Ciutat Vella · 04
Sant Pere, Santa Caterina i la Ribera
Three former neighbourhoods —la Ribera, Santa Caterina and Sant Pere— joined in one administrative neighbourhood inside the old wall, marked by the demolition of part of la Ribera to build the Citadel after 1714.[1][2]
In the Mercat de Santa Caterina, look up: the undulating roof is covered by a 4,200 m² ceramic mosaic in the colours of fruit and vegetables, and the neoclassical façades of the 1848 market survive around it.[3]
Sant Pere, Santa Caterina i la Ribera is an administrative neighbourhood inside the perimeter of Barcelona's old medieval and early modern wall. It borders Passeig de Lluís Companys and the Parc de la Ciutadella to the north, Via Laietana to the south, la Barceloneta to the east and the Eixample to the west.[1]
It is made up of three former neighbourhoods: la Ribera, once called Vilanova del Mar, Santa Caterina and Sant Pere. The last two still keep their medieval structure, and the Rec Comtal used to run through the area. After the siege of 1713-1714, building the Citadel meant demolishing part of la Ribera.[1][2]
Sant Pere, Santa Caterina i la Ribera (neighbourhood 04) highlighted. Other neighbourhoods in Ciutat Vella: el Raval, el Barri Gòtic, la Barceloneta.
Before the neighbourhood
The confiscated convent of Santa Caterina was demolished in 1837 and the market of 1848 was built on its site. Earlier, during the siege of 1713-1714, thousands of bombardments struck Sant Pere and the «quarter de Mar», today's Ribera; after the surrender the Citadel was built, and the area demolished for the fortress and its esplanade covered 295,705 m².[3][2]
How the streets were made
Sant Pere and Santa Caterina keep their medieval structure; in la Ribera, besides Santa Maria del Mar, lies the Born, around the Passeig del Born. The Mercat del Born, an iron building by Josep Fontserè that opened in 1876 and closed in 1971, now covers the archaeological site: beneath it lie more than 8,000 m² of streets and houses from before the Citadel.[1][4][5][2]
The Mercat de Santa Caterina, opened in 1848, kept its neoclassical façades when the studio EMBT remodelled it; the reform was inaugurated on 10 May 2005.[3]
Dates that changed it
- 1713–1714 the siege of Barcelona strikes Sant Pere and the «quarter de Mar»; after the surrender the decision is taken to build the Citadel.[2]
- 1837 the confiscated convent of Santa Caterina is demolished.[3]
- 1848 the Mercat de Santa Caterina opens, on 15 August.[3]
- 1876 the Mercat del Born, by Josep Fontserè, opens.[4][5]
- 1971 the Mercat del Born closes.[4][5]
- 1997 expropriations and demolitions begin that leave the plot of the Forat de la Vergonya.[6]
- 2002 violent eviction at the Forat de la Vergonya.[6]
- 2005 the Mercat de Santa Caterina, remodelled by EMBT, is inaugurated on 10 May.[3]
- 2013 El Born Centre de Cultura i Memòria is inaugurated on 9 September.[4][5]
- 2025 El Born merges with the Museu d'Història de Barcelona; the city council approves funds to expropriate the Antic Teatre premises.[4][5][7]
People and collective life
Joris Prosper van Verboom
Military engineer commissioned to design the Citadel, a large pentagonal fortress, after the siege of 1714.[2]
Josep Fontserè
Architect of the Mercat del Born, the iron-architecture building that opened in 1876.[4][5]
Enric Miralles and Benedetta Tagliabue
Architects of the studio EMBT, authors of the remodelling of the Mercat de Santa Caterina inaugurated in 2005.[3]
Semolina Tomic
Directs the Antic Teatre and the company that has run it since 2003; she is asking the city council for an activity agreement.[8][9]
Residents and collectives of the Forat de la Vergonya
From 2000 they fitted out the plot and fought the planned car park; the fountain built by residents is still there.[6]
Institutions
Struggles that left a mark
The Forat de la Vergonya
Demand: Residents and collectives refused to see the plot opened by the 1997 demolitions end up as a car park and flats, and occupied and fitted it out from 2000.[6]
Outcome: After the eviction of 2002 and the participatory process of 2004, the car park was stopped and the space became a green area, although the groups most involved in the struggle criticised the results.[6]
The Antic Teatre and its rent
Demand: The building's owner had said the rent would rise by 500% when the contract ended in January 2027; the theatre and opposition parties asked the city council to buy it.[10][7][8][9]
