Church of Saint Philip Neri (Barcelona)

Plaça de Sant Felip Neri is a small square in the Gothic Quarter in the district of Ciutat Vella in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The square takes its name from the Church of Saint Philip Neri, which presides over the square. To the right of the church is the School of Saint Felip Neri which uses the square as a playground. To the left of the church is a house used by the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri. In the centre of the square is an octagonal fountain, dedicated as a symbol of life. The architecture of the square and surrounding buildings is in the medieval Baroque-style.

The Cercle Artístic de Sant Lluc (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈseɾklə əɾˈtistiɡ də ˈsaɲ ˈʎuk], meaning in English "Saint Lluc Artists' Circle") is an arts society which was founded in Barcelona (Catalonia) in 1893 by Joan Llimona, Josep Llimona, Antoni Utrillo, Alexandre de Riquer, the city councillor Alexandre M. Pons and a group of artists who were followers of bishop Josep Torras i Bages, as a reaction to the anticlerical current present in modernisme and in the Cercle Artístic de Barcelona, which they considered to be frivolous. The society was typified by its vigorous defence of Catholic morals (even going so far as to prohibit the artistic nude) and of family virtue, and its desire to follow in the path of humility that was pursued by the mediaeval guilds. Its president was Lluís Serrahima, and its members included Dionisio Baixeras Verdaguer, Iu Pascual, Enric Clarasó, Antoni Gaudí, Joaquim Vancells i Vieta, Joaquim Renart i Garcia and Ramon Sunyer i Clarà, as well as Joaquín Torres García, Josep Pijoan, Feliu Elias, Darius Vilàs, Francesc d'Assís Galí, Eugeni d'Ors and other artists without religious commitment who attended drawing classes there including Joan Miró. It is considered to have been very influential in defining the noucentisme movement. After the Spanish Civil War it was reorganized and it protected the activities of the Agrupació Dramàtica de Barcelona and the Coral Sant Jordi, as well as the early performances by Els Setze Jutges and Els Joglars. It created the Joan Miró Drawing Prize and in 1993 it received the highest honour awarded by the Catalan government, the Creu de Sant Jordi.

Santa Maria del Pi (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈsantə məˈɾi.ə ðəl ˈpi], meaning "St. Mary of the Pine") is a 15th-century Gothic church in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It is situated on the Plaça del Pi, in the Barri Gòtic district of the city.

The Ancient Synagogue of Barcelona (Catalan: Sinagoga Major de Barcelona, Spanish: Sinagoga Mayor de Barcelona) is believed to be an ancient synagogue located in the centre of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It has been described as one of the oldest synagogues in Europe. After many centuries of use for other purposes, the building re-opened as a synagogue and museum in 2002. No congregation prays regularly at the Sinagoga Major, but it is used for festive occasions.

The Sala Parés is the oldest art gallery in Barcelona, Spain. Initially an art store, established in 1840 by Joan Parés, it slowly evolved into a gallery and formally became one in 1877.

The Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia (Catalan: Catedral de la Santa Creu i Santa Eulàlia), also known as Barcelona Cathedral, is the Gothic cathedral and seat of the Archbishop of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The cathedral was constructed from the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries, with the principal work done in the fourteenth century. The cloister, which encloses the Well of the Geese (Font de les Oques), was completed in 1448. In the late nineteenth century, the neo-Gothic façade was constructed over the nondescript exterior that was common to Catalan churches. The roof is notable for its gargoyles, featuring a wide range of animals, both domestic and mythical. Its form is pseudo-basilica, vaulted over five aisles, the outer two divided into chapels. The transept is truncated. The east end is a chevet of nine radiating chapels connected by an ambulatory. The high altar is raised, allowing a clear view into the crypt. The cathedral is dedicated to Eulalia of Barcelona, co-patron saint of Barcelona, a young virgin who, according to Catholic tradition, suffered martyrdom during Roman times in the city. One story says that she was exposed naked in the public square and a miraculous snowfall in mid-spring covered her nudity. The enraged Romans put her into a barrel with knives stuck into it and rolled it down a street (according to tradition, the one now called Baixada de Santa Eulàlia). The body of Saint Eulalia is entombed in the cathedral's crypt. The choir stalls retain the coats-of-arms of the knights of the Order of the Golden Fleece. In his first trip into Spain, Charles, the future Holy Roman Emperor, selected Barcelona as the site of a chapter of his Order. The king had arrived for his investiture as Count of Barcelona, and the city, as a Mediterranean port, offered the closest communication with other far-flung Habsburg dominions, while the large proportions of the cathedral would accommodate required grand ceremonies. In 1518 the Order's herald, Thomas Isaac, and its treasurer, Jean Micault, were commissioned to prepare the sanctuary for the first sitting of the chapter in 1519. Juan de Borgonya executed the painted decoration of the sanctuary. "The church was named after Barcelona's patron saint Eulalia; its official name - Catedral de la Santa Creu i Santa Eulalia - is Catalan for "Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia". The commonly used name La Seu refers to the status of the church as the seat of the diocese." The side Chapel of the Holy Sacrament and of the Holy Christ of Lepanto contains a cross said to date from the time of the Battle of Lepanto (1571).In addition to Saints Eulàlia and Olegarius, the cathedral contains the tombs of Saint Raymond of Penyafort, Count Ramon Berenguer I and his third wife Almodis de la Marche, and bishops Berenguer de Palou II, Salvador Casañas y Pagés, and Arnau de Gurb, who is buried in the Chapel of Santa Llúcia, which he had constructed. The cathedral has a secluded Gothic cloister where 13 white geese are kept, the number explained by the assertion that Eulalia was 13 when she was martyred.A program of cleaning and restoration of the cathedral was carried out from 1968–72.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Barcelona is a Latin rite Catholic metropolitan archbishopric in northeastern Spain's Catalonia region. The cathedral archiepiscopal see is a Minor basilica: Catedral Basílica Metropolitana de la Santa Creu i Santa Eulàlia, Barcelona. The archbishopric has nine more Minor basilicas : ... The current Archbishop of Barcelona is Juan José Omella Omella, appointed by Pope Francis on 6 November 2015.

The Jewish quarter of Barcelona (Spanish: Barrio Judío de Barcelona) (Catalan: El Call de Barcelona) in Barcelona, Spain, is an area located in the Gothic Quarter. The quarter was the heart of the city's Jewish community from the 7th to 14th centuries and was one of the most important Jewish quarters on the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages.

The Museu Frederic Marès [muˈzɛw fɾəðəˈɾiɡ məˈɾɛs] is an art and sculpture museum in Barcelona, Spain.The Museu contains a collection of thousands of items from the sculptor Frederic Marès. Located near the Barcelona Cathedral, the Museu collection includes statuary from pre-Roman times through to almost the present day, with a particular emphasis on medieval Christian art, and a separate 'Collector's Cabinet' of artisan items such as fans and keys.

The Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya is a historic palace in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It houses the offices of the Presidency of the Generalitat de Catalunya. It is one of the few buildings of medieval origin in Europe that still functions as a seat of government and houses the institution that originally built it. The palace is located in the district of Ciutat Vella in Barcelona. It is bounded by the Carrer del Bisbe, Carrer de Sant Sever and Carrer de Sant Honorat. Its principal façade gives onto the Plaça de Sant Jaume, across from the City Hall of Barcelona. The original building was purchased in 1400 by then-president Alfons de Tous. It was located on the Carrer de Sant Honorat, in the former Jewish Quarter, or Call. The first extension (in the year 1416) faced the street and was carried out by Bishop Marc Safont, who also built the chapel of St. George, in 1434. In 1596, Pere Blai designed the current principal façade on the Plaça de Sant Jaume, in the Renaissance style. This is the first grand façade of this architectural style in Catalonia. Thereafter, several other houses were purchased and integrated into the palace.

