Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
CHURCH
ESGLÉSIA DE SANT PERE DE LES PUELLES
8.30am-1pm & 5-7.30pm Mon-Sat, 11am-2pm Sun;
Arc de Triomf)
It was around this church that settlement began in La Ribera. In 985 a Muslim raiding force
under Al-Mansur attacked Barcelona and largely destroyed what was then a convent, killing
or capturing the nuns. It was rebuilt in early medieval times, but not a great deal remains.
The church's pre-Romanesque Greek-cross floor plan survives, as do some Corinthian
columns, beneath the 12th-century dome and a much-damaged Renaissance vault leading
into a side chapel.
MUSEUM
MUSEU EUROPEU D'ART MODERN
free/5; 10am-8pm Tue-Sun; Jaume I)
The European Museum of Modern Art opened in the summer of 2011 in the Palau Gomis, a
handsome 18th-century mansion around the corner from the Museu Picasso. The art within
is strictly representational (the 'Modern' of the name simply means 'contemporary') and is
mostly from young Spanish artists, though there are some works from elsewhere in Europe.
ARCHITECTURE
CASA LLOTJA DE MAR
93 547 88 49;
www.casallotja.com
; Passeig d'Isabel II 1;
Bar-
celoneta)
The centrepiece of the city's medieval stock exchange (more affectionately known as La
Llotja) is the fine Gothic Saló de Contractacions (Transaction Hall), built in the 14th cen-
tury. Pablo Picasso and Joan Miró attended the art school that was housed in the Saló dels
Cònsols from 1849.
These and five other halls were encased in a neoclassical shell in the 18th century. The
stock exchange was in action until well into the 20th century and the building remains in the
hands of the city's chamber of commerce. Occasionally it opens the doors to the public but
the rooms are more generally hired out for events.
MUSEUM
MUSEU DE CULTURES DEL MÓN
The Palau Nadal and the Palau Marquès de Llió, which once housed the Museu Barbier-
Mueller and the Museu Tèxtil respectively, are to reopen to the public as the site of a new
museum, the Museum of World Cultures. This will hold exhibits from private and public
collections, including many from the Museu Etnològic on Montjuïc. The projected inaugur-
