La Barceloneta

La Barceloneta is my favorite neighborhood in Barcelona. I “discovered” it while doing research for my book Don Bonocio Llenza Feliú: From Barceloneta to Barceloneta (Spanish title: De la Barceloneta a la Barceloneta: La Historia de Don Bonocio Llenza Feliú, Catalan title: Des de Barceloneta fins a Barceloneta:La Història de Don Bonocio Llenza Feliú).

It is both an old port and a new port --- Port Olímpic was built in the district for the 1992 Olympic Games, and it now contains a marina with beautiful park, some amazing public sculptures, along with a number of bars and restaurants---many of which, like the are a bit on the pricy side, catering to the thousands of locals and tourists who flock to the sandy beach on any and all sunny days throughout the year. Still, it is still one of the best places to eat seafood in the city.

The first inhabitants of la Barceloneta arrived there in 1755. It was from the beginning the maritime area of Barcelona with activities and craftwork related to the port and the sea. The neighborhood was roughly triangular, bordered by the Mediterranean Sea. At the plaza of Barceloneta (Plaça Barceloneta) is Sant Miquel del Port church ---the first building completed in la Barceloneta in 1755.

Around 1791 small shipyards employed many families from la Barceloneta. During the 19th century, these families, like the Missé, became powerful shipbuilders, working on projects, sometimes risky, such as Narcís Monturiol’s pioneering wooden submarine Ictíneo, constructed in 1858–1859. La Barceloneta started to attract industries because it was located outside the city walls, near the port. This is why many important companies in the 19th century ---such as la Nueva Vulcano (which build the first steamboat on the Spanish Peninsula in 1839), La Maquinista Terrestre i Marítima ironworks, la Catalana Gas or Farga Lacambra copper company --- set up here. Because of this la Barceloneta is considered as the birthplace of Catalan industry.

The neighborhood is full of character. The blocks here are long and narrow --- architects planned them that way so that each room in every building fronted a street. The streets end at the Passeig Marítim (seafront promenade) of Barceloneta beach, one of the finest urban beaches in Europe.

More of my photos of la Barceloneta can be via my Flickr link.

Blanes

The town of Barceloneta, Puerto Rico was founded by Don Bonocio Llenza Feliú on July 1, 1881. Don Bonocio Llenza Feliú was born in Blanes, Catalunya. While there is no monument to him in Blanes, it is not difficult for the imagination to capture his early life in a coastal town which was the center of ship-building and fishing in the 19th century. Blanes is located in Catalonia on the Costa Brava. The first settlers are thought to have inhabited the area as far back as the third century BC and archaeologists have excavated the remains of houses from the first century BC. The town thrived as a ship building centre in the 19th century but its fortunes declined in the first half of the 20th century, particularly during the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) when the local population suffered bombing, famine and repression. Modern tourism arrived in the 1950s and over the next 20 years Blanes started to flourish once again, developing into a popular international holiday destination. Back from the seafront you'll find evidence of a town steeped in history, with ancient monuments, churches and buildings still standing as reminders of this area's past.

A few photos that capture Blanes (more to be added shortly):

Don Bonocio Llenza Feliú:From Barceloneta to Barceloneta

The town of Barceloneta, Puerto Rico was founded by Don Bonocio Llenza Feliú on July 1, 1881. It was one of the last municipalities created by the Spanish government in Puerto Rico. Don Bonocio Llenza Feliú was a very active and enterprising man, devoted to trade and the world of business. Born in Blanes, Catalunya, he had four ships: Santa María, Pinta, Niña y Joaquina, which carried goods and passengers back and forth from Barcelona to Puerto Rico. He named Barceloneta, Puerto Rico in honor if the district of Baceloneta to honor the prosperous contact he maintained with that shipping district of Barcelona. The book is rich with information about the food, dress, religious beliefs, manners, health, and social habits of the people of his day as well as the important economic relationship forced between Catalunya and Puerto Rico in the 19th century.