A walk along the Barcino Roman wall.
Sep 27th, 2011 by apartmentblogger
Between 15 and 13 BC, during the reign of Augustus, the Romans founded the Mons Taber. This is a hill about 12 meters high, located in Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter (C / Paradís, 10). Where the Iulia Augusta Paterna Faventia Barcino colony was founded you can now find the Centre Excursionista de Catalunya. This is in an old Gothic palace, in which six Corinthian fluted columns of the ancient Temple of Augustus can be seen. If you have the chance to visit, it is well worth it.
At this point (between the Cathedral and Plaça Sant Jaume) the imperial city (4th century BC) spread out along two roads: Cardo Maximus and Decumanus Maximus, at the ends of which can be found the four entryways to the city (from Plaça Nova to Carrer Regomir and from Carrer Banys Nous to Plaça de l’Àngel).
The octagonal perimeter of the wall was about 1,220 meters long. The road that went around it was about 7.5 meters wide. Let’s take a stroll along it…
If we start from Plaça Nova we can take in the sight of the Cathedral – a huge Gothic building began in 1298. Also known as the Cathedral of Santa Eulalia Santa Cruz, it has a stunning façade, which, despite its Gothic style, was actually built in the nineteenth century.
Walking past the cathedral on the right hand side, we soon reach the next point: C/ de la Tapineria. Going down this road and looking to the west we see the Chapel of St. Agatha, a gothic building from 1302, situated in Plaça del Rei. This charming square also houses the Palau Reial Major (Royal Palace), and on the corner of Carrer Veguer is the Clariana-Padellàs building, where the Museo de Historia de la Ciudad (the Museum of History of the City) is currently located.
From Tapineria to Plaça de l’Àngel (where Metro Jaume I is located), in one of the streets leading up from the square (C/ Llibreteria) is the oldest commercial establishment in Barcelona, the Cereria Subirà, founded in 1761.
On the other side of Via Laietana is one of the most beautiful and important neighbourhoods in Barcelona: La Ribera. Made up of the Born (where you can visit Santa Maria del Mar), Santa Caterina (notable for its huge market, whose roof, designed by Enric Miralles and Benedetta Tagliabue, is a symphony of colours) and Sant Pere (with the famous Palau de la Musica, built between 1905 and 1908 by architect Lluis Domènech i Montaner).
We continue down C/ Sotstinent Navarro, going around the imposing wall, and we come to the spellbinding Plaça dels Traginers: take a coffee there and you will understand!
At the other end of Plaça Nova, is C/ Regomir. The end of this road intersects with C/ Ample, where you walk between ancient Gothic palatial homes. Entering from here, we go up C/ Avinyó, which hosts a variety of bars that come alive at night.
Avinyó comes to an end where it meets the famous C/ Ferran (pedestrian street that runs from Les Rambles, opposite the Gran Teatre del Liceu, to Plaça Sant Jaume). In the nineteenth century this street was what Passeig de Gracia is today: a hub of luxury shopping for the bourgeoisie. If we can resist temptation and cross over this road directly we arrive to C/ Banys Nous where the Jewish quarter begins. Then, taking C/ de la Palla we can return to our starting point: the Plaça de la Catedral.
Cinta Blanch
Leaving your apartments in Barcelona and taking a stroll along the perimeter that circled the ancient Roman part of the city you can discover many unforgettable places.
Translated by: Ben Palmer
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Take a walk by the #Barcino Roman Wall. #Architecture with # Corinthian columns and ancient #gothic palace http://t.co/LZckKJEs #barcelona