ABSTRACT
Josep Comas i Solà (1868–1937), the highly renowned Catalan astronomer, died on 2 December 1937 in Barcelona, while the city was suffering the horrors of the Spanish Civil War; in particular, the bombardments by the Italian Fascist Aviation on the civilian population. Despite this desperate situation, the whole city came out to honour its local hero. His public funeral became an impressive tribute to a man who had ‘placed’ the name of Barcelona in the heavens, after his discovery of a minor planet – orbiting the Sun in the Asteroid belt – that was named after the city. 2 The ceremony was presided over by local political authorities who accompanied the funeral procession, together with the municipal police force and the city brass band. There were also representatives of the military and of different media – newspapers and periodicals for the general public, scientific journals and radio stations – and leaders of different cultural and educational institutions, union members, students and the general public. 3
