Fundació Ramón Pla Armengol

The Fundació Ramón Pla Armengol in Barcelona is a private institution dedicated to the preservation and study of Spanish furniture, medical research and the dissemination of Christian teaching.

It was set up by Núria Pla Montseny (1916-2011), the daughter of the eminent doctor and expert pneumologist Ramón Pla Armengol (1880-1958). He founded the Institut Ravetllat-Pla together with the veterinary surgeon Joaquín Ravetllat and they devoted their efforts to research into tuberculosis drugs. They created a serum that was sold in more than 20 countries.

The Fundació Ramón Pla Armengol is housed in the Mas Pla Ravetllat, a mansion in the Guinardó district of Barcelona. It was the family home and laboratory where the drugs were produced.

Ramón Pla Armengol was exiled during the Spanish Civil War and the business was transferred to his daughter, Núria Pla, who was also a doctor. She was a lover of art and culture and decided to convert the mansion and its enormous 3-hectare garden into an exhibition centre. She managed to amass one of the most important collections of antique furniture in Europe, but she also wanted to continue her father's legacy, promoting research into pulmonary diseases.

Discover the past of one of the most important families in the history of pharmaceutical medicine in Catalonia and its beautiful collections on a visit to the Fundació Ramón Pla Armengol.