Outcome: In 2025 the city council approved the funds to expropriate it; in January 2026 the expropriation was not yet effective.[10][7][8][9]
What can still be seen
Mercat de Santa Caterina
Listed in the IPAC, with neoclassical façades of 1848 and a 4,200 m² ceramic roof from the 2005 reform.[3]
Jaciment del Born
More than 8,000 m² of medieval and early modern street fabric beneath the Mercat del Born, declared a cultural asset of national interest in 2006.[2]
Santa Maria del Mar
Gothic basilica built to show the economic power of the inhabitants of the new quarter of la Ribera.[1]
What disappeared
The neighbourhood today
In 2026 the neighbourhood had 22,989 registered residents, 50% of them of non-Spanish nationality.[11][12]
Non-Spanish nationality (2026): 50%
What is changing
Antic Teatre: expropriation under way (latest report, January 2026)
On 29 May 2025 the city council approved 1,064,281.70 euros to start expropriating the premises at Carrer de Verdaguer i Callís 12, home of the Antic Teatre, to turn it into a municipal cultural facility. On 14 January 2026 the council said it expected to formalise the expropriation during the year and that it was not yet effective; the management model is to be defined afterwards. As of early October 2026 no later report confirms that it has been completed.[7][8][9]
What the guides leave out
A city beneath a market
Beneath the Mercat del Born lie more than 8,000 m² of streets and houses from before the Citadel, in the area where the last fighting inside the city took place in 1714.[2]
A roof in the colours of fruit and vegetables
The ceramic mosaic on the roof of the Mercat de Santa Caterina covers 4,200 m² and takes the colours of fruit and vegetables.[3]
A fir tree on the fountain
In the Plaça del Pou de la Figuera the fountain built by residents survives, showing the symbol of the fir tree they planted during the struggle.[6]
Read it on foot
Start: Metro L1/L4 Urquinaona · End: El Born. Museu d'Història de Barcelona[4][5]
Walking (excluding stop time): 16 min · 1200 m · Estimated visit (with stops): 54 min
The geometry follows the pedestrian network between the four marked points, but it has not been verified as step-free. The approach from public transport is not included in the stated distance.
Sant Pere, Santa Caterina i la Ribera (neighbourhood 04) highlighted. Other neighbourhoods in Ciutat Vella: el Raval, el Barri Gòtic, la Barceloneta.
Coordinates
Coordinates
Coordinates
Coordinates
Sources for this page
Dates, figures and historical claims are linked to the records used for this page.
- [1] Viquipèdia (2026). Sant Pere, Santa Caterina i la Ribera. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
- [2] Viquipèdia (2026). Jaciment del Born. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
- [3] Viquipèdia (a partir de l'IPAC 42617) (2026). Mercat de Santa Caterina. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
- [4] Viquipèdia (2026). Mercat del Born. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
- [5] Viquipèdia (2026). El Born Centre de Cultura i Memòria. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
- [6] Horitzó Socialista / neighbourhood memory (2024-04-01). Vint anys de la lluita pel Forat de la Vergonya. Accessed: 2026-07-16.
- [7] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Servei de Premsa (2025-06-02). L’Ajuntament adquirirà el local del carrer Verdaguer i Callís, 12 (Antic Teatre). Accessed: 2026-07-16.
- [8] Metrópoli Abierta (2026-01-14). Barcelona fija 2026 como el año clave para culminar la expropiación del Antic Teatre. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
- [9] Ara (2026-01-14). Semolina Tomic: «Since the PSC has taken power, grassroots culture has been dismantled». Accessed: 2026-10-03.
- [10] Ara (2024-01-16). El futur de l'Antic Teatre, pendent de l'expropiació. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
- [11] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Open Data BCN (2026). Padró municipal. Accessed: 2026-07-16.
- [12] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Open Data BCN (2026). Nacionalitat. Accessed: 2026-07-16.
- [13] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Open Data BCN (2026-01-01). Padró municipal d'habitants (pad_mdbas) — població per barri. Accessed: 2026-07-17.
- [14] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Open Data BCN (2021). Densitat de població per barri. Accessed: 2026-07-17.
- [15] 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 · 15 sources consulted