Hercules Fountains & The Origins Of Barcelona

Statue of Hercules (Heracles) on Passeig de Sant Juan, Barcelona

According to legend, Barcelona was founded by the Greek God Heracles, who, together with his brother Hermes, accompanied Jason and the Argonauts, searching for the Golden Fleece. The brothers set sail with a fleet of nine ships, one of which was lost in a storm somewhere in the Mediterranean. After days of searching for the…

Statue of Little Red Riding Hood

Statue of Little Red Riding Hood

Who isn’t familiar with the story of Little Red Riding Hood? The tale of a young girl and her grandmother who are saved from a fierce wolf by a burly woodcutter. The Little Red Riding Hood fountain in Barcelona portrays a smiling Red Riding Hood casually stroking a friendly-looking wolf. Presumably, inspired in the girl’s…

Fountain of Diana

Statue of Diana the Huntress

Located on the intersection of Gran Via and Roger de Lluria, the Fountain of Diana is a six and a half metre tall marble fountain topped by a statue of the Roman goddess Diana the huntress. The Renaissance styled Fountain by Venancio Vallmitjana was commissioned by Barcelona city council in 1913. Apparently, the young goddess…

Barcelona’s Oldest Fountain: El Font de Santa Ana

The Font de Santa Ana fountain was built in 1365

From the narrow streets and alleyways of the Gothic Quarter to the wide boulevards of l’Eixample district, wherever you go in Barcelona you’ll see fountains of all shapes and sizes. The earliest fountains were built during the middle ages to provide water for Barcelona’s inhabitants and livestock. Simple and functional, early fountains were sparsely decorated…

Plaça d’Espanya

View of Plaça d'Espanya from the Les Arenes shopping centre

Plaça d’Espanya was built for the 1929 International Exhibition and was originally flanked by purpose-built hotels designed to house people visiting the exhibition. Only one of the hotels remains and nowadays the square is basically a large roundabout with an impressive fountain in the middle and magnificent views of the Palau Nacional and Montjuïc. The…

Laribal Gardens – Montjuïc

Estival by Jaume Otero in the Gardens of Laribal

The Laribal gardens (Jardines de Laribal) are located on the lower slopes of Montjuic between the MNAC and the Miró foundation. Tranquil and shady, the park is made up of a series of terraces linked by narrow paths and stairways and was designed by  Jean Claude Nicolas Forestier and Nicolau M. Rubió Tudurí for the…