Discovering Barcelona’s Plaza Real
Very close to La Rambla and the well-known
Gothic Quarter
is the also famous Plaza Real of Barcelona.
The square was designed by architect Daniel Molina in 1848. And its main feature, perhaps, its trapezoidal shape.
The Plaza Real was built as a direct consequence of the ecclesiastical disentailment of Mendizábal in 1835.
The old convent of the Capuchins, which had occupied this site since 1718, was demolished and its demolition led to various projects, but finally the construction of what is now the Plaza Real de Barcelona was completed.
Few squares in Barcelona have a closed shape, this is one of them. The surrounding buildings have an arcaded first floor and the decoration of their facades has different helenizing terracotta motifs, and busts of navigators, explorers and shields supporting Indian infants.
The iron fountain that houses the square, called the Fountain of the Three Graces and also the lanterns with arms at different heights, came somewhat later, in the late nineteenth century by the hand of the great Antoni Gaudí.
Antoni Gaudí
at that time, at the request of the Barcelona City Council.
Between 1982 and 1984, the remodeling of the square was commissioned to the architects Frederic de Carrea and Alfons Milà. This remodeling resulted in the elimination of the circulation of vehicles in the square and the planting of palm trees in it.
If you visit Barcelona, a stroll through this square is almost mandatory. It is, in addition to a place with a lot of charm, a walk through the history of the city.
