The Cities

The Roman city
 
Barcino, the first Roman township, was founded at the end of the first century B.C. However the name Barcino dates from an earlier settlement possibly dating from the first half of the 1st millennium B.C.. Roman Barcino was a small city of about 100 hectares bounded by walls 2 metres thick. The walls were strengthened and the height increased in the 3rd century A.D.. Impressive stretches of the walls remain notably parallel to Via Laietana at Plaça Ramon Berenguer. To the right of the cathedral, twin towers of the Portal de l'Angel flank the entrance to Carrer del Bisbe (note: street names are shown in italic and Catalan - Carrer is Catalan for street). The lower sections of these semi-circular towers are Roman. Much else remains buried under the medieval city. The Roman forum is believed to lie under the Plaça Sant Jaume. Nearby, at number 10 Carrer del Paradis, three columns of the Temple of Augustus can be seen in their original position, well below the present street level. Clearly a Roman back-water, Barcelona's periods of glory were still to come.

Metro: Jaume I (Line 4)
 
The medieval city

By the end of the 13th century Catalunya had grown rich on exports to the rest of the Mediterranean and as far as Flanders. This area of the city is known as the Barri Gòtic (Catalan), Barrio Gótico (Spanish) or Gothic Quarter.

The Cathedral (1317-1441)
The neo-gothic facade was added in the 19th century. From Carrer del Bisbe there is an entrance directly into the cloister, a gothic dream world of fountains, geese and palm trees. Linger here, let your mind wander and refresh your spirit. Another secret world is the roof of the cathedral which can be reached by an elevator adjacent to the left nave.

Plaça de la Seu
Metro: Jaume I (L4)

Santa Maria del Pi (1322-1486)
A church with a single wide nave, enter from the Plaça del Pi or Plaça Sant Just Oriol.

Plaça del Pi
Metro: Liceu (L3), Jaume I (L4)

Santa Maria del Mar (1329-1367)
The truest representation of the austere Catalan gothic style, know as the Cathedral of the sailors and fisherfolk. The city's favourite for weddings with an excellent acoustic.

Carrer Montcada 1
Metro: Jaume I (L4)

Saló del Tinell (1359-1370)

The roof of this huge hall is supported by rounded arches, where Christopher Columbus is said to have been received by the king after returning from America.

Plaça del Rei
Metro: Jaume I (L4)

El Call - Jewish Ghetto
Barcelona's Jewish community was consigned to a Ghetto, ostensibly for their own protection. Centred on the present Carrer Sant Domènech del Call, a 14th century Hebrew inscription can be seen at no. 1 Carrer Marlet.

Carrer Sant Domènech del Call
Metro: Jaume I (L4)

Llotja (Stock Exchange) (1380-1392)
Magnificent gothic room with three naves which can be seen from the large windows in the ground floor. Until 1970 it was home to the School of Fine Arts where Picasso and Miró studied. Now used as government offices.

Carrer del Consolat del Mar 2
Metro: Jaume I (L4)

Drassanes (1378)
The largest and most complete medieval secular structure in the world. Now home to the Maritime Museum.

Avinguda de les Drassanes
Metro: Drassanes (L3)
 
The modern city

In the 19th century, two great events shaped the present Barcelona. In 1854 the Bourbon walls, built following the surrender to Felipe V in 1714, were torn down. This allowed the city the possibility to expand. In 1859 a competition for a town plan was won by Idelfons Cerdà, an engineer rather than an architect.

Cerdà's plan was an uncompromising grid of streets with three great avenues cutting across. Thus we have the layout of the present day Eixample (enlargement). Cerdà's stroke of genius was to cut the corners of each block at a 45º angle, to make small squares at the intersections which give light, space and air to what might have been an oppressive grid-iron.

It was not until the end of the century that work seriously started on filling in the grid with buildings. Fate allowed the happy conjunction of rich patrons, architects of genius, and unsurpassed craftsmanship. In the years before and after the start of the 20th century, Barcelona produced its version of art nouveau - modernisme.

Antoni Gaudí, Domènech i Montaner y Josep Puig i Cadafalch were the principal exponents of Catalán Modernism. Each has an individual section which includes their most famous buildings.
 
Modernist architects

Antoni Gaudí (1852-1926)