History
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What Are the Origins of Lent?
The word “Lent” has Germanic roots referring to the “lengthening” of days, or springtime. But facts about the early origin of the religious observance are not as well known. Read more
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What Is La Puríssima, and Why Is It a Holiday in Spain?
December 8 is a national holiday on Spain celebrating La Puríssima. But if you ask just about anyone what it is and why it’s a holiday, you’ll quickly learn that many people aren’t really sure. So, why is it a public holiday? Read more
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Contact Tracing: How Physicians Used It 500 Years Ago to Control the Bubonic Plague
Minus the modern technology, contact tracing goes back a long way. Read more
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Detail of a miniature of witches being burnt and tortured, from "Chroniques de France ou de St Denis," 1332-1350. Image courtesy of the British Library.
Witchcraft in Catalunya
Witches and wizards, healers and sorcerers: Héctor Cols relates the complicated and tumultuous history of witchcraft in Europe and its persecution in Catalunya. Read more
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Barcelona Present: Restoring and Maintaining
Protecting Barcelona precious urban plan is one of the main issues the city faces today. So to assess Barcelona’s present, we must look to how it is maintaining it’s past. Read more
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18th Century French engraving of Barcelona Port published in Historia de Barcelona by Josep L. Roig.
Barcelona Past: The Carta Històrica
In the first of a trilogy on Barcelona’s fascinating urban plan, we take a look at an online tool which lets you view Barna’s history through a series of interactive maps; the insight it gives you into the city’s past is truly remarkable. Read more
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A Brief History of Breakfast
Did you know Thomas Aquinas deemed eating breakfast was a sin? Then In 1662 the Catholic Church revised its position. Why? Chocolate! Read more
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Dia Orwell
On June 18th Barcelona will commemorate George Orwell and his efforts to quell social injustice. Read more
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A Thousand Battles: Sant Andreu
Sant Andreu is today a peaceful area of Barcelona, but its past is filled with conflict and rebellion. Read more
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Artur Bladé, An Unknown Writer
The magic of the Ribera d’Ebre comes alive in the journals of a Catalan exile during the Spanish Civil War. Read more