However, with the shifting nucleus of modern life moving away from religion, and with the development of mass communication devices, the importance of the bell tower in daily life has waned. Today, especially in cities, the sounds of the bells may seem just to be a flourish, a quaintly lovely, but quickly forgotten moment. How often do the bells break through the background noise of cars, motos, horns, sirens and construction to enter our consciousness? Do people ever stop for a moment and wonder what the sound means and where it is coming from?
Mikael Bouckaert, a teacher who recently moved to Barcelona from New York, finds the bells a comforting reminder of a slower pace of life. Bouckaert was born in rural Belgium, and said that hearing the bells of Barcelona was one of the first indicators that he had returned to what he affectionately calls “Mother Europe,” after a 22-year absence. “I was walking around the Barri Gòtic, about a month after I had come here,” Bouckaert recalled. “I was probably walking at the aggravated, fast New York pace I’m accustomed to, when the bells chimed. For some reason it struck a deep chord. It reminded me that I’m in an older place, with older traditions, where time is measured differently.”
Barcelona has many bell towers—campanarios in Castilian and campanars in Catalan—each with a unique history and purpose. The most prominent still in use today are in Plaça Rius i Taulet in Gràcia, the Cathedral de la Seu and the Palau de la Generalitat.
In the midst of a bustling city day, it is pleasant to stop for a moment when the bells of Barcelona ring and contemplate their rich sounds, the tones of history and a voice of the past calling to modern ears, remembering that the inscription on the bell Eulàlia reads: “By me, the neighbours eat; by me, they get up; by me, they pray; by me, their tasks start; by me, they rest; by me, they leave for school; by me, the shows are governed; by me, the curial class wins; by me, the doctors cure; by me, the clergymen sing; and by me, the man Jesus brings you to glory.”
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