Sed quo pergo? Possum ne tibi in hac parva papiro Romam designare? Profecto, si possim, non oportet; nosti omnia, non quia romanus civis, sed quia talium in primis rerum curiosissimus ab adolescentia fuisti.

Qui enim hodie magis ignari rerum romanarum sunt, quam romani cives?

Invitus dico: nusquam minos Roma cognoscitur quam Romae.

Petrarca, De locis insignibus urbis Romae (1337)

Welcome to reconstrucciohistorica.cat

Poet and humanist Francesco Petrarca complained, and he was probably right, about how ignorant the inhabitants of Rome were of the history of their own and beloved Eternal City.

Unfortunately, Petrarca's remark could perfectly be extrapolated to the knowledge Catalans have today on the history of Catalonia.

This portal of access to historical reenactment is run by an increasing number of people who voluntarily devote their leisure time to spread in an amusing yet rigorous manner, the history of Catalonia and Europe among historians, academics, teachers and the general public.

In this portal a full explanation is given of what historical reenactment means, what its goals are and the educational and touristic potential it has. In addition, all Catalan reenactment groups are detailed: who they are, what historical periods they recreate, their organisation or dressmaking and replica-making techniques in dresses, pottery, jewels or military equipment. On this site a minor contribution is also made to the current state of historical reenactment in Europe, the main groups being listed and classified by historical periods, from Ancient Times to the 19th century (Modern Times).

Reenactment is a social phenomenon involving hundreds of actors and extras -most of which are amateurs- who devote their spare time recreating dresses, tools, music, jewels, pottery, weaponry, etc, from former historical periods in order to act out and commit to memory historical events, battles or daily life episodes which took place in the past. On this website a list of the main reenactment festivals in Catalonia can be found.

Challenges in reenactment are twofold. First, is the manufacturing and replica-making of materials with the strictest historical accuracy, obtaining models from archaeology records, iconographic remains or from literary descriptions. The second challenge is the staging and performance of realistic scenes of the daily civil, religious and military life. In this sense, reenactment groups attempt to replicate the exact tools, professions, dresses, jewels, religious ceremonies or situations and conversations of the daily life in the greatest detail and historical faithfulness, for educational or experimental purposes, or just for mere personal enjoyment.

However, far from a purely festive or commercial approach, reenactment performances aim to explain to the general public and also to historians and History teachers the state of knowledge on particular aspects of a given historical period. Hence, when reenactment is rigorously performed, it shows in a serious and attractive way to the non-specialised public, aspects of history that may even be of interest to specialists.

In other words, historical reenactment is a way of taking History out of libraries, museums, public and private collections, documentary funds, excavations and conversations among scholars and academics, in order to make it more accessible to the general public.

We can be contacted at info @ reconstrucciohistorica.cat.