Interesting districts

Barcelona’s Via Laietana, which was built during the first half of the 20th century to link up the Eixample with the port, opened up a new route for traffic while slicing up the old town into different sections.

Santa Caterina and Sant Pere neighbourhood were densely populated and built-up neighbourhoods at the time, with an industrial tradition that strongly defined their personalities. Indeed, the first textile mills of Barcelona, the heirs to the neighbourhood’s craft tradition, set up premises here throughout the 18th century. As a result, the Santa Caterina and Sant Pere neighbourhood became an over-populated, working-class district with poor living conditions.

Over the years, Barcelona’s municipal policy of urban redevelopment and improvement schemes has contributed to cleaning up the area and providing it with renovated facilities such as the Santa Caterina Market, which was restored by the architectural practice of Enric Miralles and Benedetta Tagliabue. The presence of the modernista jewel and World Heritage Site, the Palau de la Música Catalana, in the neighbourhood of Sant Pere, certainly confirms the interest of this zone. The legacy of the Romanesque monastery of Sant Pere de les Puelles and the main streets with their shops, also captivate curious visitors who walk through what was the first district of medieval Barcelona.