According to tradition, a 5th-century fisherman discovered the Virgin Mary's image on a pi (or pine tree) that he intended to cut down to build a boat. Struck by the vision, he instead built a small church, later succeeded by this striking Gothic structure.
The current basilica of Santa Maria del Pi was built between 1319 and 1391, in the Catalan Gothic style. It comprises a single nave, with side chapels between buttresses. The cross-vaulted ceiling, which is one of the highest in the country, gives a true sense of monumental scale. Four of the stained-glass windows are original and were created by one of the finest stained-glass artists of the Catalan baroque period, Josep Ravella. The basilica has the biggest rose window in Catalonia. It is an exact copy of the 14th-century original and was made by Antoni Gaudí's right-hand man, Josep Maria Jujol, after its destruction during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). Inside the church is a 14th-century Gothic image of the figure of the Virgin of the Pines.