History
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A Bone to Pick: Carrer del Bisbe
One of the most photographed features of Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter isn’t even 100 years old. The elaborate footbridge that spans Carrer del Bisbe, connecting the Palau de la Generalitat with the Casa dels Canonges, was only constructed in 1928. Read more
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Photo by Alessandro Cani.
Gothic Legends: Old Tales from the Old City
Behind Barcelona's real history of buildings and kings, there is another secret city of legends and myths. Read more
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A tribute to those sacrificed their lives for freedom in Catalunya, by Ferran Ventura. Photo by Sergi Alcazar.
Commemorating the Past: Fossar de la Pedrera
Take a trip to Montjuïc to explore a little-known memorial to victims of the Franco dictatorship and Nazi concentration camps Read more
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Detail of a miniature of witches being burnt and tortured, from "Chroniques de France ou de St Denis," 1332-1350. Image courtesy of the British Library.
Witchcraft in Catalunya
Witches and wizards, healers and sorcerers: Héctor Cols relates the complicated and tumultuous history of witchcraft in Europe and its persecution in Catalunya. Read more
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Tecla Sala i Miralpeix (right) with Unknown. Image courtesy of Museu d'Història de Catalunya.
Tecla Sala i Miralpeix: Business Leader, Philanthropist, Feminist
Tecla Sala i Miralpeix was one of the most important female entrepreneurs in the history of Catalunya. She was a part of the societal and cultural transformation that helped carve out a place for women in business in this part of the world. Read more
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Refugi 307 in Poble-sec. Photo by Farisori (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Wikimedia Commons.
When the Bombs Fell
Air raid shelters like Refugi 307 helped protect people from the 194 total air raids carried out over the city during the Spanish Civil War. Read more
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Frescoes of Baronial Hall (15th cen.) detail Castello della Manta (Meister Drucke).
"Throughout All Days and Nights, Forever": Could an 11th Century Contract Prove the Existence of Same-Sex Marriage in Medieval Spain?
Although the task of interpreting the original document is not easy, what is certain is that the Middle Ages are far from the dark, backwards and savage era that some continue to imagine. Read more
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Monument to Alexander Fleming, Barcelona. Photo by Pandora Domeyko.
Doctor's Orders: Barcelona's Tribute to Alexander Fleming
A tribute to Sir Alexander Fleming, the Scottish physician who discovered penicillin. Read more
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Detail of Virgin Mary from The Ghent Altarpiece, by Jan van Eyck 1432, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
5 Things to Know about Mary, the Mother of Jesus
Mary, the mother of Jesus, is unquestionably the senior saint within the Christian tradition. Yet we know remarkably little about her. Read more
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Map of America, or the "New World" as it was then known, by Theodor de Bry, entitled "America Sive Novus Orbis Respectu Europaeorum Inferior Globi Terrestris Pars," 1596. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.
José de Acosta: The Pioneering, Overlooked Precursor to Darwin and Humboldt
The great difference between Acosta’s work and many others written about America at the time lies in his conviction of the unity of the world, of which the New World was just one part. Read more