The Principality of Catalonia (Catalan: Principat de Catalunya, Latin: Principatus Cathaloniæ, Occitan: Principat de Catalonha, Spanish: Principado de Cataluña) was a medieval and early modern state in the northeastern Iberian Peninsula. During most of its history it was in dynastic union with the Kingdom of Aragon, constituting together the Crown of Aragon. Between the 13th and the 18th centuries, it was bordered by the Kingdom of Aragon to the west, the Kingdom of Valencia to the south, the Kingdom of France and the feudal lordship of Andorra to the north and by the Mediterranean Sea to the east. The term Principality of Catalonia remained in use until the Second Spanish Republic, when its use declined because of its historical relation to the monarchy. Today, the term Principat (Principality) is used primarily to refer to the autonomous community of Catalonia in Spain, as distinct from the other Catalan Countries, and usually including the historical region of Roussillon in Southern France. The first reference to Catalonia and the Catalans appears in the Liber maiolichinus de gestis Pisanorum illustribus, a Pisan chronicle (written between 1117 and 1125) of the conquest of Majorca by a joint force of Italians, Catalans, and Occitans. At the time, Catalonia did not yet exist as a political entity, though the use of this term seems to acknowledge Catalonia as a cultural or geographical entity. The counties that eventually made up the Principality of Catalonia were gradually unified under the rule of the count of Barcelona. In 1137, the County of Barcelona and the Kingdom of Aragon were unified under a single dynasty, creating what modern historians call the Crown of Aragon; however, Aragon and Catalonia retained their own political structure and legal traditions, developing separate political communities along the next centuries. Under Alfons I the Troubador (reigned 1164–1196), Catalonia was regarded as a legal entity for the first time. Still, the term Principality of Catalonia was not used legally until the 14th century, when it was applied to the territories ruled by the Courts of Catalonia. Its institutional system evolved over the centuries, establishing political bodies analogous to the ones of the other kingdoms of the Crown (such as the Courts, the Generalitat or the Consell de Cent) and legislation (constitutions, derived from the Usages of Barcelona) which largely limited the royal power and secured the political model of pactism. Catalonia contributed to further develop the Crown trade and military, most significantly their navy. Catalan language flourished and expanded as more territories were added to the Crown, including Valencia, the Balearic Islands, Sardinia, Sicily, Naples and Athens, constituting a thalassocracy across the Mediterranean. The crisis of the 14th century, the end of the rule of House of Barcelona (1410) and a civil war (1462–1472) weakened the role of the Principality in Crown and international affairs. The marriage of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile in 1469 laid the foundations of the Monarchy of Spain. In 1492 the Spanish colonization of the Americas began, and political power began to shift away towards Castile. Tensions between Catalan institutions and the Monarchy, alongside the peasants' revolts, provoked the Reapers' War (1640–1659). By the Treaty of the Pyrenees the Roussillon was ceded to France. During the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714), the Crown of Aragon supported the Archduke Charles of Habsburg. After the surrender of Barcelona in 1714, king Philip V of Bourbon, inspired by the French model, imposed absolutism and a unifying administration across Spain, and enacted the Nueva Planta decrees for every realm of the Crown of Aragon, which suppressed the main Catalan, Aragonese, Valencian and Majorcan political institutions and rights and merged them into the Crown of Castile as provinces. However, the Principality of Catalonia remained as an administrative unit until the establishment of the Spanish provincial division of 1833, which divided Catalonia into four provinces.

Els Quatre Gats (pronounced [əls ˈkwatɾə ˈɣats]; Catalan for 'The Four Cats') is a café in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain that famously became a popular meeting place for famous artists throughout the modernist period in Catalonia, known as Modernisme. The café opened on June 12, 1897 in the famous Casa Martí, and served as a hostel, bar and cabaret until it eventually became a central meeting point for Barcelona’s most prominent modernist figures, such as Pablo Picasso and Ramon Casas i Carbó. The bar closed due to financial difficulties in June 1903, but was reopened and eventually restored to its original condition in 1989.