Placa de Sant Jaume (St. James's Square)
Barcelona's political heart since Roman times, the Plaça de Sant Jaume is flanked by the two seats of Catalan power — the Palau de la Generalitat and the Ajuntament — and has been the stage for the city's most important public celebrations and protests.
You are standing in the very heart of Barcelona's political life, a square that has witnessed over two thousand years of power, passion, and pivotal moments in Catalan history. The Plaça de Sant Jaume, named after the ancient church of Sant Jaume that once stood here, occupies the exact spot where the Roman forum bustled with activity when this city was called Barcino. Beneath your feet lie the archaeological remains of that ancient forum, the crossroads where the cardo and decumanus, the main Roman streets, intersected in the first century. As you look around this modest rectangular square, you are surrounded by the twin pillars of Catalan governance. To your right stands the magnificent Palau de la Generalitat, the seat of the Catalan government since 1403, making it one of Europe's oldest government buildings still in continuous use. Notice its elegant Gothic facade on Carrer del Bisbe, though the entrance facing you showcases later Renaissance and Baroque additions. The building's most striking feature, which you can glimpse if you crane your neck, is the stunning Gothic gallery and the tower of Sant Jordi, topped by a figure of Catalonia's patron saint slaying the dragon. Directly opposite, the neoclassical facade of the Ajuntament, Barcelona's city hall, presents a more restrained but equally impressive presence.