Our Mercè Rodoreda Route begins in the Jardinets de Gràcia, very close to Casa Fuster. Casa Fuster will be our first point of interest, as it was built in 1908, the same year that the writer Mercè Rodoreda was born.
Casa Fuster was designed by one of Barcelona’s best-known architects: Domènech i Montaner. His work is recognised throughout the city and the world, with two of his buildings declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO: the Hospital San Pau and the Palau de la Música Catalana.
Salvador Espriu Gardens
The protagonist of the novel, nicknamed La Colometa, used to walk in these gardens when she was pregnant with her first child.
They are called the Jardins de Salvador Espriu in honour of the poet Salvador Espriu, who lived just across the street, at number 118 Passeig de Gràcia.
They are presided over by a sculpture dedicated to another poet, Joan Maragall.
This sculpture was made in 1956 by the poet’s son, Ernest Maragall. It is entitled ‘Empordà or New Ode to Barcelona. It depicts two half-naked women in a classical style, symbolising the twinning of Barcelona and L’Empordà.
At first, some sectors reacted to the sculpture because of its lesbian connotations, and it was moved for a time to the Cervantes gardens. It was in 1985 that it was moved back to its current location.
At the other end of the gardens is what is now known as the Plaça del Cinc d’Oros, presided over by an obelisk popularly known as ‘the pencil’.
Calle Mayor de Gracia
Next, we’ll go up the Carrer Major de Gràcia. The name of this street provides important information about life in this part of Barcelona. It tells us that Gràcia used to be a village independent of Barcelona. However, as the city grew, Gràcia became part of Barcelona.
In this street, the place we are most interested in is number 25. At number 25, Carrer Mayor de Gràcia is now Consum, a small food supermarket, but it used to be the Café Monumental. In the novel, this is where Colometa and Quimet got married and where they go every Sunday to enjoy the traditional popets.
Popets are a culinary speciality of Barcelona. They are small breaded octopuses, fried and browned in a garlic and parsley butter. With a slice of lemon, you get the authentic popets enjoyed by the heroes of the novel.
As the photo below shows, if you go to number 25 Carrer Mayor de Gràcia, you can still see the old columns of the café.
Very close to this old café, there is a building decorated with ‘sgraffito’.
This purely decorative technique has been used since the 17th century. So Barcelona was already covered with it at the time of the novel. Colometa’s eyes could see more than 1,500 of them scattered all over the city.
To create a sgraffito, two layers of stucco of different colours are applied to the building, the first of which is scraped and carved until the layer underneath emerges, drawing the desired image.
The sgraffito, unique in Barcelona, gives a different style and personality to each building. Today they are an integral part of the city’s heritage, and most of them have been restored to preserve their unique Barcelona charm.
Mercat de la Llibertad
Let’s move on to the Mercat de la Llibertat. It was in a market like this that Colometa did her shopping. Put yourself in the protagonist’s shoes and go inside to discover the different stalls. In her novel, Mercè does not specifically mention the market her heroine goes to. However, because of where she lives, the Mercat de la Llibertad is the closest market, so our Mercè Rodoreda Route takes her there.
The market was designed by the architect Miquel Pasquale i Tintoré and opened in 1888, the same year as the Barcelona Universal Exhibition. These three lilies can be seen on the façade of the market and in many other places in the Colometa neighbourhood. The three lilies are the symbol of Gràcia.
Calle Montseny
We find ourselves in a street to which Mercè Rodoreda is very close, as she used to walk here with her mother when she was a child.
In her novel, it is in this street that Colometa and Quimet move in together. According to the novel, they had a lot of work to do before they could live there comfortably after their marriage. After remarrying Antoni, Colometa left the flat, but returned a few years later.
In the photo below, showing Colometa and Quimet, you can admire the typical tiles. These tiles are called hydraulic tiles or hydraulic mosaic. It is composed of two main materials: cement and colour. To create the tile, the two materials are pressed together using a hydraulic press, from which the typical tile takes its name.
The first Spanish manufacturer was Francisco Garneta, based in Barcelona. He had the opportunity to present these hydraulic tiles at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1867. Demand skyrocketed after the exhibition. In fact, all social classes could afford to have these tiles in their homes, as they were completely affordable. It was the first way for the middle classes to decorate their homes.
The first hydraulic mosaic tile factory was opened in Barcelona in 1873. Today, this style has become part of Barcelona’s heritage and is a source of pride for the city’s inhabitants, as even Gaudí used them in his works.
Plaça de la Vila
If you have seen the film, you will recognise Plaça de la Vila de Gràcia in the photo below. This square is emblematic of the Colometa neighbourhood. Firstly, because it’s a popular place for locals to meet up and talk about their latest adventures on the terrace of one of the neighbourhood’s bars, but also because it’s a place where Catalan and Barcelona traditions are still alive and well.
Plaça de la Vila de Gràcia has had several names: first Plaça d’Orient, then Plaça de la Constitució, then Plaça de Rius i Taulet and finally Plaça de la VIla de Gràcia.
This square is adorned with a tower crowned by a bell. During the ‘Quintas’ revolt in 1870, to show the families’ disapproval of their sons going to the army, a neighbour grabbed the rope from the bell tower and ran up to her house. She rang the bell for 6 days without stopping. The army, fed up with the continuous ringing, decided to bomb the bell tower.
Many Catalan traditions survive in the Gràcia neighbourhood. We have chosen to talk about the castellers, as they appear in the film La Plaça del Diamant.
The first castells date back to the 18th century in Tarragona. The castells are human towers that move around the city. They always move to the rhythm of the gralla and its toc de castell. This human tower consists of a base, where everyone can help, and 6 to 10 floors, getting smaller and smaller.
In general, a castell represents a cross-section of society, as all kinds of physiques, sexes, origins and ages are accepted. In fact, there are also children’s castellers: they usually crown the castells.
The castellers like to say that a castell is a good school for life, because it transmits values such as diversity, team spirit, the search for the common good and solidarity.
La plaça del diamant
This is where the novel begins. In fact, it is the place that Mercè Rodoreda has chosen to bring together Colometa and Quimet. This is also where the novel ends, and it is precisely for this reason that we will also end our Mercè Rodoreda literary route here.
In the centre of the Plaça del Diamant there is a work of art depicting Colometa. There is also a plaque in honour of Mercè Rodoreda.
We will leave you in the capable hands of our guide, who will be happy to take you to the most emblematic places in the book La Plaça del Diamant by Mercè Rodoreda.
