Historical walks through the 20th century Barcelona  

Gòtic & Raval


In the early hours of 19 July 1938, six Italian airplanes bombed the city. The raid caused three deaths and the destruction of the Dome of Santa Eulàlia in Barcelona Cathedral.

At 2.30 pm on July 19, six Italian Savoia S.81 planes began a raid on Barcelona, which was followed by another attack at 4.15 pm. In the area worst affected, a 150 kg bomb fell on the Dome of Santa Eulàlia in Barcelona Cathedral, a 13th-century Gothic work and outstanding symbol of the city.

During the war, and at the initiative of Carles Pi i Sunyer, Ministry of Culture in the Catalan Government and former mayor of Barcelona, a series of measures were implemented to protect the city’s cultural and artistic heritage. This prevented uncontrolled groups from burning down religious buildings such as the Monastery of Pedralbes and the Cathedral, but it was not possible to safeguard heritage against enemy air raids. Nonetheless, works were carried out to protect certain monuments and façades, preventing them from shrapnel damage.

The tomb of Saint Eulàlia was not affected by the bombing of the Cathedral, but damage was caused to one of the interior arches, the choir, several side chapels and many stained-glass windows, which were shattered by the force of the explosion, as well as several art works. After the Civil War, the area around the Cathedral was redeveloped due to the destruction that had been caused. Avinguda de la Catedral was considerably widened, and several outstanding buildings were transferred, stone by stone, to new sites in the Gothic Quarter.

Address: Pla de la Seu || Coordinates: (LAT, LONG): 41.384369398, 2.176032328

  • Periods:
  • Second Republic
  • Civil War
  • Francoism
  • Transition