Monuments of Barcelona * All PYRENEES · France, Spain, Andorra

Most famous monuments in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.

Josep Tarradellas Monument. Dedicated to the former president of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Josep Tarradellas i Joan. It is a column formed by five irregular blocks of basalt stone joined by smooth, polished and perfectly rectangular blocks of marble, which contrast vividly with the stone. It was designed by the architect Ignasi de Lecea and the sculptor Xavier Corberó. It was inaugurated in 1999.

La Colometa, Plaza del Diamante. “La Colometa” is a sculpture by Xavier Medina-Campeny which represents the female protagonist of “La Plaça del Diamant”, one of the most important novels in Catalan literature. The book has been translated into more than 20 languages. “Plaça del Diamant” is also the name of the square in Gràcia where this sculpture is located.

The Statue of Ramon Berenguer III. This monument is dedicated to Ramón Berenguer III The Great, Count of Barcelona and Knight Templar. It is located in the homonymous square, on Via Laietana, behind the Cathedral. It was made by Josep Llimona in 1950; It is made of bronze and represents the Count riding his horse, erected on a stone pedestal with a rectangular base.

El Cap de Barcelona (1991–1992) is a surrealist sculpture created by American Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein for the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. Its English title is The Head of Barcelona. The sculpture was Lichtenstein’s first outdoor work using ceramic tile. It is said to acknowledge Antoni Gaudí and Barcelona’s affinity for mosaics.

The Jumper (El Saltador) is a sculpture located at the entrance to the Torre Urquinaona, in Plaça d’Urquinaona. The work of the sculptor Jordi Díez i Fernández from Vallisole, it was installed in October 2023. Made of stainless steel, it measures 3 meters in height. It represents a trampoline jumper diving into the map of Barcelona.

This bronze statue of Roger de Llúria was constructed in 1885 by Catalan artist Josep Reynés. The statue is located on Passeig Lluis Companys, just opposite the main entrance to the Ciutadella Park and was originally part of a series of 8 statues of Catalan heroes. Roger of Lauria was a Calabrian admiral in Aragonese service, who was the commander of the fleet of the Crown of Aragon during the War of the Sicilian Vespers.

Monument to a Book is a sculptural work located at the intersection of Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes and Passeig de Gràcia in Barcelona. Conceived as a visual poem, it was created in 1994 by Joan Brossa.

Monument to Frederic Soler. Better known by his pen name Serafí Pitarra, Frederic Soler was a Catalan playwright who wrote over a hundred plays as well as several books of poetry. The white marble monument which was erected in his memory stands directly opposite Barcelona’s oldest theatre, Teatre Principal.

Monument to Joan Salvat-Papasseit. An impressive bronze statue by Luxembourgish sculptor and architect Robert Krier depicts the poet, dressed as a night watchman, overlooking the harbor.

Joan Salvat-Papasseit was a Catalan poet, although he also wrote articles, manifestos and other prose of a political and social nature. He wrote mainly in Catalan, although in the early period he wrote essays in Spanish.

Homage to Picasso is a work by Antoni Tàpies that can be found in Barcelona’s Passeig de Picasso. The work is covered by a glass cube of 4m per side, bordered by a small pond of eleven square meters. Water comes out of the side walls of the glass.

The Three Chimneys. Located in the Jardins de les Tres Xemeneies between the neighbourhoods of Poble-Sec and Sants-Montjuïc. They are named after the three imposing structures that were part of the electric power station La Canadenca, the former headquarters of the Sociedad Española de Electricidad.

La Font de la Granota (fountain), work by Josep Campeny (1912).

Spanish Shark-class submarine ESPN SA-51 monument.

A sculpture of a woman symbolizing Asia. Sculpted by Virginio Arias. Marble. Tamarita Gardens (Jardins de la Tamarita).

Sand castles on the beaches of Barcelona.

Cat. A sculpture made by the Colombian artist Fernando Botero.

The Columbus Monument (cat. Monument a Colom) is a 60 m high monument to Christopher Columbus at the lower end of La Rambla. It was built for the Exposición Universal de Barcelona (1888) to commemorate Columbus’s first voyage to America.

Thinking Bull. Sculpture by Josep Granyer

Girafa Coqueta. Sculpture by Josep Granyer, inspired by Antonio Cánova’s masterpiece, “Paulina Bonaparte”.

“La Pareja” (The Couple in English). The work of the Chilean sculptor Lautaro Diaz Silva. This sculpture, formed by two stylized pieces of bronze, symbolizes two old lovers looking at the eternal water of the sea.

Tarragona 1928. The work of Jaume Otero. Jaume Otero i Camps (Maó, Menorca, 1888 – Barcelona, 1945) was a Menorcan sculptor active, mainly in Barcelona, and with a stage in Paris. He studied at the Escola de la Llotja in Barcelona with Manuel Fuxà, and in 1906 he obtained a scholarship that allowed him to go to Paris and Brussels.

Monument to Narcís Monturiol. Located on Avinguda Diagonal, this four and a half metre concrete and bronze monument to inventor and political activist Narcís Monturiol i Estarriol was inaugurated in 1963.

Created by Josep Maria Subirachs, the monument includes a replica of Monturiol’s most famous invention, the steam-powered submarine Ictíneo II, first launched in the Port of Barcelona in 1864.

Lepanto monument. Located in front of the Drassanes, headquarters of the Maritime Museum, this sculpture by Joaquím Ros was placed in 1971 to commemorate the four hundred years of the battle of Lepanto.

The monument to General Juan Prim in Ciutadella Park was inaugurated in 1887, seventeen years after he was assassinated in Madrid. The general is portrayed on horseback in military uniform, his cap in hand in a sign of reverence. Juan Prim y Prats, 1st Count of Reus, 1st Marquis of los Castillejos, 1st Viscount of Bruch was a Spanish general and statesman who was briefly Prime Minister of Spain until his assassination.