A city packed with legends and oddities

Published on April 30th 2015

Two thousand years of history is plenty of time to generate legends, rumours, anecdotes and oddities in a city. Journalist David Izquierdo has brought together thirty in his new book

Curioses històries de Barcelona [curious stories of Barcelona], which covers tales which have been passed around by word of mouth over the course of 20 centuries, from the birth of the Iulia Augusta Faventia Paterna Barcino colony through to the enormous snowfall in 1962.

The book, which sold out of its first edition, is divided into three parts. The first chapters narrate mysteries and legends, such as the ghost of Morrot, which explains how the spirit of the Viceroy of Santa Coloma, murdered at the foot of Montjuïc mountain while fleeing from a revolt in 1640, still moves around the area when there is a full moon.

The second part looks at unusual historical facts which are unknown by the majority of citizens, such as the fact that before the creation of the port in the 15th century Barcelona had an island called Maians in front of its coastline. Another fact is that a large area of what is now the city was actually wetlands for many years, such as those which gave their name to the Llacuna neighbourhood.

The final chapters of the book present everyday anecdotes about city life, such as the medieval baths or the origin of the Torre Baró, the Taj Mahal of Barcelona.

 

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