Sant Pere, Santa Caterina and The Ribera

Barcelona's Via Laietana, which was built during the first half of the 20th century to link up the Eixample with the port, opened up a new route for traffic while slicing up the old town into different sections.

Santa Caterina and Sant Pere neighbourhood were densely populated and built-up neighbourhoods at the time, with an industrial tradition that strongly defined their personalities. Indeed, the first textile mills of Barcelona, the heirs to the neighbourhood's craft tradition, set up premises here throughout the 18th century. As a result, the Santa Caterina and Sant Pere neighbourhood became an over-populated, working-class district with poor living conditions.

Many artists have set up their studios in La Ribera neighbourhood, inheriting the past of the neighbourhood where Barcelona city's artisans used to live. Many street names remind us of the ancient trades and skills: Mirallers (mirror makers), Sombrerers (hatters), Argenters (silversmiths), etc. Streets that grew up around the church of Santa Maria del Mar, which is, without a shadow of a doubt, the masterpiece of Catalan Gothic architecture.