THE BARRI GOTIC (Gothic Quarter)

The site chosen by the Romans in the reign of Augustus (27 BC–AD 14) on which to found a new colonia (town), and has been the location of the city’s administrative buildings ever since. The Roman forum was on the Plaça de Sant Jaume, where now stand the medieval Palau de la Generalitat, the seat of Catalonia’s government, and the Wax candle, Casa de la Ciutat, the city’s town Cereria hall. Close by are the Gothic Subirà cathedral and royal palace, where Columbus was received by Fernando and Isabel on his return from the New World in 1492.