Rambla de Santa Mònica

In 1774 the old city walls running from Teatre Principal, to the sea were demolished. The square got its name because it was opposite the Teatre Principal, the oldest theatre in the city. In 1817, a fountain dedicated to Hercules, the mythical founder of the city, was built in this square, but it was removed at the end of the 19th century. Now the square has a monument to the memory of Frederic Soler, also known as Serafí Pitarra, considered the founder of modern Catalan theatre. It was designed by the architect Falqués, while the sculpture is by Querol.

Leading out of Plaça del Teatre is Carrer d'Escudellers, meaning street of potters, which is what it was in the Middle Ages. In the 18th century it was the main centre for hotels in the city and by the mid-19th century it had become a fashionable area for social gatherings and discussion groups, even attracting the French avant-garde. Frederic Soler, who we have already mentioned, was influenced by their ideas. Nowadays the street is best known for its restaurants serving traditional food and its taverns and bars, which have contributed to its lively nightlife. At the end of the street is a square named after George Orwell, where a surrealist sculpture by Leandre Cristòfol was installed in 1991. Called the Monument and made out of concrete, stainless steel and wood, it is an enlarged copy of the earlier wooden sculpture, dating from 1935.

On Plaça del Teatre is the entrance to the Pompeu Fabra University, which occupies a partly restored building, to which another floor has been added. Behind the University building is a new square named after Joaquim Xirau, opened up, like many new spaces in the old town, to alleviate congestion in this part of the city.

In a manner of speaking, the Rambla de Santa Mònica is the threshold of the port. It still preserves some of its old buildings: the house of the photographer Napoleon, the Marc Palace, the Credit and Docks building at the far end of Passatge de la Banca, and the cannon iron foundry, a neoclassical building of the 17th century.

The house of Napoleon was restored in 1992, as part of the Olympic project, to house the pelota courts, which gave it its name of frontó Colón (Columbus Fronton). In the old marble Credit and Docks building, built by Elies Rogent in 1882, you can see, as well as the classical statues, those of Superman and the android from Star Wars, publicising the nearby Wax Museum. They were added in 1973.

The Marc Palace still has its austere classical façade dating from the late 18th century. It was built between 1776 and 1780 for Francesc March, an eminent merchant from the town of Reus near Tarragona, by the architect Joan Soler i Faneca. Nowadays it serves as the head office for the Department of Culture of the Catalan government, the Generalitat.

The Foneria de Canons became a bell foundry when Philip V banned Barcelona from making arms. In 1844 it was taken over by the Banc de Barcelona. They added a floor and, among other adornments, allegorical sculptures of industry and commerce by the Vallmitjana brothers. When the bank went bankrupt, the building passed into the hands of Somatén de Catalunya, before becoming a chemist's for the military. Today it is closed.

Immediately beyond the foundry is Carrer de Josep Anselm Clavé which takes you to the església de la Mercè, (Church of Our Lady of Mercy). Back on the Rambla, a little further down is the Govern Militar (Military Headquarters).

Continuing down the Rambla Santa Mònica on the right now, the first building of note is the Teatre Principal, whose curious history is worth mentioning. In 1568, Philip II of Spain granted the Hospital de la Santa Creu (Hospital of the Holy Cross) the privilege of building a theatre in Barcelona to maintain itself from the theatre takings. The first theatre, on the same site as the original, was a wooden building. Some years later, it was replaced by a more permanent construction that was destroyed by fire in 1787. The new theatre then built was the venue of the first performances of Italian opera in Spain. Originally it was called the Corral de Comèdies (Courtyard of Plays) and later the Casa de l'Òpera (Opera House), even though the locals still referred to it simply as “the theatre” as it was the only one there was.

This was a time when such shows were frowned upon, when men and women could not go or sit together, even if they were married. Nevertheless, the women enjoyed themselves so much and made such a racket that the upper gallery reserved for them was dubbed the “galliner”, literally “henhouse”, a name still used today. Subsequently it was called the Teatre de la Santa Creu (Theatre of the Holy Cross). In 1847 it underwent a major renovation and was renamed the Teatre Principal. It suffered two more fires, in 1924 and in 1933. The curved three-part façade is decorated with the busts of famous actors and actresses of the past, including one of Malibrán, the most famous opera singer of his time, the 1830s, even though he died at the age of 28.

A little further down is Carrer de l'Arc del Teatre, a street that is characteristic of the "barri xinès" (Chinatown) and, a little further still, is the old convent of the Agustins Descalços (barefoot Augustinians), dating from 1626, now converted into the Santa Mónica Art Centre, an art centre run by the Generalitat that has the name of the old convent, and where there are many interesting exhibitions. Beside it is the Church of Santa Mònica, whose interior features a noteworthy baroque cloister of imposing austerity.

At the bottom of the Rambla are the Drassanes, the largest and most complete medieval shipyards to be found anywhere in the world; they are in an excellent state of preservation thanks to the meticulous restoration work carried out by the Diputació de Barcelona (Barcelona Provincial Council). The Drassanes are the largest civil-purpose Gothic building in the city. Built over the 13th and 14th centuries, it was recovered for public use after the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) and opened in 1941. Part of the building is occupied by the Maritime Museum, which was created during the Civil War. The Naval Sector of Catalonia building stands on part of the land previously occupied by the old shipyard barracks, built in 1792 for the artillery service and subsequently demolished when they abandoned the site.