The origins of Barcelona are previous to the Roman presence. The first stable human settlement may be located in the 6th century BC. Later, in the 3rd century BC, a not enough contrasted legend attributes to the Cartaginese leader Hannibal, the son of Amilcar Barca, the foundation of the city. The Romans came to Barcelona because of the wars that the two great Mediterranean powers, Roma and Cartago, fought by the end of the 3rd century BC. After the definitive Cartaginese defeat, the Romans incorporated the city to their domains.
The Barcelona of the 21st century is a city shaped by the '92 Olympics, a city transformed for and by the need to do justice to that great international event. The Barcelona we see around us now, the Barcelona we enjoy today, is a new Barcelona, Mediterranean in keeping with its traditions, with its face to the sea and its arms open to other cultures and peoples, giving and receiving, happy to make and to share its riches.
The Barcelona of the 21st century is an European capital of astonishing cultural energy and a passion for progress, a city whose day-to-day life brings together every imaginable facet of the most diverse activities: these are the potential that has fashioned the city's present and give it the impetus to move forward into the future.
© Turisme de Barcelona / Espai d`Imatge

WEBSITES OF INTEREST

• www.bcn.es
• Tourism of Barcelona
• The Grand Theatre of the Liceu
• The Palau de la Música Catalana
• The Barcelona Auditorium
• The National Theatre of Catalonia
• The Poble Espanyol (Spanish Village)
• The Cathedral of Barcelona
• Barcelona-on-line