Monument to the First Centenary of the Nova Reforma (La Morisca)

The Monument to the First Centenary of the Nova Reforma stands in front of Casa de la Vall, facing the valley in Andorra la Vella’s old quarter. Sculptor Josep Viladomat made the bronze group in 1967: a young couple caught in the steps of the contrapàs, a traditional Andorran dance. Its subject is the Nova Reforma of 1866, a political change that reorganised the General Council and extended voting and eligibility to male heads of household. The sculpture is an outdoor stop on the approach to the historic parliamentary house, not a separate museum or performance venue. It rewards a short pause to look closely at the dancers and then connect their movement with the civic history represented by the building behind them.

The pair face outward from the house towards the valley. Their linked positions suggest a dance in progress rather than two isolated portraits. The bronze figures are life-sized enough to read as people sharing a step, while the open setting keeps the surrounding landscape in view. The official Casa de la Vall history identifies the dance as the contrapàs and names Josep Viladomat as the artist; the sculpture is also commonly called La Morisca. That alternative name should not be confused with another work called La Morisca, an earlier sculpture by Antoni Viladomat listed in the same garden history. The Nova Reforma group is the dancing couple placed in front of the building.

The monument’s political reference is specific. Before the 1866 reform, representation and voting rights in the General Council were more restricted. The Nova Reforma altered the council’s organisation and gave male household heads voting rights and eligibility for office. It did not establish universal suffrage in the modern sense: women did not receive the vote until 1970, and eligibility followed later. Read in that context, the dancers commemorate an important expansion of political participation while also marking its historical limits. The sculpture does not explain those limits on its own, so a visitor interested in Andorran political history may want to read the Casa de la Vall interpretation before or after looking at the figures.

Casa de la Vall occupies a prominent position above the central valley. The old stone house was built in the late sixteenth century and became the seat of the General Council in 1702. In 2011, a new parliamentary complex was built nearby, and the public space in front of the historic house was reshaped to give it a clearer setting and open views over the valley. The sculpture sits among the dates and artworks that make the exterior a compact introduction to Andorra’s institutions. From the dancers, turn towards the façade to see its historic entrance and coat of arms; then look outward to understand why the house’s elevated position matters to the composition of the place.

Allow roughly ten to twenty minutes for the sculpture and exterior if you are already walking through the old town. The figures can be viewed from the public approach without entering the house. Visitors who want to see Casa de la Vall’s interior, chambers or exhibitions should check the institution’s current visiting arrangements separately: admission times and guided tours belong to the house, not to the outdoor monument. A ticket or reservation for the interior is not required merely to view the sculpture from the accessible public area, although temporary events or works can affect access to the grounds.

The site is reached on foot through the historic centre. The streets around Casa de la Vall are steep in places, paved and narrower than the commercial avenues lower in town. Expect changes in level and some uneven stone surfaces; wheeled access may be more demanding than the short distance suggests. There is no dedicated parking beside the sculpture, so visitors arriving by car should use a public car park in the centre and walk uphill. In warm weather, shade is limited around the open approach; in rain or winter conditions, polished paving and steps can be slippery. The sculpture is outdoors and has no shelter, seating area or staffed interpretation point immediately beside it.

Because the dancers stand at the entrance to an active institutional site, keep the route clear for other visitors and anyone attending official business. Photography from the public area is straightforward, but avoid climbing on the bronze or treating the figures as props. The work’s close placement to the old house makes it easy to include in a broader visit, yet the setting is not a staged dance space: it is a civic memorial in a working part of the capital. A quiet look at the figures, a few minutes with the historical context and a view across the valley make a more useful stop than a rushed photograph alone.

The sculpture can be paired with the nearby Pariatges monument and the 1993 Constitution memorial, both associated with different episodes and works in the Casa de la Vall grounds. They should be read as separate pieces rather than as one sculptural group. The Pariatges work refers to the medieval agreement behind Andorra’s co-principality, while the rear-garden sculpture commemorates the constitutional referendum of 1993. Together, these outdoor works make the short approach around the house a chronological walk through political change. From here, the old-town lanes lead back towards Plaça del Poble, Sant Esteve church and the central shopping streets, so the stop fits naturally into a pedestrian circuit of Andorra la Vella.