26. Barcelona, provincial capital in the Spanish Empire (Under construction)
In the 16th century, the monarchy finally withdrew from Barcelona. The city, now excluded from Spain’s expansion in the Americas, became the capital of yet another province of the great Austrian empire governed by a viceroy with the advice of the Audiencia, the country’s highest court. By order of Les Corts, the Generalitat reformed the Palau Major to provide them with space and connected it to the Sala dels Escrivans by turning the Saló del Tinell around and fitting it with a large entranceway on Plaça de Sant Iu.
The Consell de Cent had to adapt, protecting as best it could the municipal prerogatives from growing centralism until the final abolition of the traditional order after 1714.