The Casa Padellàs () is a

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

palace A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...

, originally located at number 25, Carrer Mercaders, in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of 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 c ...

. Due to the construction of the

Via Laietana Via Laietana () is a major street in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in the Ciutat Vella district. The avenue runs from Plaça d'Urquinaona, at the city center, to Plaça d'Idrissa Diallo and Plaça de Correus (formerly ''Plaça d'Antonio López'') ...

in the early 20th century—which otherwise would have destroyed it—the building was disassembled in 1931 and relocated to the

Plaça del Rei Plaça del Rei (meaning "King's Square" in Catalan language, Catalan, in ) is a 14th-century medieval public square in the Barri Gòtic of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. http://www.fodors.com/world/europe/spain/barcelona/review-115955.html FODOR T ...

, in Barcelona's Gothic Quarter. Since 1943, it has been home to the

Barcelona City History Museum The Museum of the History of Barcelona (, MUHBA) is a history museum that conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits the historical heritage of the city of Barcelona, from its origins in Roman times until the present day. The museum's headq ...

, and it is catalogued since 1962 as a ''Bé Cultural d’Interès Nacional'' (Cultural Good of National Interest) with B grade, and its urban qualification is 7a(p).

Architecture

Its design obeys to the most common organization of Catalan

palaces. The façade is plain, without a special emphasis on decoration. The windows display some Renaissance decorative motifs below, with the upper windows only opened in the late 18th century. Otherwise, the building's exterior is only pierced by the main portal, which gives access to the building's central court—the nucleus of the residence. Within this space is the present-day

entrance, a well, and the main staircase which wraps around the patio to access the ''

piano nobile ( Italian for "noble floor" or "noble level", also sometimes referred to by the corresponding French term, ) is the architectural term for the principal floor of a '' palazzo''. This floor contains the main reception and bedrooms of the house ...

''. The court is surrounded by an

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated video, pinball, electro-mechanical, redemption, etc., game ** Arcade video game, a coin-operated video game ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade video game's hardware ** Arcad ...

arch An arch is a curved vertical structure spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dates back to the 4th millennium BC, but stru ...

es at this level, with another gallery above this supporting the roof. Inside the building, rooms are adapted to its current function and used as exhibition spaces. Its original decoration was not preserved during the deconstruction, reconstruction, and relocation of the building.

History

From

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

hearth tax A hearth tax was a property tax in certain countries during the medieval and early modern period, levied on each hearth, thus by proxy on wealth. It was calculated based on the number of hearths, or fireplaces, within a municipal area and is con ...

records, it can be deduced that the Palau Padellàs was built between 1497 and 1515 at the intersection of the Carrer Mercaders and Carrer Tarascó. The project was likely undertaken by Joan d’Hostalric-Sabastida i Llull, royal counselor and governor of the counties of Rosselló and

Cerdanya Cerdanya (; , ; , ) or often La Cerdanya is a natural region, natural comarca and historical region of the eastern Pyrenees divided between France and Spain. Historically it was one of the Catalan counties, counties of Catalonia. Cerdanya has a ...

, who was ennobled in 1513.DURAN I SANPERE, Agustí. Barcelona i la seva història. L'Art i la cultura. Barcelona: Curial, 1975. . In 1584 it became property of the Casamitjana family, and one of its inhabitants was the Head Counselor of Barcelona, Rafael Casamitjana d’Erill (1651). Eventually, its owners changed again, and during the eighteenth century, it became property of the Padellàs family, from who it received the name it still bears today. Francesc de Padellàs defended Barcelona during the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...

, but when defeat of the city was imminent, he changed side and supported the

Bourbon Bourbon may refer to: Food and drink * Bourbon whiskey, an American whiskey made using a corn-based mash * Bourbon, a beer produced by Brasseries de Bourbon * Bourbon biscuit, a chocolate sandwich biscuit * Bourbon coffee, a type of coffee ma ...

cause. In 1759, its son, Bernardí de Padellàs, was ennobled by

Charles III of Spain Charles III (; 20 January 1716 – 14 December 1788) was King of Spain in the years 1759 to 1788. He was also Duke of Parma and Piacenza, as Charles I (1731–1735); King of Naples, as Charles VII; and King of Sicily, as Charles III (or V) (1735� ...

. In the early decades of the 20th century, the house's ownership changed hands several times until 1928, when it was acquired by the City of Barcelona. After its relocation of 1931 and the conclusion of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

(1936–1939), it was decided to convert the Palau Padellàs into the Barcelona City History Museum headquarters.

Temporary exhibitions

Today the Palau Padellàs is one of the principal exhibition spaces of MUHBA (

). Since 1996, it has hosted several notable exhibitions: *''Barcelona en temps dels Àustries. La vida a la ciutat en el Renaixement i el Barroc. 1492-1714''. (22/03/1996 to 19/04/1998). *''1939. Barcelona Any Zero. Història gràfica de l'ocupació de la ciutat'' (22/04/1998 to 30/11/1999). *''Despert entre adormits. Joan Maragall i la fi de segle a Barcelona'' (04/12/1998 to 14/02/1999). *''La construcció de la gran Barcelona. L'obertura de la Via Laietana 1908-1958'' (18/05/2001 to 30/09/2001). *''Verdaguer i Gaudí. Tradició i modernitat a la Barcelona del canvi de segle, 1878-1912'' (08/03/2002 to 09/06/2002). *''La condició humana. El somni d'una ombra'' (10/05/2004 to 26/09/2004). *''ABAJO LAS MURALLAS!!! 150 anys de l'enderroc de les muralles de Barcelona'' (19/11/2004 to 31/10/2005). *''GATPAC.1928-1939. Una arquitectura nova per a una nova ciutat'' (19/05/2006 to 18/10/2006). *''Juan Negrín (1892-1956). Barcelona, capital de la República'' (21/07/2007 to 04/11/2007). *
Barraques. La ciutat informal
' (18/07/2009 to 26/04/2009). *

' (9/11/2009 to 01/01/2010). *''[https://archive.today/20130628065556/http://w3.bcn.cat/V64/Home/V64XMLHomeLinkPl/0,4468,335907851_335946995_1_1276493752,00.html?accio=detall&home=&linkDetalle=http://w3.bcn.es/V64/Home/V64XMLHomeLinkPl/0,4468,335907851_335946995_1_1276493752,00.html%3Faccio=detall Ja tenim 600! La represa sense democràcia. Barcelona 1947-1973]'' From (19/11/2010 to 26/06/2011). *''Laboratori MUHBA. Col·leccionem la ciutat'' (7/11/2011 until 2014). * Primers pagesos BCN. La gran innovació fa 7.500 anys (2016).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Padellas's House Buildings and structures in Barcelona Gothic architecture in Catalonia Houses completed in 1515