Knowing the significant places linked to Salvador Dali means understanding the complex personality of the surrealist artist and the works by Salvador Dali. These places are true creative refuges that play a fundamental role in understanding Salvador Dali's paintings.
We can start from Figueres in Spain, birthplace of Salvador Dali. The temple of Dalinian art is present right here, the Theater-Museum wanted by Salvador Dali in Figueres opens on three floors and is a virtuous journey into the world of Surrealism. The Theater-Museum houses the largest collection of Dalì's works and paintings. In the Museum it is possible to visit the Mae West Room dedicated to the famous American actress who scandalized respectable America in the 40s of the last century, where you can see the famous Lips sofa designed by Salvador Dali, the Palacio del Viento Room, the Monument in Pujols, the Cadillac LLuvioso and much more. In the same Theater-Museum there is Dali's crypt where in 2017 his body was exhumed for a paternity test and many say that it still retains Salvador Dali's famous mustache intact.
Continuing our route we can to the picturesque town located on the Costa Brava in Catalonia of Cadaqués and the nearby Port Lligat. The history of the Port Lligat house begins way back in 1930: after breaking off all relationships with his father, Salvador Dali looked for a place to live - and from which to be inspired. Thanks to the beginning of his notoriety and genius in painting, with his first sales, the artist decided to buy a fisherman's hut which over time he increasingly expanded and developed with his surrealist genius. In Portlligat it was a life of isolation very different from that of Paris, for 40 years, the house never stopped taking shape. The result was a labyrinthine construction, made up of small rooms connected by narrow corridors, differences in level with steps and even dead ends. As the artist liked to say, each room was a real biological structure. Down to the smallest details, including the furnishings and decorations, they fully reflect the eclectic personality of Dali and his wife Gala, with very different influences. In the house-museum, Dali spent long hours immersed in his art, also inspired by the incredible view of the Portlligat bay.
Paris was certainly one of Dali's favorite and most visited cities. Salvador Dali spoke French perfectly, he was at home in the city of Paris. During the 1920s, Dali had the opportunity to interact with the French surrealists but not only that, he managed to meet many artists such as Pablo Picasso. There were also numerous meetings at the Hôtel Le Meurice, one of Salvador Dali's favorite places where he also stayed for several weeks.
Due to the civil war, Salvador Dali and Gala spread beyond Europe, reaching the United States and especially the city of New York. His presence in New York certainly gave a big boost to his popularity and his business, obviously here too there was no shortage of meetings with personalities such as Andy Warhol.
The castle of Púbol in Spain, given by Dali to his wife Gala in 1970, reflects a dark and sad phase for the artist's lovers. In the last phase of their life, although they remained on good terms, the two decided to split up and for this reason Gala retired to this castle where she later died in 1982, a place which has now also become a museum and tourist destination for many enthusiasts. In the same castle it is possible to visit the crypt of Salvador Dali's muse.
These places are testimony to the profound connection between the life of Salvador Dali, his works, his paintings and his pictorial thought, recognized as the greatest exponent of surrealism.
