ABSTRACT
The Barri Gòtic, or Gothic Quarter, is at Barcelona’s center and is distinguished by its dense, pedestrian scale streets and spaces. Movement through the quarter from the cathedral, the cloister of which is at the upper right in this plan, to the Ramblas, the broad street to the west, is along tight streets and through a series of small squares. On the east is the Plaça de la Catedral, which is an active forecourt to the Gothic Quarter where, on Sundays, worshipers dance traditional Catalan circle dances called sardanas that have their roots in village squares. Moving south along the cathedral’s flank leads to a series of narrow streets and smaller squares including the Plaza de San Jaime, dominated by the Provincial Council Building and the Town Hall. This square marks the beginning of Carrer de Ferran, an east-west street that bisects the quarter and leads, ultimately, to the Ramblas. Just before the Ramblas, however, is the Plaça Reial. Designed by Francesc Daniel Molina and built between 1848 and 1856, this serene, fully enclosed Royal Square was once the site of a convent but, following anti-monastic laws imposed in 1835, was transformed into a public square.
