Shopping in Barcelona: part 3 The Ribera Quarter
This neighborhood was formed by the people that settled around the church. In those days it was called Vilanova del Mar and the people that settled there were skilled and unskilled workers who benefitted from the maritime and economic growth of the Catalans in the Mediterranean which started during the reign of Jaume 1. The street names bear witness to this: Argenteria, the silversmiths; Espaseria, swordmakers; Mirallers; mirrormakers; Vidreria, glassblowers…
Salvador Sans started roasted coffee for his grocer’s shop in 1919, although the work was interrupted during the war and post war period due to coffee restrictions. Work started again in the ‘60s when roasting and coffee sales resumed. There are over 30 kinds of coffee sold here, pure or mixed for a particular bouquet. Most come from Central and South America and East Africa although there is also coffee from Asia and Oceania where production is small but of high quality.
This is the best example of Catalan religious Gothic architecture. Built from 1329 to 1383, its architectural unity and purity of style are unusual in buildings from the Middle Ages. This was the people’s cathedral built by the sailors and people whose livelihood depended on the sea, people who wanted to build it, who paid for it and actually helped with the building. Two slim towers flank the main façade.
This establishment roasts nuts such as almonds and hazelnuts. What makes is special is that it still roasts them following the traditional method using wood burning ovens. The nuts are roasted in an iron drum over a fire, and the drum is turned so the nuts don’t burn. The shop also imports products from the old colonies. It dates back to 1851, and despite changes in proprietors, still has the original decoration.
One of the most elegant streets in medieval Barcelona, here you can find many of the palaces built by the city nobles in the 13th century and that now house art galleries such as Galeria Maeght.
Housed in 5 medieval palaces and inaugurated in 1963 on the expressed wish of the artist, the museum has a collection of 3,500 pieces of art; an imaginative place for a coffee.
This shop is an authentic school for magicians – anything but a run of the mill business; the decoration alone is an indication. It is set up like a small stage with a wooden counter with slim legs, while the rest of the shop is hidden behind a black curtain like a stage drop. Finally, it has a collection of signed photographs of magicians such as Li-Chang, the great Mandarin magician.
La Campana
A popular shop of torrons, a kind of soft nougat eaten mainly at Christmas but sold here throughout the year.
Around these narrow old streets you’ll find great contrasts between the shops, highly specialist shops, historical and traditional ones beside the latest design and quirky fanciful fashions.
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