Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE RAMBLAS STATUES
Time stands still for no man - not even for the famed
humanstatues
of the Ramblas, who
make a living out of doing just that. A motley crew of creepy, classic and perplexing fig-
ures(liketheporcelain-white“ManSittingonToilet”)onceflankedthelengthofthestreet,
posingforphotosandregalingpassers-by.Butin2012-inanefforttokeeppeoplemoving
along the oft-congested street, and prevent pickpockets from preying on the crowds - the
city relocated all the statues to
Rambla de Santa Mònica
, the widest stretch of the street.
The number of statues was also limited to thirty a year, with performers required to audi-
tionforslots.Despitethecutbackinterritoryandnumber,theremaining humanstatuesare
still a quintessential Barcelona attraction. Be it a skyward-gazing Galileo or a crouching
horned demon ready to pounce, these stalwarts of the Ramblas continue - day in and day
out - to climb upon their home-made plinths and strike a pose. What else is a statue going
to do?
Plaça de Catalunya
Catalunya
Thehuge
PlaçadeCatalunya
squareatthetopoftheRamblasstandsrightattheheartofthe
city, with the old town and port below it, and the nineteenth-century Eixample district above
and beyond. It was laid out in its present form in the 1920s, centred on a formal arrangement
of statues, circular fountains and trees, and is the focal point for local events and demonstra-
tions - notably the mass gathering here on New Year's Eve. The most prominent monument
is the towering angular slab and bust dedicated to
Francesc Macià
, leader of the Republic-
an Left, parliamentary deputy for Barcelona and first president of the Generalitat, who died
