We started a new month and went out to walk the streets of Barcelona in search of new adventures.

Today we will make a tour by bicycle through the Arch of Triumph which was built on the occasion of the Universal Exhibition of 1888, the Arch of Triumph led the way to the main entrance of the fair, in the park of the Ciutadella, which had just opened.

During the last third of the 19th century, the universal expositions were events of enormous social impact, since they allowed everyone to get to know the city that hosted them, as well as the cultural, economic, scientific and industrial potential of each country. In this sense, the Arch of Triumph was not only the access to the Universal Exhibition of 1888, but also the symbolic entry of Barcelone into the modern era.

At the height of the modernist movement in much of Europe, constructions inspired by previous eras were very common: the Neo-Gothic, the Neo-Mudejar in Spain or the Neo-Romanesque were some of the predominant styles.

Following this trend, the architect Josep Vilaseca designed a monument 30 meters high and of classical proportions, but with a very colorful decoration and full of symbolism. Thus, the artists who sculpted the decorative friezes represented, on each of the faces, a theme related to the city: Barcelona welcomes the nations (on the side of Passeig de Sant Joan, work of Josep Reynés), the Distribution of rewards to the participants of the Exhibition (on the side of Passeig de Lluís Comanys, work of Josep Llimona) and the allegories of Industry, Agriculture and Trade, on one side, and of Science and Arts, on the other. The famas (the winged figures of the buttresses) were sculpted by Manuel Fuxà and Pere Carbonell.

Finally, in the curve of the arch, the coat of arms of Barcelona can be seen, flanked by the coats of arms of the remaining 48 Spanish provinces, 24 on each face of the monument.