Santa Eulalia, co-patron of Barcelona
The Santa Eulalia Festival has become the most notable winter festival in Barcelona and is celebrated between February 9 and 12.
It is a family event full of charm in honour of the co-patroness of Barcelona that it shares with the Virgin of “Merced”.
The celebration has a wide range of activities designed for the entire family to enjoy, from the giants to the fun parades and the deafening “correfocs”, passing through the impressive performances of the “castellers”, “sardanas” and the musical bands that tour the old town of the city.
They are holidays specially designed to be enjoyed with the family.
Who was Santa Eulalia?
Legend has it that Eulalia was a thirteen-year-old girl from Barcelona born in Sarrià and educated in the Catholic faith. She did not want to renounce her faith during the persecution of Christians ordered by the Roman emperor Diocletian at the end of the 3rd century.
As a result of her resistance to renounce Christianity, she was condemned to suffer thirteen torments, one for each of her years.
Seeing that the cruel torments did not serve to change her attitude, she was sentenced to die by crucifixion.
Today, the remains of Santa Eulalia rest in the Barcelona Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Santa Eulalia of Barcelona. In the cloister of the Cathedral, there are thirteen geese permanently. One for each year and for each martyrdom that Saint Eulalia suffered.
Following in the Footsteps of Santa Eulalia in Barcelona
The tour of Santa Eulalia in Barcelona can be traced following a tour associated with the moments of her martyrdom.
The first point to consider is Arco de Santa Eulalia Street, located between Ferran and La Boquería streets, in the old town of Barcelona. According to tradition, this street housed the prison where she was supposedly imprisoned, although today there is no vestige of her existence.
A few minutes walk away, we find the second site linked to the saint: Baixada de Santa Eulalia, a street that begins in Banys Vells and ends at Sant Sever Street. As its name indicates, it is a street with a slight slope, where, according to tradition, Eulalia was placed in a barrel full of glass and nails, rolling her down the hill.
On the other side of Las Ramblas, in Plaza del Pedró, is the fountain of Santa Eulalia, in the place where it is said that she was crucified. This monument, dating from the end of the 17th century, is the oldest in the city.
