Storytelling: 20 Centuries of Barcelona in 8 Monuments

The essential tour for newcomers to Barcelona. Or for those who want to understand its history with clarity and simplicity. We will explore over 2,000 years of the city's history through its most representative landmarks, as if they were episodes of a collective, intergenerational story.

A struggle between protagonists and antagonists who change roles depending on the perspective, and their connection to the history of Spain, and the events happening in the world at the same time as the narrated events. We will go from the ancient Iberian and Roman peoples to the tumultuous Catalan modernity, with its independence attempts and redefinition of its place in Spain, always multicultural.

We will start in front of the cathedral to walk through the Gothic Quarter:

1) Roman Temple of Augustus, where we will learn how the Layetan Barkino became the Roman Barcino.

2) The Plaza del Rey, where the echoes of the Visigothic kingdoms resonate and we will see how the Crown of Aragon dominated the Mediterranean from its port in Barcelona.

3) The so-called Cathedral of the Sea, to witness the religious fervor of the Barcelonian people and their social autonomy in the construction of their basilica.

4) The ruins of the vanished medieval neighborhood of La Ribera, an example of the power of guilds in medieval political life.

5) The Santa Caterina Market, where the violent revolts of 1835 marked the beginning of burgeoning industrial capitalism.

6) The modernist Palace of Catalan Music, a symbol of the bourgeoisie's power, where we will talk about Catalan independence.

7) The historic and bohemian café of Els Quatre Gats, where we will learn about the artistic, cultural, and intellectual avant-gardes of the 19th and 20th centuries.

8) To end at Plaza Catalunya, a dramatic stage of the most recent history: the social revolution, the civil war, the dictatorship, and the transition to democracy.

Join me in walking through history and vividly imagining it, in the very places where the events that shaped this magnetic place that brought you here and that you will never forget occurred.