Plaza Garriga and Bachs

In front of the cloister of the Barcelona Cathedral is Plaza Garriga i Bachs, it is a small square where you can see the monument to the martyrs of the independence of 1809, it is attached to the side façade of the Church of San Severo, and On a granite pedestal are the bronze figures of the martyrs of the Napoleonic troops. This realistic monument contrasts strikingly with the predominant Gothic style of the surrounding buildings.

The sculptures were made in 1929 and placed in the square several years later in memory of the eight Barcelonans who were executed by the French troops that occupied the city in 1809. Josep Llimona was commissioned to create the five bronze elements that exceed the plinth. The sculptures are marked by a realism lacking drama. This monument shows the people who had been sentenced to the garrote, shortly before their execution in the Citadel, including the man for whom the square is named, Garriga i Bachs, who gave the land for its placement. The plaque on the plinth bears the name of the insurgents. An alabaster relief was added to the monument in 1941 when it was rededicated after the Spanish Civil War. It represents a series of angels and was sculpted by Vicenç Navarro. The monument is surrounded by ceramic benches, the mosaic, based on an engraving by Bonaventura Planella, portrays the entry of Napoleonic troops into the city.

The monument was placed by the Franco regime, however it was not the only thing left in the square, since on the side façade of one of the buildings that surround it, holes from impacts made during the Spanish Civil War can clearly be seen.