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The Santa Eulàlia fountain is the central monument that presides over Plaza de Pedró del Raval in Barcelona. The monument was inaugurated on November 29, 1673 and we can still see it today, as seen in this report in La Vanguardia’s Readers’ Photos.
Due to its date of construction, it is considered the oldest public monument preserved in the city in its original location, although the work itself has been restored several times and can no longer be considered the original.
Plaza del Pedró, a place considered of historical interest, is a small, uncovered, public urban space that seems to be made of architectural remnants from different periods. A wide variety of activities are usually carried out here, with a strong vitality within the structure of the city of Barcelona, ??in which past and present coexist in an amazing way.
It is in the Raval neighborhood (it comes from the Arabic a-rabal, which means the outskirts), located in the Ciutat Vella district, which includes the historic center. Born from the expansion of the medieval walls, although it is likely that previous settlements existed. It is located at the confluence of Calle del Carme, Hospital and Sant Antoni Abad.
Initially there was no fountain, but a monument to Saint Eulàlia because, according to legend, at that confluence of two roads, in the time of the praetor Diocles (303 AD), her naked body was exposed and nailed to the cross of the holy, where tradition places the martyrdom of Saint Eulalia and the miracle of the snow that fell on her, which covered her naked body and covered her from lascivious glances. Also according to popular tradition, at the end of her prayer, people saw a white dove fly out of her mouth towards the sky. Saint Eulàlia was a Christian martyr. She is considered a saint by both the Catholic and Orthodox Churches.
Based on this legend, on November 30, 1670, the Consell de Cent, which was the municipal institution of the city of Barcelona between the 13th and 18th centuries, commissioned the construction of the monument to the carpenter Josep Darder, who made a wooden model. of the city’s patron saint, which was replaced two years later, following the wooden model, in black and white marble, from the quarries of MontjuÍc, by the master builder Benet Parés.
The first stone was placed on September 14, 1672, the date on which a protective fence was made for the monument, made by Josep Gamot.
Finally, the work, which consisted of a pyramid-shaped obelisk with different sections of varying diameter, was crowned by an image of the saint. The monument was inaugurated on November 29, 1673.
The work itself was demolished and has been restored several times, it can no longer be considered the original. The last restoration was carried out by Marta Polo in 1997.
The baroque-style image of Santa Eulàlia in Plaza del Pedró appears to be the only public statue in Barcelona commissioned by the city government in the 17th and 18th centuries. Despite the renovations of the image and the pedestal and the destruction suffered in revolutionary periods, it has been in the same place for more than 300 years.
In 1823 the City Council of the Liberal Triennium or Constitutional Triennium (it is the period of the contemporary history of Spain, which runs between 1820 and 1823), attempted to dismantle the monument, but strong popular opposition caused it to only be moved a few meters, to a corner of the square.
The change of regime ensured its survival, and the new military governor, the Marquis of Campo Sagrado, had the idea of ??converting the monument into a fountain, coinciding with the conduction of water from the Moncada mine in the city, an adaptation that was carried out by him. by Josep Mas i Vila. “master of houses and fountains” of the Barcelona City Council.
The new fountain was inaugurated on February 12, 1826, the date on which four plaques were placed on each side of the base of the obelisk: one commemorated the martyrdom of the saint in the year 303, AD. C.; another the laying of the first stone; another the inauguration of the monument, and another its date of reconstruction; Another plaque dedicated to the Marquis of Campo Sagrado was also placed on the plinth.
The monument was demolished on July 19, 1936, at the beginning of the Civil War. Only the base remained, which continued as a source. The head of the saint was rescued by some neighbors, who kept it during the fight; It is currently kept in the Barcelona History Museum.
In 1951, the monument was rebuilt with a new image, the work of Frederic Marès Deulovol. The materials used were a base of various marbles and stone from the quarries of Montjuïc, a white marble sculpture with dimensions: 9.59 x 4.01 x 3.36 (total) 1.97 x 1.35 x 1, 03 (figure) 7.63 x 4.01 x 3.36 (base). In 1982 the complex was returned to the middle of the square, in its original location.
