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The "gegantona" Laia on the patio of the Ajuntament de Barcelona. Photo by Edu Bayer courtesy of Ajuntament de Barcelona (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).
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View of the Festes de Santa Eulàlia in Plaça de Sant Jaume. Photo by Edu Bayer courtesy of Ajuntament de Barcelona (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).
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View of the Festes de Santa Eulàlia in Plaça de Sant Jaume. Photo by Edu Bayer courtesy of Ajuntament de Barcelona (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).
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The "ball de l'aliga" in Plaça de Sant Jaume in celebration of Santa Eulàlia. Photo by Edu Bayer courtesy of Ajuntament de Barcelona (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).
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Fireworks in Plaça de Sant Jaume in celebration of Santa Eulàlia. Photo by Manu González courtesy of Ajuntament de Barcelona (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).
If you’ve ever been in Barcelona during September, you’ve probably attended (or at least seen posters for) La Mercè, the annual festival honoring what most people refer to as "the patron saint of Barcelona." So then who is Santa Eulàlia? Why is her name so prevalent in Barcelona? And why is she celebrated in February?
Long before her name became associated with a 175-year-old Barcelona-based fashion brand, Santa Eulàlia was widely known as young Christian martyr. Legend has it that she was born in 290 CE during the Roman persecution of Christianity under emperor Diocletian in the Sarrià area of Barcelona (then "Barcino"), where you can find a street bearing her name.
The Martyrdom of Santa Eulàlia
At just 13 years old, Eulàlia asked the local prefect, Decià, to stop targeting Christians. Out of rage, he demanded that she renounce her faith and when she refused, he subjected her to 13 tortures. Here's where it truly gets gruesome.
Santa Eulàlia statue, Barcelona. Photo by Eloi de Tera (Wikimedia).
According to the story, they locked her in an infected dungeon, cut off her breasts, rubbed her wounds with a pumice stone, soaked her in boiling oil and threw her into a calcium deposit. Rumor also has it that she was placed in a barrel full of sharp objects and rolled down a street in Barcelona’s Jewish quarter (El Call) that’s still known today as La Baixada de Santa Eulàlia (Eulàlia’s decent). You might catch someone going up and down this street 13 times to commemorate her torment on February 12, the official Dia de Santa Eulàlia.
She was also supposedly crucified on an X-shaped cross, which is why one appears in many artistic renderings of Santa Eulàlia. When she finally passed, it’s said a dove flew across her neck, signifying her ascent into heaven.
A Second Santa Eulàlia?
However, many of these details bear resemblance to the story of another Spanish saint: Eulàlia of Mérida (Extremadura). Both Eulàlias are said to have suffered similar tortures at around the same point in history, yet some put Eulàlia de Mérida’s death 50 years later. There's also no proof of Eulàlia de Barcelona's existence prior to the year 660 AD, whereas Eulàlia de Merida’s records go back hundreds of years earlier.
The exact place of Barcelona Eulàlia's execution is also disputed. Some argue it happened near the Boqueria, others say it was near the old 8th-century wall in El Raval at Plaça de Pedró, home to a towering statue of her that people in the neighborhood call “the angel." During the Spanish Civil War, that statue was removed by the anarchists, a scene that author Víctor Mora describes in his first novel Els plàtans de Barcelona. The statue was later placed on its pedestal under Franco’s regime.
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A statue of Santa Eulàlia can be seen at the administration building of l'Hospital de Sant Pau. Photo by Josep Bracons (CC BY-SA 2.0) via Wikimedia Commons.
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Catedral de la Santa Creu i Santa Eulàlia. Photo by Pierre Gronau (Wikimedia).
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The Flogging of Santa Eulalia. Photo by Didier Descouens (Wikimedia).
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The Judgment of Santa Eulalia. Photo by Didier Descouens (Wikimedia).
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The Crucifixion of Santa Eulalia. Phjoto by Didier Descouens (Wikimedia).
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Interior of Catedral de la Santa Creu i Santa Eulàlia, Barcelona. Photo by Jorge-Lascar (Wikimedia).
Eulàlia was canonized in 663 CE and her remains were said to have been found in 878 CE by the Bishop Frodoí in the cathedral of Santa Maria de les Arenes (current location of Santa Maria del Mar) and then moved to the Catedral de Barcelona in a Gothic-style crypt.
Eulàlia was declared the patron saint of Barcelona until 1563, when Santa Madrona took that honor and Mercè was added to the picture in 1637.
You can find homages to Santa Eulàlia throughout Barcelona, especially in the Ciutat Vella and Sarrià, as well as in much local art from the Middle Ages. Additionally, the common Catalan first name “Laia” is derived from “Eulàlia.”