucky cat. It continues with a beautiful minimalist cat mug like the ones we have at ARISTOSHOP; with a cushion with printed kittens; with an A5-sized framed artistic photograph of your cat... And before you know it, your collection of feline objects has gotten out of hand. Everywhere you look, everything around you is an example of your love for cats. The question is, where are you going to put all of it?
That must be what Vera Novosyolova thought when she decided to found the "Museo dels Gats" (the cat museum) in Lloret de Mar (Girona). It was the year 2002. Vera had collected many objects related to the world of cats throughout her life. She acquired the first one at a tourist fair in Riga. Within months, the shelves of the travel agency she ran were filled with cats. It wasn't premeditated. It just happened. Perhaps to unconsciously compensate for a "thorn" she had since childhood. Vera could never have an ARISTOCAT in her childhood, as due to her father's job, the family was constantly moving from one city to another. At the time of the museum's opening, she and her husband treasured more than 12,000 objects that combined their two passions, cats and art. That's why they decided to open this surprising gallery.
The permanent exhibition displays about a third of the 12,000 objects Vera owns, spread across six rooms of an old fisherman's house next to Lloret beach. On the facade, a smiling cat welcomes visitors:
Among the collection's items are toys from the former Soviet Union, coins, telephones, glasses, costume jewelry... Visitors will also find porcelain, glass, and bronze works, teapots, embroideries... In addition to paintings of different styles, origins, and authors (some dating back to the 17th century). Not to mention the selection of 4,000 postcards that make up the collection and a good sample of posters from different eras, most of them advertisements, where cats are the protagonists.
These are some of the works that can be seen inside:
This is certainly a museum for cat lovers, for all those who enjoy seeing everything that felines suggest and evoke in artists or creators of any kind. But it is also a museum suitable for all lovers of "strange museums," that is, museums that go beyond the cultural canon, museums that fuel the debate of "what is art and what is not"... Because although, in its Latin origin, a museum was "the place consecrated to the muses," today it is much more. It can also be the place where objects or curiosities that may attract public interest are exhibited, for tourism purposes.
The one we are concerned with is open from Monday to Saturday from 10 am to 1:30 pm and from 5 pm to 8 pm. If desired, telephone reservations can be made to visit the museum outside of established hours. The museum also has a souvenir shop, in case you want to take the opportunity to buy a souvenir for another ARISTOPETER....
So now you know: you already have an activity planned for your next getaway to Catalan lands. For only €3 (plus an additional euro if you want to take photos) you can get lost among feline works of art and discover an endless number of original and curious objects. Until then, for those who cannot contain their impatience, there is the possibility of seeing the museum through the eyes of another...