History
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La Casa de la Misericòrdia de Barcelona
Founded in 1581, the Casa offered aid and shelter to the city’s poor and homeless population, which represented an important and growing problem for the urban center.
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House of Orphaned Infants (Casa dels Infants Orfes), photo by Carlos Pino Andújar (CC BY-SA 3.0 ES) via Wikimedia Commons.
The Baby Hatch
During the Industrial Revolution, low wages and bad living conditions forced some families to leave their children at the orphanage.
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The medieval buildings of the Hospital de la Santa Creu now houses the Biblioteca de Catalunya and other cultural organizations, including an arts school. Photo by Josep Renalias (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Wikimedia Commons.
L’Antic Hospital de la Santa Creu
The Antic Hospital de la Sant Creu was Barcelona's health-care center for over five centuries and is one of the city's most impressive examples of Catalan Gothic architecture.
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Icon of Saint Thecla from the 11th century illuminated manuscript Menologion of Basil II.
Thecla, the Beast Fighter: The Saint Who Faced Down Lions and Killer Seals Is One of Many "Leading Ladies" in Early Christian Texts
Santa Thecla is the patron saint of the city of Tarragona, where the cathedral is named after her and images of her decorate the altarpiece. Each year the city celebrates her story through parades, music, dancing and human towers.
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Barcelona in the Plague Years
Still recovering from the famine in the previous decade that killed ten thousand in the city—25% of the population—the black plague is likely to have eliminated 40% of Catalunya's population.
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Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau courtesy of Ajuntament de Barcelona (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).
Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau: A Modernist Jewel
Often referred to as a “city within a city,” the sprawling hospital complex of the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau is considered to be one of the jewels of Modernism.
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What Is La Puríssima, and Why Is It a Holiday in Spain?
December 8th 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?
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Paseo de la Constitución in Zaragoza, Spain. Photo by Willtron (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Wikimedia Commons.
What Is Constitution Day in Spain?
For those of us who moved to Spain within the past decade or two (or three), it’s easy to forget that less than 50 years ago, the country was under the thumb of a dictatorship. In terms of Western democracy, Spain is still very young.
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The Patronato de Protección a la Mujer (Women's Protection Board) was a mechanism used during the Franco dictatorship to exert iron-fisted patriarchal control over young women who dared to challenge the ideal of the “good woman.” Image from archive of the regional government of Andalucía.
50 Years After Franco’s Death, Giving a Voice to Spanish Dictator’s Imprisoned Mothers
Among the multitudes of Francoism’s victims were women and children who endured psychological and physical abuse in prisons, orphanages and asylums. Yet for decades their experiences have remained marginal in the public narrative.
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This print titled "The Plague in Barcelona in 1821" depicts the city in the the grips of the 1821 yellow fever epidemic. Lithograph by N.E. Maurin, Public domain, courtesy of the Wellcome Collection.
Barcelona’s Deadly Bout with Yellow Fever
The 1821 yellow fever outbreak in Barcelona wasn’t the first epidemic that the city had experienced, but this one had a particular effect on public health legislation in both France and Spain.
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