The current fountain presents a reconstruction of the original pyramid, with the same inscription plates that were on each of the four sides of the pyramidal structure, which remind us of the dates of the saint’s martyrdom, the beginning and completion of the works. , and from the last reconstruction. Another inscription on the plinth offers the date of its adaptation as a source. The approximate reproduction of the figure of Saint Eulàlia with her attributes, the palm of martyrdom and the cross in the shape of a cross, was made by the sculptor Frederic Marès (1951).
This unique space, in the heart of the Raval, houses within it a heterogeneous set of all types of architectural styles of buildings from different periods.
If you decide to visit the Santa Eulàlia fountain in Plaza del Pedró you will find one of the most notable neighborhoods for its energy and activity. I suggest you visit the church of Sant Llàtzer, in the same square (it is one of the few examples of Romanesque architecture in the city) and the church of the Virgen del Carmen, (modernist), located on San Antonio Abad street, 10- 12.
The church of Sant Llàtzer is the only piece that remains of the old Hospital de los Mesells in Barcelona, ??which used to occupy the space delimited by carrer del Carmen, de l’Hospital and de Sant Llàcer and Plaça del Pedro.
Although no document is preserved that allows us to establish the date of its construction, all the evidence found suggests that the church was founded in the 12th century.
In 1401, all the hospitals in the city were unified into the Hospital of the Holy Cross, those in Mesells fell into disuse, which caused the liturgical space to experience various growths over the following centuries.
Thus, in 1475 the artist Jaume Huguet was commissioned to make a new altar. In 1549, a new altarpiece dedicated to Sant Cristófol (San Cristóbal), was added to the existing ones of Santa María (the largest), Santa Margarida and Sant Llátzer. After the defeat in the War of the Spanish Succession of 1714, the side chapel dedicated to the Holy Sepulcher was built.
The transformations of the church and its surroundings continued during the 17th and 19th centuries, and those that took place during the Liberal Triennium were especially significant.
In 1821 it was removed from the Plaça del Pedró cemetery, a fact that allowed the space to be converted into a square as we know it today, and in 1823, houses began to be built on the sides of the Church. In this way the lines of the facades of the streets of Carmen and the hospital were formed on both sides of the Church.
In 1906, the transfer of the last leprosy patients who were still being cared for began to mark the end of the religious use of the Church of Sant Llàtzer, although the fire in the parish of Carmen during the Tragic Week of 1909 delayed its definitive transfer until 1913. Since then, the church has had various civil uses. Currently, it is a municipally owned space transferred to the Community of Sant Egidi, and it holds worship one afternoon a week. It has also opened up to the reality of the neighborhood and continues to be a place of welcome and protection for the poor.
Behind this appearance is one of the four examples of Romanesque architecture in the city, and probably the least known to the public. Despite having suffered constant looting, fires, an iron and wood warehouse, it preserves a splendid apse and baroque paintings on the ceilings.
The church of the Virgen del Carmen can be inscribed within the current of Catalan modernism, inspired by Central European Gothic architecture. It is located on San Antonio Abad Street, 10-12.
The parish dates back to 1835 and was located within the old monastery of San Matías of the Hieronymite nuns of the 15th century. It was the parish of Carmen since 1883, which was destroyed during the Tragic Week of 1909.
In 1911, the first stone of the new church was laid, the work of architect Josep Maria Pericas i Morros, (Vic 1881 – Barcelona 1965), disciple of Antonio Gaudí, inaugurated in 1913 and ending in 1935, with the expansion of the naves and center. parish, which included an Italian-style theater. This theater is the current Teatro del Raval.
It is a different walk through a neighborhood that has diverse realities or existences, where the memory of the past can transport you to an iconic and very famous character from the first half of the 10th century, called La Monyos, extravagant, who became a symbol and which, according to what they say, still retains its ghost through the streets of the Raval.
