The old building of Renaissance style of the Hospital of Pilgrims has been distinguished with the 2022 Historical Landmark Award at the regional level. This is in recognition of the historical importance of a chemical procedure that was developed by the ‘Illustrious Son’ of Altafulla, Antoni de Martí i Franquès, in the 18th century, in order to determine the composition of atmospheric air.
Antoni de Martí i Franquès (1750-1832) was born in Altafulla into a local family of landowners with industrial interests. He was mainly self-taught and, in addition to studying Latin and Philosophy, he also knew several European languages such as French, English, German, Greek and Italian. Throughout his life he built up a remarkable library that included the most important contemporary European scientific publications, as well as a cabinet located at the Hospital of Pilgrims. Here he carried out his experimental work. He is renowned for his precise measurement of the composition of the air, particularly for determining the exact proportion of nitrogen in the atmosphere.
Martí read his paper on the composition of air in 1790, at the Royal Academy of Sciences and Arts of Barcelona. However, it remained unpublished until 1795, when it appeared in the Memorial literario, instructivo y curioso de la Corte de Madrid. His eudiometrical findings had a significant impact abroad, and his eudiometer was appreciatively received in chemistry texts of the early nineteenth century. Abridged translations of this paper were published in French, English and German in, respectively, the Journal de physique, de chimie et d’histoire naturelle (1801), the Philosophical Magazine (1801) and the Annalen der Physik (1805). In 1837, John Dalton praised Martí’s device for the analysis of common air as the most successful attempt at extracting the oxygen from the air.
The award ceremony was hosted by the Co-Mayoress of Altafulla, Alba Muntadas at the Plenary Hall of the City Council on 14th September 2024. The Co-Mayoress expressed the satisfaction that Altafulla had a significant importance in the chemical heritage due to its connection with Antoni de Martí i Franquès. Her address was followed by speeches from the Vice-President of EuChemS, Floris Rutjes; the Chair of the EuChemS Historical Landmark Award Committee, Brigitte Van Tiggelen; the President of the Catalan Society of Chemistry (SCQ), Gregori Ujaque; the General-Secretary of the Institute of Catalan Studies, Àngel Messeguer, and Consol Blanch, member of the Historical Landmarks Commission of the SCQ. Pere Grapí (SCQ) gave a historical keynote speech entitled “Antoni de Martí i Franquès. From the goodness to the composition of the air”. Finally, the Co-Mayoress of Altafulla, the Vice-President of EuChemS, and the President of the Catalan Society of Chemistry unveiled the commemorative plaque that will now preside over the entrance of the building.
The ceremony ended in the esplanade next to the Church of Sant Martí, with the dramatized reading of the text “Antoni Martí i Franquès, the wise Catalan”, based on the book of the same name, by Joan Carles Blanch, performed by the actor Fermí Fernández as Antoni Martí i Franquès, accompanied by Alexis Lanza and Guillem Vellvé on cellos.
