The new signs for the Foixarda street and road have already been installed with the added information in reference to the Foixart and Rovira family of stonemasons who exploited the old quarry on Montjuïc mountain. The change comes after a request eight years ago from the descendants of the lineage of stonemasons that was finally validated by the gazetteer’s presentation before Easter, as reported by La Vanguardia.
When this name was approved in the 90s, it was attributed to a plant, specifically “the foixarda subshrub” (in Spanish known as friar’s crown or royal crown), as stated on the municipal gazetteer website, instead of indicating that this term was formed by the derivation of the name of the Foixart family, as proven by the heirs and a recent historical study.
The family decided to make the petition in 2016 for the centenary of the transfer and sale in 1915 to Barcelona City Council of the land belonging to the heirs of the Foixart family to allocate them to municipal parks, on the occasion of the Electrical Industries Exhibition in Barcelona. Initially planned for 1917, it ended up being the International Exhibition of 1929.
Specifically, the text Pedreres dels Foixart and els Rovira (17th century-1915) has been added to Calle de la Foixarda and Camino de la Foixarda. This family of stone masons exploited the Foixarda quarries from the middle of the 17th century to the 19th century, in the area that today consists of the municipal rugby field, the historical botanical garden, horse riding and tennis courts.
The surname Rovira is also mentioned on the plaque since Ramón Rovira, industrialist and co-founder of the Association of Owners of Montjuïc Mountain, founded in Barcelona in 1900, married Jacinta Bruguera, daughter of Jacint Bruguera Foixart, the family that owned the Foixarda. Ramón and Jacinta’s children inherited the quarry and they were the ones who processed the transfer and sale of the land to the City Council.
