Nancy and Doug Trips

After a coffee and snack we headed into a pleasant courtyard surrounded by historical and important buildings including the Archives of Spain. What was incredible is that under the courtyard lay the foundations of the Roman colony of Barcino from 10 BC. Fantastic interpretation with the catwalk over a very extensive site; more extensive than any we saw in Rome. Very interesting to witness the reuse of Rome for the next civilization and covering it all the wide arches of the final 14th century construct. An experience to look down to those Roman foundations, up then out at street level to children in 2023 playing on the courtyard - over 2000 years of human history in one glance!

Entrance through Padellàs House courtyard, one of the best examples of Catalán gothic courtyards in private houses (built in the 15th and 16th centuries, reconstructed 1931). Visit to the remains of a whole quarter of the ancient Roman city of Barcino in the archaeological underground. The archaeological area under Plaça del Rei covers over 4000 m2 There is an exhibition about daily life in Roman houses and a walk over factories (laundry, dying, salted fish and garum, winery) shops (tabernae) walls (intervallum, inner parts of the towers) and streets (cardo minor). There are also found the remains of the early Christian and visigothic Episcopal architectural complex (cross shaped church, bishop's palace, baptistery). Above ground small exhibition outlines the medieval history of Barcelona in the large ceremonial hall called Saló del Tinell covered with large round arches (14th century), and the palatine chapel of Saint Agatha (14th century) with its original altarpiece, a 15th-century work by the Catalán painter Jaume Huguet.Read more