Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
interprets life in
Barcino
itself through a collection of tombstones, statues, inscriptions and
friezes, which were found all over the city. Some of the stonework is remarkably vivid, de-
picting the faces of some of Barcino's inhabitants as clearly as the day they were carved.
La Ciutat del Teatre
C/de Lleida • Poble Sec
AtthefootofMontjuïc,ontheeasternslopes,thetheatreareaknownas
LaCiutatdelTeatre
occupies a back corner of the old working-class neighbourhood of Poble Sec. Passeig de
SantaMadronarunsdownherefromMNAC,passingtheethnologicalandarcheologicalmu-
seums, or there are more direct steps descending the hillside.
The theatre buildings that make up La Ciutat del Teatre sit in a tight huddle off c/de Lleida.
Here you'll find the
Mercat de les Flores
- once a flower market, now a centre for dance
and the “movement arts” - and progressive
Teatre Lliure
(“Free Theatre”) occupying the
spaghetti-western-style Palau de l'Agricultura premises built for the 1929 Exhibition. Walk
through the terracotta arch from c/de Lleida, and off to the left is the far sleeker
Institut del
Teatre
, with its sheer walls contrasting markedly with the neighbourhood's cheap housing,
whoselaundryisstrungjustmetresawayfromthegleamingTheatreCity.Theinstitutebrings
together the city's major drama and dance schools, and various conservatories, libraries and
studycentres.Our
“Theatreandcabaret”
sectionhasmoredetailsaboutperformances,events
and festivals at all these venues.
TEATRE GREC AND THE BARCELONA FESTIVAL
Montjuïc takes centre-stage each year during Barcelona's annual summer cultural festival
(
barcelonafestival.com
)
, known locally as the Grec, when arias soar from the open-air
stage of the
Teatre Grec
, a Greek theatre cut into a former quarry on the Poble Sec side
of the hill. Starting in late June (and running throughout July and August), the festival in-
corporates drama, music and dance, with the opening sessions and some of the most atmo-
spheric events staged in the theatre, from Shakespearean productions to shows by avant-
garde performance artists. These can be magical nights - a true Barcelona experience -
though you'll need to be quick off the mark for tickets, which usually go on sale in May.
Poble Sec
Poble Sec/Paral.lel
Lying immediately below Montjuïc, confined by the hill on one side and the busy Avinguda
del Paral.lel on the other, is the neighbourhood of
Poble Sec
, or “Dry Village”, so called be-
