Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
side lay richly painted frescoes made of the finest pigments and bearing notable Byzantine
influences. Some of these works - rescued from churches that later fell into ruin - are beau-
tifully preserved inside the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (MNAC) on Montjuïc.
Commerce was also on the rise, fuelled by a new class of merchants and tradesmen. Ship-
building, textiles and farming (grain, vineyards) helped power expansion. An even bigger
catalyst to Catalonia's growth came in 1137 when Ramon Berenguer IV, the Count of Bar-
celona, married Petronilla, heir to the throne of neighbouring Aragón, thus creating a joint
state that set the scene for Catalonia's golden age.
In the following centuries the regime became a flourishing merchant empire, seizing
Valencia and the Balearic Islands from the Moors, and later taking territories as far flung as
Sardinia, Sicily and parts of Greece. In the 13th century Barcelona also became the epi-
centre of a bold experiment in self-government. Jaume I created the Consell dels Cent Jurats
(Council of the Hundred Sworn-In) to help run city affairs. Shortly thereafter, Catalonia saw
the creation of the Corts Catalanes, a legislative council for Catalonia made up of represent-
atives of the nobility, clergy and high-class merchants to form a counterweight to regal
power. Its home was, and remains, the Palau de la Generalitat.
Barcelona's first patron saint, Santa Eulàlia (290-304), was martyred for her faith during
the persecutory reign of Diocletian. Her death involved 13 tortures (one for each year of
her life), including: being rolled in a glass-filled barrel, cutting off her breasts and crucifix-
ion. Some paintings depict her holding a tray containing her cut-off breasts.
From Gothic Glory to Decline
The 14th century marked the golden age of Barcelona. Its trading wealth paid for the great
Gothic buildings that bejewel the city to this day. La Catedral, the Capella Reial de Santa
Àgata (inside the Museu d'Història de la Ciutat de Barcelona) and the churches of Santa
Maria del Pi and Santa Maria del Mar were all completed during this time. King Pere III
(1336-87) later created the breathtaking Reials Drassanes (Royal Shipyards) and also exten-
ded the city walls yet again, this time to include the El Raval area to the west.
Preserving the empire began to exhaust Catalonia. Sea wars with Genoa, resistance in
Sardinia, the rise of the Ottoman Empire and the loss of the gold trade all drained the city's
coffers. Commerce collapsed. The Black Death and famines killed about half of Catalonia's
population in the 14th century. Barcelona also lost some of its best merchants when
bloodthirsty mobs attacked Jewish businesses and homes in 1391.
