Plaça Reial
Barcelona
Plaça Reial is a neoclassical square with arcades, built in the mid-1800s next to the Rambla. It has two lampposts designed by the young Gaudí.
From convent to square
In the 1800s many of Barcelona's convents were demolished and their land was sold. On one of these plots, between 1848 and 1859, the Plaça Reial was born.
The design is by Francesc Daniel Molina. He took inspiration from French neoclassical squares and from the Plaza Mayor in Madrid.
What to look at
All the buildings are identical, above arcades with round arches and Catalan vaults. On the façades there are terracotta decorations and busts of navigators and explorers.
In the middle stands a cast-iron fountain from 1876, made in the Durenne foundry in Paris. Around it grow trees of different heights.
Gaudí's lampposts
In 1878 the City Council asked the young Antoni Gaudí to design lampposts for squares and promenades. In the end only a few were installed: two here and others in the Pla de Palau.
They are made of cast iron on a stone base, with Barcelona's coat of arms. Built for gas, they were later converted to electricity and still work today.
