In the middle of the Barrio Gótico, you’ll find one of the most beautiful churches in Barcelona, and one that is not as well known: the Basílica de Santa María del Pi. It includes several spaces that are worth a trip, including the bell tower, the garden, and the crypt. During your stay with us at our boutique hotel near Ciutat Vella, you’ll have the chance to visit this and many other attractions in the capital city.
It’s not clear when exactly the first stone was laid to build this basilica, which is located between Pi and Sant Josep Oriol plazas, just a few blocks from the Mercado de la Boquería. Most documentary sources date its construction to the fifth century.
What is well known is that the new church (the one that made it to the modern day) was built in the fourteenth century. That was a cursed century, when the plague spread across most of Europe. For that reason, work on the church had to stop for a while. The Basílica de Santa María del Pi was finally inaugurated in 1453. It was actually the next generation when it rose to its greatest heights of splendor with the arrival of the Renaissance in Catalonia.
Like other churches, this basilica has been witness to some of the bloodiest episodes the city has experienced. It played a fundamental role in the War of Succession by raising the people’s morale with the ringing of the bells. It withstood pandemics, bombings, fires, and all shorts of upas and downs, but there it still stands.
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