Nou Barris · 45
Porta
Porta takes its name from Can Porta, a lost farmhouse, and in a century it went from fields around two farmhouses to Plaça de Sóller, the blocks of the 1960s and the large parks of the south.[1][2]
Two farmhouses still stand in Porta: Can Verdaguer, now a civic centre, and Can Valent, a short walk away. Around them lies mostly the housing estate of tall blocks of 1957-66 and the public spaces the neighbours won afterwards.[3][2][4][1]
Until the nineteenth century Porta was rural land in the Santa Eulàlia de Vilapicina area, inside the municipality of Sant Andreu de Palomar, annexed to Barcelona in 1897. It covers about 84 hectares.[1]
Its present form was set in two stages: the blocks of the south, built in 1957-66, and then the spaces and facilities the neighbours demanded, such as Plaça de Sóller (1983) and Parc de Can Dragó (1990).[1]
Porta (neighbourhood 45) highlighted. Other neighbourhoods in Nou Barris: Vilapicina i la Torre Llobeta, el Turó de la Peira, Can Peguera, la Guineueta, Verdun, la Prosperitat.
Where the name comes from
Etymology: disputed[1]
The origin of the name is uncertain. Municipal documentation attributes it to Pasqual Porta Margarit, a nineteenth-century teacher who is believed to have owned land called Can Porta in Santa Eulàlia de Vilapicina and sold it in plots. The area was long known as Can Porta; the 2006 map of neighbourhoods shortened it to Porta.[1]
Five main axes bound Porta: Passeig de Fabra i Puig, towards Vilapicina i la Torre Llobeta; Carrer del Doctor Pi i Molist, towards the Turó de la Peira; Passeig de Verdum, towards la Guineueta; Passeig de Valldaura, towards la Prosperitat; and Avinguda Meridiana, towards Sant Andreu.[1]
Before the neighbourhood
Before the blocks there were fields of vegetables, cereals and vines along the old road from Sant Andreu to Horta, documented since the thirteenth century; only Carrer de Piferrer remains of it. The most notable farmhouses were Can Verdaguer and Can Pere Valent, both older than the eighteenth century.[1]
In 1839 the council of Sant Andreu de Palomar opened a new cemetery here, and in 1862 the railway along Meridiana separated Porta from Sant Andreu's core.[1]
How the streets were made
The blocks of the south, built in 1957-66, exceeded the permitted heights as compensation to the developers for not being allowed to build on a 22,000 m² plot declared public space, today Plaça de Sóller. For a decade most streets stayed unpaved.[1]
Dates that changed it
- 1351 first documentary reference to Can Verdaguer.[3]
- 1839 the Sant Andreu cemetery opens on the land of today's Porta.[1]
- 1862 the railway along today's Meridiana separates Porta from Sant Andreu's core.[1]
- 1957-1966 the blocks of southern Porta are built.[1]
- 1974 the Porta residents' association is formed.[1]
- 1983 Plaça de Sóller is inaugurated.[1]
- 1985 the council expropriates Can Valent.[4][1]
- 1990 Parc de Can Dragó opens on the former RENFE land.[1]
- 2001 Heron City opens.[1]
- 2006 the council buys Can Verdaguer.[3][2]
- 2013 in May the Centre Cívic Can Verdaguer is inaugurated.[3][2]
- 2021 the rehabilitation of the walls and roof of Can Valent is approved.[4][1]
Institutions
Struggles that left a mark
What can still be seen
Can Verdaguer
A farmhouse first documented in 1351, with a round-arched dressed-stone doorway, a sundial and, behind it, a garden with a catalogued 27-metre Washingtonia palm.[3]
Can Valent
A farmhouse at Avinguda de Rio de Janeiro 51-53 with origins in the sixteenth or seventeenth century, expropriated in 1985; in 2021 the rehabilitation of its walls and roof was approved.[4][1]
Cementiri de Sant Andreu
Blessed in 1839; a main gate of 1927 on Carrer dels Garrofers, an octagonal chapel of 1913 and neoclassical and modernist mausoleums near the entrance.[1]
What disappeared
The neighbourhood today
In 2026 Porta had 31,199 residents, a density of 372.7 people per hectare, a €20,201 mean census-section income in 2023, 83.7 hectares, and 30.6% of residents held non-Spanish nationality.
Non-Spanish nationality (2026): 30.6%
Read it on foot
Start: Virrei Amat (L5)[2] · End: Cementiri de Sant Andreu[1]
Walking (excluding stop time): 12 min · 890 m · Estimated visit (with stops): 48 min
The geometry follows the pedestrian network between the four marked points, but it has not been verified as step-free. Access, works and opening hours may vary. The approach by public transport is not included in the stated distance.
Porta (neighbourhood 45) highlighted. Other neighbourhoods in Nou Barris: Vilapicina i la Torre Llobeta, el Turó de la Peira, Can Peguera, la Guineueta, Verdun, la Prosperitat.
Coordinates
Coordinates
Coordinates
Coordinates
Sources for this page
Dates, figures and historical claims are linked to the records used for this page.
- [1] Wikipedia en español (2026). Porta (Barcelona). Accessed: 2026-10-03.
- [2] Viquipèdia (2026). Porta (Nou Barris). Accessed: 2026-10-03.
- [3] Viquipèdia (2026). Can Verdaguer (Barcelona). Accessed: 2026-10-03.
- [4] Viquipèdia (2026). Can Valent (Barcelona). Accessed: 2026-10-03.
- [5] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Open Data BCN (2026-01-01). Padró municipal d'habitants (pad_mdbas) — població per barri. Accessed: 2026-07-17.
- [6] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Open Data BCN (2021). Densitat de població per barri. Accessed: 2026-07-17.
- [7] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Open Data BCN (2023). Renda disponible de les llars per persona. Seccions censals. Accessed: 2026-07-17.
Last reviewed: 3 October 2026 · 7 sources consulted