Barcelona, City of Convents and Saints
The MNAC (National Art Museum of Catalonia) offers a guided walk to discover the city’s more spiritual side.
An itinerary that reveals Barcelona’s monastic past, with a special focus on the transformation of the Rambla and Raval areas from the 16th century onwards. This is Barcelona, City of Convents and Saints, a guided tour that invites you to walk through the heart of the city and rediscover the places where convents, colleges, and seminaries were established—institutions that deeply transformed the urban landscape of Barcelona.
The visit, led by art historian Dr. Anna Vallugera, takes you back to a time when the arrival of the Jesuits and other religious orders marked the beginning of an intense period of convent-building. This phenomenon, driven by the spiritual renewal movement that followed the Council of Trento, led to the creation of a dense network of convents, colleges, and seminaries dedicated to the theological and cultural formation of clergy, as well as the dissemination of Catholic doctrine through art and architecture.
The route passes through some of the most emblematic streets and spaces in the city center, such as Plaça Reial, the Boqueria Market, and the Gran Teatre del Liceu, allowing you to rediscover Barcelona’s religious past and the urban transformations that stemmed from this spiritual and architectural legacy. Some of the artistic treasures from these convents, now preserved in the MNAC's collection, are also part of the narrative of this visit, which explores the memory of a city deeply shaped by the presence of new religious orders and their founding saints—such as Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Saint Francis Xavier, Saint Teresa of Ávila, and Saint Philip Neri.
The tour includes audio guides to make it easier to follow the commentary throughout the walk, enhancing the immersive experience.
Barcelona, City of Convents and Saints is an innovative way to explore the city’s history from a lesser-known spiritual perspective—one that has left a lasting imprint on both the urban landscape and the culture of Barcelona. More information is available on the MNAC website.