CARRER SANT ANTONI ABAT AND ESGLÈSIA DEL CARME

In this post we are going to begin with the promenade made by Ventura and his friends. This walk starts at the street named Sant Antoni Abat, which can be considered one of the “doors” to El Raval. As we have said in the previous posts, this blog wants to show to the public the most interesting –and non-touristic places– in the city, but in this case we have to make an exception. At the very beginning of this street we can find one of the most emblematic markets of Barcelona: el Mercat de Sant Antoni.

Mercat de Sant Antoni

As we enter the street we will see a bar called “Els Tres Tombs”, very known in the neighborhood because it has been there for many years. Actually, it is important to mention it because, due to his name, this bar can only be at the street Sant Antoni Abad. “Els Tres Tombs”, apart from being a bar, it is also a popular festivity in the name of a saint: Sant Antoni Abad. Finally, we decided to include this bar on our list of “interesting things to visit in El Raval” because it has a lot of connections to the popular culture of Barcelona because this bar was frequently visited by Peret and other local artists.

Carrer Sant Antoni Abat

Els Tres Tombs

As we enter through el Carrer Sant Antoni Abat  we may have the impression of walking back to the past and abandoning the modern Barcelona to discover a city that is not offered in the touristic guides. You will leave the long and open streets to find out the narrow streets where the history of Barcelona began. If you keep walking in the street a few meters you will arrive at one of the most important places of the neighborhood that also appears in “El pianista”, actually their promenade starts there. We are talking about the Esglèsia del Carme. This building is very important for the history of the city because it was built where is use to be another church that was destroyed during the riots of 1909 (Setmana Tràgica). In the actuality here we can find the Teatre del Raval.

Teatre del Raval

Esglèsia del Carme

To conclude with this post we will reproduce a fragment of "El pianista" in which he talks about Esglèsia del Carme, the neighborhood and introduces their next step, and our next post: la Plaça del Pedró:

"Es la iglesia del Carmen. La construyeron después de la Semana Trágica, sobre el solar de un antiguo convento de jerónimas que quemaron los revolucionarios. [...] Es un barrio tranquilo y de cierto interés. ¿Queréis que bajemos hasta la plaza del Padró?"

See you at la Plaça del Pedró!