Via Laietana () Vía Layetana in Spanish, is a major thoroughfare in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, in the

Ciutat Vella Ciutat Vella (, meaning in English "Old City") is a district of Barcelona, numbered District 1. The name means "old city" in Catalan and refers to the oldest neighborhoods in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. ''Ciutat Vella'' is nestl ...

district. The avenue runs from Plaça Urquinaona to Plaça d'Antonio López, by the seafront, and separates the neighbourhoods of the old city it has on either side: La Ribera/ El Born and Sant Pere on one and Barri Gòtic on the other. Besides being always overcrowded with both locals and tourists attracted by its Modernista Art Nouveau, Art Déco, and Noucentista

neo-classical architecture Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...

, in addition to its nearness to the Ramblas and the quiet pedestrian streets of Barri Gòtic, Via Laietana hosts the headquarters of a number of banks (notably the building of the old Caixa Catalunya) and institutions. It can be seen as an extension of Carrer de Pau Claris in

Eixample The Eixample (; ) is a district of Barcelona between the old city ( Ciutat Vella) and what were once surrounding small towns ( Sants, Gràcia, Sant Andreu, etc.), constructed in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Its population was 262,000 ...

. Via Laietana was named after the ''Laietanii'', an Iberian people who inhabited the region around

Maresme Maresme () is a '' comarca'' (county) located along the Catalan Mediterranean coast in Spain, between the ''comarques'' of Barcelonès (at the Southwest) and Selva (at the Northeast), and also bordering with Vallès Oriental (at the west). It ...

, Vallès, and Baix Llobregat.

History

The construction of Via Laietana was first projected in 1879 and started in 1907, with the aim of communicating

with the waterfront, amid much controversy. The demolition of a large number of houses and the removal of the streets in the area was required to do so. As some of the traditional

guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...

s of the city, some dating back to the Middle Ages, were located there, they had to be relocated in different parts of Barri Gòtic, notably Plaça de Sant Felip Neri. The first section to be built was named Carrer de Bilbao, which nowadays is a separate, shorter street that stems from the larger Via Laietana. The avenue was finished in 1926. Francesc Cambó, a prominent politician of the time, built his personal residence in the avenue. During the years of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...

(1936-1939) it was renamed ''Via Durruti''.

Architecture

As an avenue built in the early 20th century, its buildings reflect the aesthetic ideals of the period, and of the different political regimes. The style of some of its buildings has no other referent in Barcelona and has much more in common with the architecture that can be seen in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

. A number of these buildings are being converted into hotels.

Buildings of interest

Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu () is a music college in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was created in 1837 with the name ''Liceo Filo-dramático de Montesión''. In 1847 the institution inaugurated the opera house Gran Teatre del Lic ...

* Caixa de Pensions Building (1917), by Enric Sagnier - Unusual office building built in a trend of the

Neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

style inspired by

central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the a ...

an churches with a white façade. * Casa Bulbena-Salas (1924-1926) by Joan A. Roig. * Edifici del Col·legi d'Enginyers Industrials (1922) by Antoni Ferrater. * Casa Artur Suqué (1927) by Adolf Florensa. * Caixa Catalunya building (1931) by José Yárnoz Larrosa and Luis Menéndez Pidal Álvarez - It's been the Caixa Catalunya headquarters since 1955, but originally hosted Banco de España. * Casa dels Velers (1758-1763) by Juan Garrido i Bertrán * Foment del Treball building (1934-1936) by Adolf Florensa - rationalist building, influenced by the Chicago School. * Edifici de Tabacs (1923) by Francesc Guàrdia Vidal. * Edifici de Correus (1926-1927 by Josep Goday Casals and Jaume Torres Grau.

Places of interest in the vicinity

Palau de la Música Catalana Palau de la Música Catalana (, en, Palace of Catalan Music) is a concert hall in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Designed in the Catalan '' modernista'' style by the architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner, it was built between 1905 and 1908 for ...

* Santa Caterina market * Cathedral of Santa Eulàlia

Two closed metro stations

Via Laietana hosted two metro stations that were finally dismantled and abandoned because of different reasons. Correos was closed because of major changes in the metro line that crossed the area, and Banco was never opened.

Transport

Bus

*Line 17 *Line 19 *Line 40 *Line 45

Metro

* Jaume I ( L4) * Urquinaona ( L1, L4)

Gallery

Image:Via Laietana.jpg, Casa Heribert Sales, with Casa Bulbena-Salas in the background. Image:Caixa de Pensions Barcelona.jpg, Caixa de Pensions building. Image:Domènech.i.Montaner.Palau.Musica.Catalana.8.Barcelona.JPG, The prestigious

is located next to Via Laietana File:View North,Via Laietana 18th April 2009 (1).JPG, View North along the Via Laietana.

References

*ALBAREDA, Joaquim, GUÀRDIA, Manel i altres. Enciclopèdia de Barcelona, Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana, Barcelona, 2006.

External links

Photo gallery at Poblesdecatalunya.cat
{{Coord, 41, 23, 07, N, 2, 10, 37, E, region:ES-B_type:landmark_source:kolossus-eswiki, display=title Streets in Barcelona Ciutat Vella